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Artemis
Brian Mashburn
October 11, 2009
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Artemis
"There is danger that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess herself will be robbed of her divine majesty..." - Demetrius, in Acts 19, in reference to the growth of Christianity.
The great goddess Artemis boasted Ephesus as her home, within which was an incredible temple that housed her image that, as the story goes, dropped down from the heavens.
Among other things, Artemis was the goddess of fertility and reproduction. Her temple (one of the "7 Great Wonders of the Ancient World") had at least three groups that serviced people: a group of men who were Eunichs, a group of women who were virgins, and another group of temple slaves who were temple prostitutes.
Central to Artemis worship was a focus on sex.
But Artemis worship wasn't ALL about sex. Sex had entwined itself with the other aspects of Artemis worship, and Artemis worship had entwined itself with the other aspects of Ephesian social life, economy, and routines.
Sort of like sex has done today in America.
Think about it. Sex isn't just about sex. Sex has entwined itself into our society's social life (just head down to a local bar, or hang out with a group of random teenagers, or listen to the jokes we tell, emails we forward, and conversations we have), our economy (I wonder how much money the Sports Illustrated issue rakes in, or those billboard models make, or the porn industry represents?), and our routines (watch critically the TV shows, movies, and commercials you routinely watch).
Sex has become so entwined with our everyday life that much of it goes unnoticed by us. That's usually because even the most overt misuse of sex is usually not about sex.
Some use sex to (vainly) gratify a desire for true intimacy. Others use it (unsuccessfully) to satisfy loneliness. Still others misuse their sexuality (tragically) trying to build their self-worth. Some even see it (devastatingly) as a means of adventure.
Take a look at that list of legitimate human issues again. As hard as we try, our use of sex will never satisfy our need for intimacy, companionship, self-worth, or adventure. There is only One God that can do all that.
Let us purify ourselves, our lives, and our minds of this distracting, consuming idol, turn more purely to the One True God, and live.