What is religious syncretism?
Syncretism, as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary, is "the reconciliation or fusion of differing systems of belief." This is most evident in the areas of philosophy and religion, and usually results in a new teaching or belief system. Specifically, Syncretism in Religion is the combining of often mutually contradictory religions or belief systems, many times on the basis of political expediency, personal taste, or whim. As with many morally or theologically dubious notions, rationalizations for syncretism are easy to come by. Religious syncretism often takes place when foreign beliefs are introduced to an indigenous belief system and the teachings are blended. The new, heterogeneous religion then takes a shape of its own. This has been seen most clearly in Roman Catholic missionary history. Take, for example, the Roman Catholic Church's proselytizing of animistic South America. Threatened with the fear of death, natives were baptized into the church by the tens of thousands without any preaching of the Gospel whatsoever. Former temples were razed, with Catholic shrines and chapels built on the same spot. Natives were allowed to substitute praying to saints instead of gods of water, earth and air, and replaced their former idols with new images of the Roman Catholic Church. Yet, the animistic religion the natives had formerly practiced was never fully replaced—it was adapted into Catholic teachings, and this new belief system was allowed to flourish.
This is nothing new. It has been going on for a long time. We will see that the incident of the Golden calf was syncretism, not outright apostasy. In Exodus 19:8 the Israelites were certain that "All that the LORD hath spoken we will do." But, we read in Exodus 32: 1 – 8 what happened a few days after,
Exodus 32:1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
Exodus 32:2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
Exodus 32:3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
Exodus 32:4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Exodus 32:5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.
Exodus 32:6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
Exodus 32:7 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:
Exodus 32:8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Notice how quickly and easily the Israelites compromised truth in their worship. Notice how quickly they adopted the local culture and this turned them away from the true God. The passages (vss. 1, 4) in which the people are said to have asked Aaron to make gods for them and then praised these objects as the gods who brought them out of Egypt. But we also have verse 5, in which Aaron refers to the impending festival as "a festival to the Lord" (NIV), literally Yahweh. Taken together, all this suggests that at least some of the people thought that while still honoring Yahweh they could have gods similar to those of their neighbors. They would have this riotous pagan (sexual) orgy, but by dedicating it to the Lord, they would somehow make it acceptable to God. So, what we really observe in these passages is not so much open apostasy as it is syncretism. The Israelites and Jews struggled with this throughout their whole history. Other examples are the attraction the people and kings of ancient Israel had with the Asherahs, the Balls, and Baal worship.
More recently, religious syncretism can be seen in such religious systems as the New Age, Hinduism, Unitarianism, and Christian Science. These religions are a blending of multiple different belief systems, and are continually evolving as the philosophies of mankind rise and fall in popularity. According to some scholars, the Western evangelical church has had a fatal attraction to contemporary consumer culture and made a fateful alliance with it. The attractions are not unlike the one like ancient Israel's subtle entanglement with the local pagan cults. Many evangelical Christians, including many postmodern adherents, have seen the power of the gospel dwindle in their lives and their churches because they have gone whoring after the false gods of spiritual and material consumption. Just as the ancient worshipers at Jewish shrines could not differentiate between worship of the one God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and local fertility rites, contemporary Christians frequently fail to distinguish between worship as self-surrender and as self-gratification.
Because of how subtle it is, syncretism is very deceptive. You can think you are worshiping God, when in truth you are far from doing that. The problem with Syncretism is that it relies on the whim of man, not the standard of Scripture. A "Thus saith the Lord" is replaced with "I think…" or "I believe…" We adopt things that seem harmless and even useful, but are not according to God's will. These things eventually open the door to more syncretism, thus leading farther from the truth. We hear: "there is nothing wrong with that," "it is just a different style," "a little bit will not hurt," "you are just closed minded," or, "you are old fashion." Sadly, God is never consulted about what He prefers and pleases Him. Perhaps the greatest evidence that syncretism is not of God, is that those who participate in it are not converted. If anything syncretism encourages and rationalizes Sin, while claiming closeness to God. Oh, that we allow the Lord to open our eyes. Only, God can protect us from the trap of syncretism. Will we allow Him?
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Raul Diaz
www.wolfsoath.com
