Elvis

the lements and

Other Idols

by Frank W. Aderholdt, Jr.

I am the Lord, that is My name; I will

n o t g ~ v My glocy•to another.' (Isaiah 42:8)

"For they exclianged the truthof od for a

lie and worshippeaand served the creature

rather than the Creator, who

is

blessed

forever. Amen.'' (Romans 1 25)

Sunday, August 16, 1987, was not

only

the toed s Day,

the weekly celebra-·

tion of the triumphant resurrection of

Jesus Christ our Lord. I t was also a

field day for Satan and his soldiers. For

this revealed us a most remark

able demonstration of the allegiance of

fallen man to his idols. On this day

millions of Americans, with little else

in common except their native land,

urtited in the worship of man and the

creation rather than the

CreatOr.

The worship of man was most clear

ly seen on the weekend of August 16th

last year in Memphis, Tennessee, in

and around Graceland Mansion, the

horne and grave site of Til

KING OF

ROCK AND ROLL, Elvis Presley.

Elvis had died precisely ten years be

fore. Anyone who has not been on a

desert island with no radio or TV

for

the

past decade knows that a cult of "Elvis

worship" has been growing steadily

since the singer's death. We have no de

sire, nor is there any need, to say any

thing against Elvis himself. He was a

groundbreaking entertainer with

im-

mense . alent, as well as a tragic figure.

No, it' is not Elvis Presley that con

cerns us, but the astonishing religion

that has developed with Elvis as a cult

figure of mythic proportions.

If you watched or read of the events

surrounding the commemoratiOtt of

Elvis's death, you know how seriously

his worshippers treat their religious

rites. We should not laugh at these

people; they are most earnest con

cerning their god. I saw a television

report on one middle-aged woman who

had driven

over

a thousand miles

in

a

Frank W. Aderholdt,

Jr.

Is a member of

the First Presbyterian Church (PCA)

ll

Clarksdale, Mississippi and a Jleased

minister In Covenant Presbytery.

van wi.th some friends to the shrine at

Gracelai1d. Her remark as they ap

proached the gates oh Elvis Presley

Boulevard was a rapturous squeal of

delight, "Oh, my god " She speaks

more truth than she realizes, I thought.

One man remarked during the·candle

light vigil around

the gtave, "There's so

much Elvis spirit around here that I

couldn't sleep if I wanted to." Hand

written testimonies such as "Elvis, you

liberated olll' souls" littered his grave.

One woman who had participated

in

the

vigil handed a holy relic to a man who

had

not been there: ·Stuck in a Bartles

and Jaymes wine cooler bottle, a candle

which had given light for the faithful

and proclaimed the holder's undying

love for "1be King."

The Elvis mania is merely one ex

treme symptom of a deadly spiritual

disease which is epidemic in our

s ~

ciety: The worship of man himself. It

is painfully obvious in the enter

tainment industry but

just as

clearly

seen in education,

in

every political

campaign, and even in the Church,

where musicians, sports figures, and

other assorted celebrities exalt worldly

achievement over godly character. When

men and women refuse to bow the knee

to Christ, the mily King of Kings and

Lord of Lords, they will always wor

ship some aspect f God's creation; and

often it will be another man or woman,

a · ellow creature made in the image of

God. The idol may e Elvis, an "ex

pert" in some field who holds sway

over you, a favorite name in the news

or the media, your spouse, your lover,

your children, or--most pitifully--even

you yourself. But the object of the

worShip is second in importance to the

sin which gives it birth, the most

serious of all sins: The willful rejection

of the living God, and the giving to

another the worship and service due to

Him alone.

The liturgy· of the Church of Elvis

was not the Olily great evidence of our

national worship of the creation on u -

day, August 16. This was

the

day

of

he

grand"New Age" orgy, the time of"ltar

monic convergence," of planetary align

ment, of the tJShering in of the Age of

Aquarius (or some such), o peace,

hope, and love

for

those who are really

enough

in tune

with the universal ele

ments to get with the program.

It was

the day during which some very sophis

ticated, educated people donned masks

and danced across the roofof the famed

Peabody Hotel in downtown Memphis

to link up psychically with thousands

f other New Age believers all over the

world.

What is this phenomenon known as

the "New Age Movement"' It is a

strange mixture of Eastern mysticism,

high technology, occultism, reincarna

tion, astrology,. self-help psychology,

and general media hype. Dr. Henry M.

Morris, famed creation scientist and

evangelical theologian, wrote this ex

cellent description of the New Age

Movement in a recent article from the

Institute for

Qeation

Research:

A strange religion has been coming

into prominence in recent years. Some

times mis-called the 'New Age Move

ment,' this phenomenon is in reality a

complex ofmodern science nd ancient

p .lganism, featuring systems theory,

computer science and mathematical phy

sics along with astrology, occultism,·

religious mysticism and nature wor-

ship. Ostensibly offered s a reaction

against the sterile materialism of

Western thought, 'his influential sys

tem appeals both to man's religious

Page2 4 T h e Counsel of Cbalcedon, March, 1988

 

nature

nd

his intellectual pride. Its goal

is to become th world's one religion.

Even though we

think

that

the

"New

Age Movement" has about as much

chance of becoming the world's one re

ligion as the Pope does of being elected

Moderator of the General Assembly of

the Presbyterian Church in America,

this new brand of pagan thought has

captured the minds of many and will

affect many more before it has run its

course. One devotee in Memphis

was

described as "a Presbyterian and astro

logy buff' (in that order?). Orthodox,

Biblical Christianity is of course ana

thema t the "New Agers." All reli

gious distinctives must give way to the

powerful surge of psychic forces, the

idea that "God" is simply the sum total

of all things in the universe. The un i

verse itself and the elements thereof-

not a personal God who created ll

things and rules them according to His

sovereign will--must be worshipped as

that which gives life and breath to ll

things.

Of course, this whole idea is obvious

ly self-contradictory. No combination

of space, time, chance, and impersonal

matter could ever give rise to a personal

universe full of meaning and purpose.

But the New Agers" continue never

theless t chant, meditate, and preach

the message of universal brotherhood

and the worship of literally everything

under the sun. as well as the sun itself.

These flower children with personal

computers, who push for world social

ism while spouting "pyramid power,"

consider the Gospel

of

Jesus Christ the

most offensive of religious views, the

greatest obstacle in their path to world ·

unity and a new age of perfect harmony.

At least they're right on one point

What is the common thread that

connects the worshippers of Elvis

weeping at Graceland Mansion and the

"New Agers" dancing

t the universal

rhythms of the elements on the roof of

the Peabody Hotel? Surely not educa

tion or income levels. Most Elvis wor

shippers seem to be less educated and

lower on the economic scale, while

many in the New Age Movement are

upper-middle class professionals with

graduate degrees. Their basic unity,

whether they would admit it

or not, is

this: A rejection of the one true, living,

creator God, His only-begotten Son

Jesus Christ, and the inerrant Word of

Scripture which is the only authority

for all men in all

places at all times.

Truly there is nothing new under the

sun. The ttrSt-century subjects of the

Roman Empire could say, "We have no

King but Caesar" (John 19 :15) and cry

out to King Herod, "The voice of a god

and not of a man " (Acts 12:22). And,

as J.A. Thompson remarked in his

masterful commentary on the book of

Jeremiah, the ancient Israelites were

fascinated by Baal worship and sought

after false prophets who "gave

themselves up t the leading of the

strange psychic powers within nature"

rather than to the Lord of the covenant;

the only true God.

When men reject the true God, they

will always want "to have their ears

tickled" nd will "accumulate for them

selvea teachers in accordance t their

desires; and will turn away their ears

from the truth, and will tum aside t

myths" (II Timothy 4:3,4). Is this not

precisely what we see in the worship of

Elvis, the elements, and other idols?

Men apart from Christ want gods after

their own devising, gods who will give

the stamp of approval t whatever sins

they love most

Note the words of

St Augustine,

writing of Rome in the early fifth

century A.D. This passage from his ·

masterpiece, The City of God, on

Roman paganism sounds like a com

mentary on our nation in the 1980's.

Describing the kind of society that :

those who worship various idols w ~ t ..

Augustine writes,

But the worshippers and lovers

o

those gods, whom they delighted to

imitate in their criminal wickedness, are

unconcerned about the utter corruption

of their .country. 'So long as it lasts,'

they say, 'so long as it enjoys material

prosperity, and the glory of victorious

war, or, better, the security of peace,

why should we worry? What concerns

us is that we should get richer all the

time, to have enough for extravagant

spending every day, eoough to keepour

inferiors in their place.

It

is all right

if

the poor serve the rich, so as to get

enough to eat and to enjoy a lazy life

under their patronage; while the rich

make us of he poor to ensure a crowd

of hangers-on to minister to their pride;

if he people applaud those who supply

them with pleasures rather than those

who offer salutary advice,· if f one

imposes disagreeable duties, or forbids

perverted delights;

if

ings are interested

not in the morality but the docility of

their subjects;

if

provinces are under

rulers who are regarded oot as directors

ofconduct but as controllers ofmaterial

things and providers of material satis

fa

ctions, and are treated with servile ear

instead of sincere respect. . .

I t is a

good thing to have imposing houses,

luxuriously furnished, where lavish

banquets can be held, where people can,

if they like, spend night and day in

debauchery, and eat and drink till they

are sick: to have the din of dancing

everywhere, and theatres full of evered

shouts of degenerate pleasure and of

every kind of cruel and degraded in

dulgence. Anyone who disapproves of

this kind of happiness should rank as a

public enemy: anyone whn attempts to

change it or get rid of it shnuld be

hustled out of hearing by the freedom

loving majority: he should be kicked

out, and removed from the land of the

living. We should reckon the true gods

to be those who see that the people get

this happiness and then preserve it for

them. Then let them be worshipped as

they wish, let them demand what shows

they like,

so

that they can enjoy them

with their devotees or a least, receive

them from their worshippers. ll the

gods have to do is to ensure that there

is no

threat to this happiness from

enemies, or plagues, or any other

disasters. ' (Book II, Chapter 20, Betten

son translation)

What shall we say to these things?

Christians certainly should not

be

para

noid, fearful of each new manifestation

of man's idolatrous nature as a threat t

our faith. or nothing in all the uni

verse is a threat to our faith; we are to

be "more than conquerors" through

Christ who loved us . We should not

fear man, but we should approach all

the i o ~ of man with Biblical realism.

The Counsel or Cbalccdon, March, 988 Page

25

 

Satart is a roaring ·lion, 8 o m e ~  

one

to devoui ([

Peter 5 8) . So We must.

put

on· the whole. armor. of ·God, . e ~

sisting die devil with ·all

of ·Gdd's

might so that he will flee from

us.

The

gates of hell cannot prevail against the

Church; when will we take this pro

mise seriously, and act accoidingly?

Today Christians have a golderi op'

p<>rtunity to bear wimess ·to olir. idola

trous generation. The Church is b e g ~ ; . .

ning to awake from Iter c e n t t i . r } ~ l o n g

slumber and stir once again

iri

obedi

ence to the Scriptures in every area of

life. We are slo'Y.'lY but steadily training

a new army of Christian spldiers who

will smash the idols

of

.men 'With tne

Gospel and the sword of tlle Spirit, the

Word of God. Our

witness will only be

as strong, though,

as

our lives are holy.

Is a godly patteni ofour own live$ clear

to everyone?

Are

there traces of idol

worship

·

to be seen

in

·our daiiy con

versation, the·plans we

make, ·acti

vities we pursue? Have our own talents ·

or abilities, the people arourid us, or the

things we possess become ··our refuge

and OlJ strength?

E a c ~  

(}f

us

still has

a

great .deal of repenting to·do and hOly

commitments to· make before God

will

again

pOur out .great .blessings upon our

land. ·

The u l ~ a t e victOry

i s

assured; let

us not become weary

in

well-doing .Let

it

be without controversy that· our in- ·

d i v i d u a l l i v e s ~ 9ur family lives, and the

corporate lives' of our chUn:henre con;.:

fanned to the mind ofChristas' revealed

in

His

law.

Let us proclaim the.Gaspel

of the love and grace of God in Christ

in

all its puricy; let us obey the law of

God .in all its fullness dOWii to the

minutest detail. Let us never r ~ t until

wt

h a ~ e ·a christian nation, in

which

~ · ] j v ~ g God is worshipPed and ad<ied

on evety street and every institUtion:

Let

us pray

imd

work for a nation in

which the idol worshippers will .have

the still, small voice w h e ~ ; ~ comparedto

the mighty strength of Christian testi

mony.

Is all this too much for you? Is 'your

faith

too

small to grasp the vict6ry that

must come? Have you been: intimidated

by the numbers and loud bellowings ·of

all the idol worshippers in our land?

'· .

.•

Remember tllat Christ iSY

rt

'His ·d.tone;

lte possesses .

all

ailthority ·heaven

and on

earth.

We pray in

. the.prayerJie

taught .us, ~ y · ~ i l l · · b e ~

done

· ·ear.th

aS itis· fn. heaven.: .

We

·cooelude With

stirring words of encouragement :frQm

the·ma§terful l i n e t e e n t b ~ n t u i y Chlllth

historian,·J H.

M ~ r l e d'Aubigne; in' his

biography.

of

·the · *

, s e v ~ ~ n t h  

-

centuty English

..

~ t a n : < > l d i ~ , and

statesman, Oliver·eromweli, . 'Aublgi)e

writes of Christian reVivlil in .

well's

time.

as a token'oH)P<i's :faithful

dealings ·with His •people· through 'the·

ages, a contitiual ·

prorni'se

..of

d 1 v ~  

ble8sing foll Jwing

the dedine of ~ t h : ·

:

''This Jcuih, of which Oliver. con-:

stituted himself the defefl ler, · cannoi

perish. tmay be covered and i d d ~ n . tit

orie

.time bj the arid

sandS

ofinfolel#j, ·

and at ~ { her by he t u m u l t u o ~ waves

of hUman. passions. or by . the Images;

si:uplices, ·atiil relics

of

superstition;--'

but it always revives, lifts ·up

its head,

and rtappears. The r e v e l a t i ~ I J S .of Qod·

are for all

times,

and they have ·all

ages the same 'eternal truth,.

the same

eternaZ. 'beauty. they are like those

foc/cs in the mi.dst of the ociciir., which;

the flood-tide covers, and which ·sdim

swallowed up forever.. but which-ilways

raise their tops again abQve Jhe waters,'

I ~

vain does one generation imagine

it

has hidden the everlastingiock o[Gud's

truth,· it ·wili ·become . visible In  

the

~ t There · s a coiliinuaz·alterantin;a

consiani · str-uggle . ~ t w e e n · iighi :

md

darkness,· bui·tl}e iightprev(i;ls tit last:

Ar uJ

€Yen s)w14ld ~ h e r e e o ~ : an age

which fancies it ·haS forever b u r i ~ 4

God's · truth,--shoulti . Qliy ·w)lcaidc

eruption of society: v ~ , . ; . , h e l m it with

the ashes of anbther Vesuvius• •. : . :. ;

Pompeii after seventeen . e n ~ u r i e s :ia.r

again 'restored to : he l , ~ g h , , ofdtry

· ts

houses and its t ~ m b s itspafaces and its

temples. its circus Q 1Jfi .

its ' amp

hi•

theatres. Can it thought t l i a t • t ~

truth and the life, ,which G ~ d hoi give '

n His' Gospel, will 'be less perenniiil

than the frail

t ~ n e m e n t s

ofmen1 There

ate perhaps. now.· sUbtefranean; fires

thteatelting

the

tr.u,lfoi God. A. da,ring

pantheistic and·. o c i i d i ~ l ..phifosophy

imagines that ·u hai

'flone

wii · lfe

crucified One. Ani1 i l o ~ l d it even. sofa'r

. '

succeed as to throw a little dust and kiva

o -n' 1te,

: ~ e r n a l

d o c t r i n ~ . ihe. Lord J/

H.e.aven w ll blow upon it, (lnd the dust

sha

be

$C(lttered and the lava be ~ l t

~ ( J J

; . < T h @

totector•

pages

230-31)

·'

.••

Should w ~ fear the

wornhip of Etvls,

the ·elementS,

9r any other idols ·b'y a:

n a t i o ~

bent on its ·own destruction? Qod

f()itid "Let him

who boasts', boast In

t h ~ tord" (I Corinthians 1:31), for (lUr

Qed llas promised that a day is coming

in:,

which "the earth will be full of the

knowledge of the Lord as the waters

c o v e r

  sea'' (IsaiaJt 11:9). · .

~ IEcfitor's ~ o t e -

Anyone interested

iri obtainiilg a copy · of Cromwell,

The

Protector,

by 1.H. Merle

<f:A.ubigne,

may have one free for a

$20J>d donation to The Counsel of

Chalced m.] . ·

. .

Join us in the

Worship of God

C f r i c a i l l c ~ c d k a n m

11re§bytt©ricamn

~ ~ ~ : l l J ~ C h

Sunday School - 9:45 a.m.

Worship Service - l0:55 a.m.

Sunday evening-5:55p.m.

Thursday Bible

Study-7:30p.m

For other opportunities

of worship and service,

call (404) 396-0965

The church is located

at 7901 Roberts Drive

(corner of Roberts

Spalding, one-half mile

south

o

the

Northridge

exit off highway 400)

Dunwoody, Georgia.

Page 26 ...... ...... ......._.-.._. . . · ,. -.· ;;..._The Counsel of Cbalcedon, March, t98s

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