Fool’s gold idol trumps Bible at CPAC

By Brian Greenspun (contact)

Sunday, March 7, 2021 | 2 a.m.

Worshipping false idols — gods if you will.

My good friend Billy reminded me the other day that while he is not and never has been an expert on most things biblical, he was perplexed that there was not more of an uproar from last weekend’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) as it rolled out its mascot, a life-sized golden image of former President Donald Trump.

Two things became clear to me when Billy made his observation: 1) He does not spend any time on Twitter; and 2) His limited knowledge of most things biblical was spot on.

The Twitter world did have some fun with Trump-idolatry in the midst of what used to be a meeting of the far right reaches of political sanity. But that is about as far as the comparisons went between Trump and a golden calf from the time of Moses. The mainstream and most people over the age of 50 heard little about the matter.

As for the Bible, the great irony is that many of the folks who know the story by heart were the same people who committed the sin of idol adoration in Orlando, Fla. But given the sheer lunacy that has defined Florida of late, I suppose worshipping a man made of gold is not far out of the realm of reason.

In the Book of Exodus, Moses went up Mount Sinai to visit with God, who had just saved his people from bondage in Egypt. As slaves under Pharoah, the people of Israel had no hope and no future. Moses led them toward the Promised Land, which gave them purpose and reason to live. He went up the mountain to learn what was next in God’s plan.

I suppose Moses stayed too long, because the people grew restless and lost whatever little faith they had at the time. As a scared people are wont to do, they allowed themselves to be convinced by a man of glib tongue, Aaron, to melt all of their golden jewelry so he could fashion an idol for them to worship.

It was a golden calf. And the story about what Moses did upon his return to his people is the stuff from which Bible stories are made. Suffice to say, neither he nor God were happy that they spent so much time and effort saving the people from slavery only to have them turn their back on what was good in favor of something that had already proved its inability to provide them a way forward.

For sure, the so-called conservatives in Florida didn’t worship a golden calf in the image of Trump. I would say it was more like a horse, specifically the back end of that animal.

But it was made of gold. OK, fake gold. No surprise there.

So thousands of years earlier, a disheartened, unbelieving and hapless crowd of skeptics, naysayers and, yes, some deplorables thought that worshipping at the altar of a golden calf would solve the ills of the day. They were soon disabused of that notion in a most powerful and unforgettable way.

Fast forward to 2021, a hapless crowd of skeptics, naysayers and, yes, some deplorables, worshipped a faux-golden horse. And if you don’t see any connection between the two stories, consider this:

A Trump idolizer named Greg Abbott has put the people of Texas on a hot seat of pandemic proportions by fully opening his state and insisting that the people need not wear their face masks — all in the face of the COVID-19 scourge that by every account is not yet done with us.

If there is a biblical story to be told in today’s terms, it is that Gov. Abbott is a modern-day Aaron. He is playing on the peoples’ fears and ignorance to advance his own petty interests.

And if the Bible has the meaning so many people believe it does, then he risks the wrath of God as a result. Remember, this isn’t my story, I am only recounting what has been written.

And from what I have read, those who worship at the feet of false idols and horses’ asses are among the first to reap the whirlwind.

Brian Greenspun is editor, publisher and owner of the Sun.