What do people really believe?

What do people really believe? That’s an interesting question for us today, as generally within any congregation there are a whole host of different beliefs. If it is not so easy to say what people believe now, what can we know about the past, particularly in Biblical times? This is a vital question, as the New Testament was written for ordinary people who had their own sets of beliefs, and we need to understand that context in order to get the most out of the Biblical texts.

 

If I turn the question around and ask what future generations might understand about today, then we would probably say they would look at the evidence available that has survived. That evidence historically has tended to be the great works of literature, art, architecture and science, and for today we would probably get a confusing mix of aggressive secularity and fading Christian tradition. But is that what ordinary people today really think?

 

Well for many people, much of the secular agenda and the Christian tradition just don’t touch their reality. Instead we see a growing ‘spiritual’ dimension that is fluid but none the less very real. As one girl said to me on the streets on a very late Saturday night, ‘I’m not sure about God, but I do believe in spirits, ghosts and angels’. She was voicing her own understanding that there was something more than mere physical life, often based on experiences that are difficult to talk about in current culture but, none the less, were very real to her.

 

Looking back to the times of the Bible, what did people believe then? Well the evidence points to a pantheon of multiple gods if you were in the Greco-Roman world or for the Jewish world the monotheism of Yahweh. We have those stories even today, and the architecture of the great temples bears witness to those beliefs. And of course we have the remains of the temple in Jerusalem, the Old Testament and many other writings to point to the Hebrew world view at the time. But what did the ordinary people really think? What was the context that Paul was writing into for the small churches around Ephesus?

 

There is now growing evidence from archeology that there was another ‘spiritual world’ that most people related to that was somehow between their physical lives and the big affairs of the Gods. This can be loosely termed the ‘Spiritual Realms’. Small pots containing curses, spells, charms, fetishes and protective words have been found in the area, that are also similar to those found in northern Egypt from the same time. They point to ordinary people’s fear of the ‘spiritual realm’ that is full of spirits, many that are malevolent and from which protection is needed. The world of the Gods was a long way away from their everyday lives.

 

We know that Diana worship was very powerful in the Ephesian region. The book of Acts (Chapter 19) shows that the threat of Christianity to the silversmiths was such that they rioted to protect their trade. Recent evidence  cited by Clinton Arnold in his book ‘Ephesians: Power and Magic’ indicates that this was only part of their belief system. Under the great Gods such as Artemis/Diana there were layers of lesser powers that affected everyday life. The fear of this realm was palpable and very real. Disaster could come on you if you couldn’t in some way make sense of this realm and protect yourself from it and all its many layers of authorities and powers. However, it could also be manipulated to get what you wanted, and much of that was far from pure. Look at Chapter 4 and verses 17 - 19.

 

Now look how often the terms ‘heavenly realms’ and ‘spiritual powers and authorities’ or similar such phrases occur in the letter – Chapter 1.3, 20, 21, Chapter 2.6, Chapter 3.10, Chapter 4. 10 In fact the first three chapters major on the power of Christ that is immensely more than anything else, and Paul’s prayer is focused on strengthening the Christians to understand, to have wisdom, that they may have the power to stand firm in Christ. Just read the last two verses of Chapter 3 verses 20 and 21. Why fear any of that stuff out there?

 

If this is the ordinary person’s view, then can it still be found today? And the answer is very much yes. My travels in Africa point to a very similar view. In Rwanda, Imana (God) is essentially good, but very far removed from everyday life. It is the world of the spirits, demons and ghosts of the ancestors that has every day power and is the reason for much fear. The experience of these powers is very real, and many times I have seen the name of Christ freeing people from these powers of the spiritual realms.

 

Is not this also at the root of what is happening today in our culture, but we are often not so aware of it within the churches? The concept of God seems remote and unreal to most people, but in post-modernity there is the rediscovery of spiritual reality, and people are filling the void between everyday life and this questionable God with ‘spirits’ of various types. It seems that this is what humans naturally do. God is pushed away, but the spiritual life still has to be managed.

 

These words are few and much more could be said, but to finish read Ephesians 6. 10 – 20 for Paul’s final words into this spiritual soup of powers and spirits. Also reflect how we as Christians often allow other things to come in-between ourselves and God’s love. We all fall short but we also have this wonderful letter to bring us back to intimacy with Christ.

 

By: Revd. Paul Daltry