Chizuk Emunah (Pt 2) Under the Microscope: Chapter 65

Acts 8:9, 10, 11, "There was a certain man called Simon, which before time in the same city, used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one, to whom they all gave heed from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God, and to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries."

In days when credulity and superstition were rife, and sorceresses were deemed to be inspired messengers of the Almighty, it was easy to impress a belief that the son of a woman was an incarnate deity, but in an age, when sorcery is discredited, and superstition discouraged, it is strange that such a belief should be inculcated, and that men should attempt to convert the Jews to the inconsistent doctrines that still prevail, that Jesus was a God on earth.

 Acts 8 includes the story of Simon the sorcerer. Here is the story in its entirety:

But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.

Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans. (Acts 8:9-25)

There are several things to notice. Nobody believed that Simon was a god. They believed that he had power given by the gods, but not in Simon's own divinity. After meeting the apostles, Simon and his followers all became baptized Christians. Simon himself was not content with this, and asked the apostles to give him the miracle-working power that he saw them use. Peter saw that Simon's motives were not pure, but that he was asking for this power in order to profit off of it. Peter rebuked Simon, who repented of his wickedness.

There is an important lesson here. Preaching is not to be used for self-enrichment. Even if this self-enrichment ends up benefiting others, it is still wrong to do. Compare Simon to modern-day televangelists like Creflo Dollar, who ran a fundraising campaign to buy a $65 million dollar private jet. Or consider the disgraced minister Peter Popoff, whose ministry of fake miracles earned him a fortune.

Troki's argument here is a non-sequitur. Roman religion is composed of folk customs which were then instituted as national practices. Roman religion had no dogmas, no claims of revelation from the gods, and no claims as to what did or did not happen in history. In other words, Roman religion was not founded on national revelation or on personal revelation. Roman religion was entirely preoccupied with orthopraxis, or right practice.

Romans did speculate as to why they followed their customs, and most believed that the world was filled with more gods than anyone could count. These gods had very limited domains of power, and foreign lands were considered under the control of a whole different set of foreign gods. Worship and sacrifice to these gods was not considered a kind of relationship or love, but more like a bribe. Give the gods their due so they won't inflict misfortune upon you. It reminds me of a Mafia protection racket.

Roman religion had no tales of gods becoming incarnate and being born of a human mother. There are stories in Greek mythology of gods copulating with human women and conceiving demi-gods. At the time of the New Testament, there was exactly one story in Roman religion about a human achieving divine status: Ceasar Augustus was granted divinity upon his death, as his soul was assumed into heaven during his funeral pyre.

The view of God advocated by early Christianity has next to nothing in common with Roman religion. In this theology, the one uncreated creator God, who is sovereign over all, entered the world through a human body. He then sought to enter a personal and loving relationship with humanity, but also demanded exclusive allegiance, and instituted a creedal belief system. None of these views were anywhere to be found in the religion of the Romans.