Glamor, Religious Hype, or Ordinary Faith?



by A. W. Tozer
The mania after glamour and the contempt of the ordinary are signs and portents in American society. Even religion has gone glamorous. And in case you do not know what glamour is, I might explain that it is a compound of sex, paint, padding and artificial lights.  It came to America by way of the honky-tonk and the movie lot, got accepted by the world first and then strutted into the church - vain, self-admiring and contemptuous. Instead of the Spirit of God in our midst, we now have the spirit of glamour, as artificial as painted death and as hollow as the skull, which is its symbol.
     That we now have to deal with a new spirit in religion is not merely a figure of speech.  The new Christianity has clearly introduced new concepts that face us brazenly wherever we turn within the confines of evangelical Christianity. The plain virtues, so dear to the heart of the prophet and apostle and the substance of the solemn and fiery sermons of our Protestant forebears, have been sent into retirement with the fireman's horse and the blacksmith's bellows.  The new Christian no longer wants to be good or saintly or virtuous. He or she wants to be happy and free, to have "peace of mind" and, above all, wants to enjoy the thrills of religion without any of its perils.  He or she brings to the New Testament a paganized concept of the Christian way and makes the Scriptures say what he or she wants them to say... This person's spiritual models are not holy men but ball players, plug-uglies from the prize ring and sentimental but unregenerate stars of anything but heavenly firmament.
    True Christianity is built on the Bible, and the Bible is the enemy of all pretense. Simplicity, sincerity and humility are still golden virtues in the kingdom of God. The angel appeared to Zechariah when he was going about his regular prosaic business. There was nothing glamorous about the old saint's task. There was no fanfare, no drama - just a good old man doing what he had been taught.  He sought no publicity.  The busy people outside paid no attention to him.  In this dizzy era, is it too much to hope that a few Christians will still believe in the angel of the commonplace?
     Let's turn off the colored lights for a while and see what happens. Maybe our eyes will get used to the light of God...

from chapter 35 of This World: Playground or Battleground

Popular posts from this blog

Warning: Avoid William Barclay's Writings

Image
William Barclay:  Are His Writings Dependable? by William MacDonald William Barclay is one of the most enigmatical writers on the religious scene today. At one moment he can delight you with his scintillating comments on the Scripture. Then in the next breath he will shock you with his unabashed heresy. He has a special gift of speaking out of both comers of his mouth. At first you are ready to welcome him warmly into the evangelical fold, but on further reading you begin to wonder if he accepts any of the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith.      It cannot be denied that he serves up vast amounts of helpful background material for the serious Bible student. And his word studies are unforgettable. But there is death in the pot! Interspersed with all that is appealing and attractive is the poiso n of modernism and of higher criticism.      If we were to use the methods of the higher critics, we could easily prove that his books were written by two or even
Read more

Election and non-Calvinism – Assembly Leaders Thru History

Image
Compiled by David Dunlap 3/10/2019 Well-known Bible teachers connected to “assemblies” who do not hold to rigid Calvinism are: William MacDonald, John Phillips, Harry Ironside, Harold St. John, Sir Robert Anderson, C. F. Hogg, W. E. Vine, G. H. Lang, David Gooding, John Lennox, Robert J. Little, F. W. Grant, Samuel Ridout, among many others. Some quotations listed below: William MacDonald – (1917-2007) Former Bible School President “Many are called is that the gospel invitation goes out to many.   But few are chosen.   The expression few are chosen does not mean that God is arbitrary in selecting only a few for salvation. All who respond to the good news are chosen.   The only way a person can tell if he is chosen is by what he does with the Lord Jesus Christ.”     — William MacDonald, Matthew: Behold Your King , (Kansas City, KS: Walterick, 1974), p. 249 John Phillips— (1920-1996) Bible commentator and expositor “God does not act in an arbitrary way no
Read more

The School of Manners - Rules for Children - 1701

Image
Yes, that was a long time ago, back when children were taught in the home values like godliness, respect, courtesy, modesty, and integrity. They were required to memorize and recite these 20 precepts, in order to fix them in their minds. We may smile at the language, but it would be well for children - AND adults - to learn them in our day. 1. Fear GOD. 2. Honour the KING. 3. Reverence thy Parents. 4. Submit to thy Superiors. 5. Despise not thy inferiors. 6. Be courteous with thy equals. 7. Pray daily and devoutly. 8. Converse with the Good. 9. Imitate not the wicked. 10. Hearken to instruction. 11. Be desirous of learning. 12. Love the school. 13. Be always cleanly. 14. Study virtue. 15. Provoke nobody. 16. Love thy schoolfellows. 17. Please thy Master. 18. Let not play entice thee. 19. Refrain thy tongue. 20. Covet future Honour which only Virtue and Wisdom can procure. the book is still available from sellers like Amazon and other bookstores: The School of Manners, or Rules for Chil
Read more