Thoughts: Two years ago we thought we had a wonderful, gigantic shady oak tree outside our church office. A storm came along and a huge limb- the size of a good sized tree- fell on our electrical line into the office pulling away the whole electrical box- and came close to causing a fire. We cleaned up the limbs, and put back the box. Then last year in another storm, another huge limb- the size of a good sized tree- fell on our electrical line again- almost in the same place- doing the same damage. Each time it cost us $1,500. It cost $800 to remove the tree, and guess what? It was hollow on the inside from rot and maybe carpenter ants. The tree had the appearance of doing good- providing shade and beauty- but in reality- it was a danger that should have been handled earlier if we knew it was hollow.
Paul says to beware of hollow and deceptive philosophy which depend on human tradition and even get their power from worldly spirituality. It appears that the Colossians' deceptive philosophy involved a cafeteria of diverse thoughts. They allowed for sexual immorality (2:23)- but they also had an ascetic tendency (do not handle, do not touch2:21) with an emphasis on liturgy and calendars (2:16). Their temptation was to follow a kind of Proto-gnosticism that reveled in secret knowledge as a way to salvation, and the worship of secondary spiritual beings (2:18). Paul recognized that such thinking is incompatible with true faith and erodes the soul.
In our day many in the church act as if sexual immorality is not immoral anymore. One Barna survey in 2010 noted that as many young people in the church were immoral as the people outside the church. It is suddenly as if we "know" better now- so that what was once called anathema is not a blessing. But in reality- this is just an old temptation rearing its head again in a new way. At the same time that the church has become more immoral it has also become more liturgical- as if the liturgy gives meaning to faith when the practice of obedience does not. The experts of knowledge have persuaded many that they know better than the ancient and proven words of scripture, and that we should only interpret the scripture through their skeptical and unbelieving scholarship.
The Colossians didn't have much scriptural knowledge, so such temptations perhaps were more excusable. We have the Bible on cd, dvd, podcast, internet, with multiple versions and languages- on our phone, our computer, our tablet, our TV. Yet many ignore it because they cannot understand some of it, and so they must trust the experts- the scholars who often analyze scripture from a very skeptical viewpoint. Those in the pews are dependent on the seminaries who are not accountable to the church- except when their endowments run low and churches start sending their students to other schools. There should be a balance between academic freedom and faith. We do not need the seminary witch hunts of the 1920s. But today, the seminaries' faith is far removed from the simple faith found in the churches. I would contend that too often the faith that is taught to our preachers is hollow, lacking power, lacking trust, full of skepticism, doubt, and empty air. There are many hollow and deceptive philosophies outside the church too- the skepticism of Hume, the nihilism of Nietzsche, post-modernism's tolerance of immorality and its demeaning of truth. But the hollow and deceptive philosophy Paul speaks of is a hollowness that creeps into the church now and again. Today, the large tree of the Church in the West is a shell of what it once was. It has allowed the termites of skepticism, carpenter ants of immorality, and dry rot of "we've always done it that way" to hollow what was once hallowed. However, one day a small shoot will spring forth from the large stump and the Church will be alive once more.
Prayer: Lord, keep me from being deceived by worldly-wisdom. Instead, help me to seek and find wisdom from you and from your Word.
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