Question:

I come from the land of a million gods( INDIA) where anywhere you look at any place it has the stench of idolatry.  While hindus feel it’s nothing short of a blessing to have so many gods, I wonder why God allows something like a pagan religion of Hinduism to still continue today like in the OT?  My country has over 80% Hindus, who just add Christ to the list  of their gods and worship him too. Doesn’t God’s wrath come upon any nation that sets up so many images and idols and worships them?  Why does He allow so many millions of people of my country to be blinded by this?

Answer:

I understand your revulsion to the blatant paganism and polytheism you live all around.  I have been in India twice and seen this first hand, as well as in Bali three times, where the idolatry is of the same sort.

The reason God allows this is that he gives us free will.  God does not force us to love him.  God opposes the proud (James 4:6), but he does not blitz them out of existence or force them to repent.  God hates idolatry and tells us to flee from it (1 Corinthians 10:14).  God tells us that those who trust in such idols as you find in India will be put to utter shame (Isaiah 42:17).  But God does not immediately destroy us for our idolatry and he does not force us to believe in him.   I believe that you should show compassion for the lovers of idols in your country because they are like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36-37).  You should feel what God feels, which is disgust at the idolatry, but you should also feel toward these people what God feels toward them, which is that you want to bring them back like the father did with his prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32).   Do your best to love these lovers of idols so that they can be won for the one true God.  Remember that the apostles wanted to call down fire on those who did not receive Jesus with respect, he rebuked them for their attitude.  I ask you to turn your impatience and frustration into action to help these folks to know Jesus.

John Oakes