The False god of Security

On Monday October 18, 2010 The "USA Today" published an article on the Op-Ed page that very accurately depicts this nation's obsession, or as the author puts it, worship of the false god of security. This is neither new or unusual as this idolatry expresses itself in a variety of ways. In the genesis of this blog I wrote about an experience in a local church in which many of the parishioners treated the US flag as an idol. (See my very early blog posts on April 19,2008 and August 2,2008 to get the complete details about this.)The first portion of the USA article, "We worship the God of security", is posted below. To read the entire article at the USA Today web site go to the link at the end of this post.

We worship the God of security
By Henry G. Brinton
We live in a culture of fear, and since 9/11 we have grown increasingly anxious about terrorism, pandemics, environmental disasters and nuclear annihilation — anything that can injure or kill us. Our method of coping is to make an idol out of any activity, agency or technology that will promise us security.
Sociologist Robert Wuthnow has written a new book Be Very Afraid that examines how we respond to the constant threats we see around us. His conclusion: Instead of freezing when they face a threat, Americans get busy and buy duct tape. Nothing frustrates us more than terrorism alerts such as the one recently issued by the U.S. State Department for travel to Europe. It warns us of potential danger but gives no specific guidance.
I believe that this idolatry of safety is a very unfaithful response. Whether one is Christian, Jewish or Muslim, the challenge of faith is to put trust in God, not in security precautions. Nor is it a sensible response. Atheists realize — right along with people of faith — that we cannot control every aspect of the world around us. Security is a false god.

To read the balance of this article go to: http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2010-10-18-column18_ST_N.htm