by
Voyle A. Glover, Esq.
I watched this 8th wonder of the world as he walked through a sea of smiling, grinning, giddy faces. Hundreds of voices echoed a creshendo of praise intersersed with continuous applause. He walked with the smooth, easy grace of an athelete, supremely confident and completely relaxed. It was a familiar scene to this man, this unabashed adoration by men and women of all ages, from all races and all religions. He is Michael Jordan and wherever he goes, he receives unabashed adoration. No doubt if Jordan and the President of the United States were in the same arena, most of the crowd would be at the Jordan end.
I watched a musical video recently. While I don't recall the name of the song, the pictures were of the performer during concert. Fans were estatic, even fanatical in their worship at the feet of this man. Literally. Thousands stood at his feet, faces uplifted voices shrill and loud with words and sounds of adoration. He seemed to feed off the fans which transformed him into a creature of incredible energy with almost non-stop bursts of animated antics which sustained and even elevated the intensity of the crowd.
This particular performer is a seeming paradox, a gentle soul off-camera, shy, self-depreciating, and projecting a "golly-gee-whiz" aura by his words and body language. But on stage, the man performs better than most of the Elmer Gantry's of the religious world. Like some of them, he's selling himself (and albums), feeding on the energy of frantic uh... "parishioners" and clearly wallowing in the outpouring of adoration showered upon him. I don't know that he could get his followers to drink poison, but there's little doubt he could get them to drink just about anybody's cola.
Garth Brooks is the Moon hung over the country.
I've watched the faces of these men and others like them as they receive this torrent of adoration and adulation. Their eyes shine and their faces radiate the exhilirating high they're feeling. It's a high few ever come to know and is as addictive as crack cocaine.
It's also idolatrous. Millions display more emotion, and devotion to the Brooks and Jordan's and Moons' of the world than to God. And sliced any old way you want, that cuts a picture of idolatry, i.e., the replacement of God with another god made of wood, stone...or flesh.
Say what you want about having "heroes," but the day a mortal's adoration and devotion to another mortal is equal or greater than what they give to God, they've committed idolatry.
Ask any Orthodox Jew about idolatry. Idolatry is, to some Jews, the greatest of evils one can do. Most Christians know God hates it. God first wrote about it with words in stone and gave them to Charleston...uh, Moses: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Exodus 20:3.
Frankly, I'd be scared to be in the place of God in anyone's mind or heart.
God might decide to show them my mortality.
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copyright 1996 Voyle A. Glover