Pergamum

Pergamum was a city full of idols. You could worship the god said to rule over other gods, the goddess of knowledge and wisdom, the god of pleasure and entertainment, or the god of health and wellness. This was the context of the church at Pergamum that Jesus wrote to. Unlike Ephesus, this church hadn't responded to the heresy and idolatry around it with hatred, but acceptance. Jesus' call is to preach the Gospel against their heresy and sin, speaking truth in love. In our day, we still worship the same idols and believe the same lies (though maybe not by the same names) and we, too, live in a context of immense plurality and "tolerance." What is Jesus' call to us? How do we respond today to the pluralism and "tolerance" our culture calls us to uphold?