A case for a True Religion in a Secular Society

22Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”

Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”

25Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26So they took the bull given them and prepared it.

Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.

27At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.

30Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. 31Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” 32With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs^a of seed. 33He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”

34“Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.

“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

36At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

38Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

39When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”

40Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.

41And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” 42So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.

43“Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked.

“There is nothing there,” he said.

Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”

44The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”

So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’ ”

45Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. 46The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

Thoughts: There are those who truly believe the Postmodern dictum that there is no truth and that all philosophies are of equal value (morally, spiritually, and truly equivalent).  It is almost impossible to reason with those who believe such things.  They would say to hold up one God as being the true God means to divide society and the world.  However, I would contend that to hold up  truth does not devalue falseness it gives a common goal.  If someone is seeing double looking at the moon- and I point out which is the true moon they are seeing- I am not devaluing the false moon- it never had value in the first place- it was not real-only an illusion. 
     So in Ahab's day people would say they believed in the Lord, but also say they believed in Baal or Ashtoreth.  Similar to our day in the West these false gods encouraged sexual immorality as a part of their "worship" (Using temple and shrine prostitutes in an effort to bring rain).  So we elevate sexuality in our culture to something that we have to have to exist or for our happiness.  We have made light of those who try to keep themselves in any kind of purity sexually.  We have forced out the Elijahs who call us to follow the ways of the Lord (who tells us to not commit adultery). 
     There is also the moral equivalence of prayer.  The thing I am hearing today is that prayer is offensive and wrong.  The Rotarian magazine had articles and editorials about how poems are just as good as prayers. Praying to nothing or reading a poem to no one means nothing.  If there is a god- that is not true. If God cares at all, then God cares how we pray. Prayers to any god are not the same as prayers to every god.  In a truly free world people should have the right to pray however they wish, and others should not be offended. II they pray in Jesus' name or any other name it should not drive them crazy.  I would like to hold up Jesus' name against the name of any other deity invoked in prayer.  .I would hold up the power of praying in the name of a true God against any man made poem.  It takes away freedom to try to squelch prayers- freedom of speech and freedom of worship.  Elijah was right- just propose a contrast- compare someone's poem or someone's prayer to a non-deity to someone praying in the powerful name of the living Christ.  

Prayer: Lord, You are God.  I serve you without shame.  May I call others to question their commitment to you.