The Idols We Keep: Salisbury to Stonehenge
While the 'light breakfast' deposited outside our door of our Travelodge room may not have been impressive (cereal flakes with UHT milk from Ireland and a cookie), it was good to see Fair Trade coffee and sugar was used. Having recently flown across the Atlantic in 7 hours contrasted to the 5 weeks it took my Dow ancestors to come across by ship in the 1820s, it was a reminder how tightly interconnected the planet is today, and how our actions (together) do affect farmers and economies in distant countries.
My morning reading included a somber reminder from Psalm 106 of our fallen human tendency to get off-track in what we make sacrifices for / of: “At Horeb they made a calf and worshiped an idol cast from metal...They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was desecrated by their blood.” (Ps 106:19, 36-38)
Our first main historic outing of the day was the impressive cathedral at Salisbury, sporting the tallest wooden spire in Britain at 404 feet. Our tour guide was friendly and full of interesting details. However viewing the twisting pillars, eroded sandstone statues, and crumbling walls, one cannot help but wonder if the monument conservation funding of £15,000 per year is the best way to spend the money. When does a religious building outlive its usefulness and become simply a costly monument? Would the needs of local Christians and the community be better met if such an antique structure were replace with a modern, eco-friendly one? When do our religious edifices stop being a facility or tool, and become an idol that robs money from mission and worship more suited to God's Kingdom?
Our afternoon concluded with a stop at Stonehenge, the massive stones of which force one to wonder what celebrations were conducted here. 'Henge' means 'gallows', and an altar is a central feature, so the Psalm's warning against idolatry seemed particularly apt. The structure of the 'gallows' reminded me of the butchering props constructed by deer and moose hunters to deal with their kills. One can only hope a minimum of human sacrifice was carried out at such a garish place. How easy is it for an entire society to become caught up in idolatry that victimizes the innocent? Devilish power then is wielded by those called priests.
[click for PHOTOS]
[click for Video of world's oldest working clock at Salisbury]
[click for Video of quick pan of Stonehenge]