Life / Religion / Philosophy / Science / Polictics

Tag: Jesus Christ

  • Whose Justice Is It Anyway?

    I know a lot of Old Testament Christians.  You know what I am referring to when I say an Old Testament Christian, right?  An Old Testament Christian is one who doesn’t know how to rightly balance The Law and Grace.  The two concepts have never been rightly defined and rightly applied within their own lives.  An Old Testament Christian is one who declares “Kill them all and let God sort them out!” at the most extreme, and those that cry “Good!  I hope they suffer!” at the least extreme.  And to what end?  Do they think their own perceived injuries will be vindicated by the death or suffering of the unrighteous?  Of course they won’t.  If they are looking for justice here on Earth, they are looking in the wrong place.

    A lot of these Old Testament Christians will point out that God is a Just and Holy God and that he cannot stand the wicked to be in his presence.  They are quick to point to passages like Psalm 58:9-11 but then do not believe that Romans 3:9-11 somehow refers to them.  And if there are none righteous (and the passage says “no, not one“) then who is there to rejoice at the vengeance of the wicked?

    And it is not just Christians that fall into the trap of proclaiming their justice to be the definitive balance between right and wrong.  Here in Baltimore, Maryland this week there were protests over the Freddie Gray incident similar to others held around the United States of America the last several months.  A common rallying theme heard at such protests is “What do we want?  Justice!  When do we want it?  Now!” and all the while the vast, vast majority of those that pick up that cry have never received injury from those they seek vengeance from, nor will they ever receive injury within their lifetimes.  And yet they still demand justice.

    Everyone wants Justice.  The problem is, everyone wants their justice (or justice as they perceive it).  When it comes to justice for you or for me or for anyone else, only they are able to judge rightly.  Only they have the right sensibilities to correctly apply justice and to extract the exact amount of payment necessary for the crime.  We all stand around and judge one another seeking justice for those perceived injuries we feel we have received in our lives.

    I have had the sheer joy and pleasure of hearing Dr. Ravi Zacharias speak on several occasions.  One of the most profound things I have ever heard him proclaim (and there have been many) is “If there is no God it makes a mockery of justice“.  And it is true.  Where is the justice for those that died in the Nepal Earthquake?  Where is the justice for those wrongfully persecuted and imprisoned?  Where is the justice for those that are born into impoverished and violent conditions?  Any Atheist who holds to a model of justice in this world is a fool.  Their own model should tell them that the chaos within the system will never allow it to be achieved.  And if it were, Whose Justice Would It Be Anyways?  Yours?  Mine?  Or theirs?  I can certainly assure you it will never be “Ours”.

    Allow me to illustrate the point this way.  Here in the United States we have an idiom (a saying) that goes “You can’t fight City Hall“.  It is a way of saying that you are going to receive an injustice whether you want it or not and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.  I had an Atheist (self acknowledged) boss once tell me (in almost the exact same breath) that (a) I couldn’t fight city hall.  And (b) that he was the fairest boss in the entire company.  And he didn’t even realize the irony of what he was saying when he said it.  The fact is, he was saying that any justice other than his did not matter and since he was the most just (fair) it didn’t matter that you couldn’t fight it because it was totally righteous to begin with.  Because that is exactly what those two sentences put together mean.  He also didn’t realize that just the mere statement of his own self acknowledgement of being the “most fair“, makes him not fair.

    No, there is no Justice here in this life.  Oh, there are pockets of Justice here and there.  There are times when things seem right and just.  But there are far more times when we want to cry out for justice and it seems fleeting or escapes us.

    What then should our response be here in this life?  My Old Testament friends would point out that we should be like God (at least that is what they mean to say).  But I would point out that we are to be like Jesus Christ.  One might argue that Jesus Christ IS God, and you will get no argument from me on that point.  But Jesus Christ is the expression of God in the form of man (see Philippians 2:7-9) and is the example on how we are to be.  There are some traits of God we will never possess, nor should we, for he alone is God.  But we are to be like Jesus Christ.

    And what was Jesus Christ like?  Well consider the time when he was in the Temple teaching (pretty much minding his own business) found in John 8:2-11.  When a woman caught in the very act of adultery (stop and think of the sheer embarrassment of that for a moment) was brought before Jesus Christ, what was his response?  It is found in verse 11, where he says “Neither do I condemn thee:“.  If the God of Heaven and Earth stands before a woman caught in the very act of adultery (which is a violation of the law) and says to her that he does not condemn her, then who are we to seek our irrelevant justice here on Earth?  Please note the last part of Jesus’ sentence to the woman, “go, and sin no more“.  He said “sin no more“.  Jesus Christ recognized that she had sinned.  He realized that she was in the wrong.  And yet there was no condemnation.

    That is Grace.  That is God’s Grace.  And that is Grace as only God can deliver it.

    Perhaps the world would be a slightly better place if we were to all step back and consider our injustices, and before we seek justice or vengeance ask ourselves the question: Whose Justice Is It Anyway?

  • The Greatest Question Of All Time …

    Here it is, Easter of 2015, or Resurrection Sunday.  Many cultures around the world celebrate Easter.  Here in the U.S.A. Easter egg hunts, as well as chocolate bunnies are a great tradition.

    Over the years (especially the last five or six), I’ve had various Theists (specifically those of the Christian persuasion) come to me and inquire as to whether or not I thought Easter Egg hunts were a good idea.  And I would always ask “Why wouldn’t they be?”  They are children, hunting colorful eggs, some hidden in plain sight, and filling baskets with joy and laughter.  What could possibly be wrong with that?

    It is amazing to me the number of Christians that don’t have a problem with Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy, but the Easter Bunny is of a questionable nature for some reason.  I suppose if you wanted to separate the Easter Egg Hunts from the Church (that is not hold them on Church property), that would be OK.  But I’ve known many churches that have all kinds of secular programs from bingo, to a 1950’s Ice Cream parlor, to even a Halloween Haunted House held on Church grounds.  I am reminded that on a couple of occasions, two great men of God told me that (1) Not everyone is called to be a Saint Francis of Assisi, and (2) God never intended for Christians NOT to have fun.

    Saint Francis of Assisi believed that in order to get close to God he needed to be devoid of all worldly possessions and wait on God to provide for him. But my mentor was saying God hasn’t called everyone to take all their worldly possessions and give them to the poor.  You need look no further than Job to understand that God desires to bless his children greatly.  God also created us to have fun.  He never intended for life to be dull and boring.  And somehow I think that the laughter of little children as they inquisitively run around looking for colorful eggs, warms the heart of God.

    My point here is that we spend all of our time worrying about the less important questions rather than THE important question.  We can have all the holier-than-thou discussions in the world, (i.e. I am holier than you are because I don’t taint Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Christ, with Santa Claus) but unless we have dealt with the MOST IMPORTANT question, we’ve become sidetracked and done ourselves a great disservice.

    And what is the MOST IMPORTANT question you will ever deal with in your life?  It is “Who is the person of Jesus Christ of Nazareth to you?”

    Because if he is who he said he was, and if he did what history has recorded he did, and if the eye-witness accounts are correct, he could make the greatest difference to you for all of eternity.

    And of all the claims, of all the acts, of all the accounts recorded of Jesus Christ, the most important one to consider is of him having DIED on the Cross and then having Risen from the dead on the third day.

    Why?  Because surly only God has the authority over life and death, and if he demonstrated such, then the claims he made must be true and real and that would indeed have the greatest impact on all people who ever have lived, who are alive today, and who ever will live.

    The Bible claims that Jesus Christ died on the Cross (John 19:33-35).  The record clearly states that the Roman Soldiers found Jesus Christ to have been dead upon the Cross.  Their JOB was to see that the prisoners were executed.  No Roman Soldier would have risked their own life and reputation by not carrying out their duty.  Roman Soldiers carried out their duties loyally and upon pain of death.  There were witnesses standing around.  John himself records the fact that he was one of those witnesses.  There could have been no chance whatsoever of a cover up or a conspiracy.  The Roman Soldiers came to the Cross containing the body of Jesus Christ and found him to be dead.  And to confirm that fact to themselves, one of them took a spear and ran him through the side.  Blood and water came out, which most medical professionals acknowledge as a clear sign of death.  So the Roman Soldiers found him to be dead, and pierced his side with a spear to confirm that fact, which resulted in an observation that did confirm that fact for them, and the witnesses who saw this also agreed that Jesus Christ was indeed dead upon the Cross.

    Now I realize there are those today who have analyzed this scenario to the extreme.  They have theories that Jesus Christ was not really dead, just near dead.  That he awoke within the tomb and that he was nurtured back to health and that he died later in life.  But all of those theories have one problem, they don’t match the historical record.  They are just theories that are grounded in what people want to believe and not what the facts and the eye witness accounts have to say.  If we are to go with what the historical record says, and what we know to be the facts, we are left to conclude unequivocally that Jesus Christ did indeed die on the Cross and that he was buried within the tomb.

    But did Jesus Christ actually leave the tomb, of his own free will, alive and well?  Dr. Lon Solomon, Senior Pastor at McLean Bible Church in McLean, Virginia has taught somewhat extensively on this subject.  And in this sermon he examines the facts as determined from the historical record.  One is left to conclude that either YES, Jesus Christ did rise from the dead and leave the tomb as the historical account relates, or else the story is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated upon the human race.

    The facts in the case are that Jesus Christ did rise from the dead.  He did fulfil prophesies that were statistically impossible to fulfil, and his claims of being the Son of God were, and are, true and accurate.  Jesus Christ is indeed, God in the flesh and the Savior to all mankind.

    So we can sit around and argue about who is holier than whom on this Easter Sunday, debating on whether or not we should or should not allow our children to enjoy a few colorful eggs and some chocolate bunnies, OR we can deal with the Greatest Question of All Time – Who is Jesus Christ to Me?

    My answer is: He is the Son of God, My Lord and my Savior, the most pivotal figure in all of history.  But you will have to answer that question for yourself.  I only pray that you give it the due consideration that it deserves.

  • Caught My Attention …

    I was definitely NOT thinking about blogging this today – but I was double blind sided on the way home and I have not been able to get it off my mind since.

    What was I blind sided by?  Car emblems.  You know, those magnetic, chrome, cute and witty, little flashy things people like to stick all over their cars (but mainly on the trunk or rear bumper).

    So here I am on my way home and a warning light on my dash tells me I need gas.  So I head to the gas station, but as I get into the turn lane to turn into the station, another car pulls in front of me.  And that is when I noticed it, the emblem on the back.  This one:

    Evolve_Fish

     

     

     

    And I immediately thought, that is what the driver of that car should do, evolve.  Evolve into a caring, thinking, rational human being.  But perhaps I was being a little harsh.  I need to exercise some grace.

    So I turned into the station and pulled up to the pump, but before I could get out of the car, I noticed the car at the pump in front of me also had a car emblem on the back hatch of the vehicle.  This one:

    Darwin_Fish

     

     

     

     

     

    Now our area of the city has about 22,000 residents according to the 2010 census, and only a few of those actually have emblems on their vehicles.  Or to state that a little more accurately, it has been my observation, driving around town, that a small percentage of the vehicles have emblems on them (I contend that my Car/Emblem observation is at least as accurate as Global Climate Change Observations – probably much more so).

    And my not-so-scientific, really rough estimate, totally unregulated observations (Hey!  Exactly like the Global Climate Change data!) have detected that even fewer of the emblems that are on vehicles, are actually emblems promoting Evolution.  But those apparently do.

    And seeing these back-to-back, in the span of just a few minutes, on two totally different vehicles, of which my keen Global Climate Change like data collection abilities discerned had absolutely nothing to do with each other, over powered my attention and stuck with me all the way home and literally forced me to blog about them tonight (OK, so maybe that last part is a slight exaggeration, but trust me, those emblems have been a really, really strong image in my mind this evening).

    So here is the thing about those particular icons.  It is not that I don’t want people to have free speech, I do.  It is not that I don’t think that people shouldn’t be able to express themselves though different means, I do.  It is not even that I am offended or put off by people that drive around with those emblems on their vehicles, I am not.

    What is of amazement to me about people that drive around with those particular emblems on their vehicles is that they are not true to their ideals and they probably don’t even know it.

    Consider that the vast majority of folks that drive around with those emblems on their vehicles are probably not Scientist, Teachers, or Engineers.  I do not know either of the individuals driving the vehicles I found myself behind this afternoon.  And I may be totally wrong, but I would guess that neither one of them could properly define evolution or articulate Darwin’s theories.  But even if I am wrong about those two individuals, it is almost a sure thing that the vast majority of folks that have those on their vehicles could not properly and accurately describe the Science and/or Philosophy they represent.

    What is worse, the individuals most likely could not logically step through the conception of either of those two emblems.  And that is where the real tragedy comes in.

    Think about it.  What is the base foundation of both emblems?  An outline of a fish.  The same fish outline that has been used as a Christian symbol for hundreds of years.  Early Christians may have co-opted the symbol from the use of the day, but that use has died out and is no longer recognized today.  And I doubt that the pagan use of the symbol to represent fertility drew its roots from what the current atheistic crowd is attempting to use it for.

    Rather early Christians transformed the use of the fish symbol and applied meaning drawn directly from their faith: Matthew 4:18 – 20.  They transformed the symbol for their own use and most likely did not denigrate or ridicule its previous use.

    But here, in the forms used today, we have the symbol used to clearly demean, ridicule, poke fun at, or judge harshly, the currently accepted meaning as we know it.

    And it is targeted as well.  It is targeted at one particular group, one particular religion.  While you will find Jewish religious symbols, Muslim religious symbols, Hindu religious symbols, Buddhist religious symbols, etc. altered in a humorous or sharply biting way, you will not see those to the extent of the Christian fish nor in this particular form.  No, these are used in a form and to an extent as to make them bigoted and prejudiced.

    Now you may find it shocking that I would draw that conclusion, but clearly, the fabrication of the evolutionary folks is to:

    (1) Co-opt the symbol.  They start with the base Christian symbol.  One might ask why?  Can they not come up with a symbol of their own?  Can they not convey their message across a wide audience through their own branding?  If not, why not?

    (2) Denigrate and ridicule the symbol.  They clearly alter the symbol in such a way as to mock, or look down upon the previous use (and users) of the symbol.  The symbol they use is a mightier than thou symbol.  It is a form meant to shame the use from which they co-opted it.  One might ask the question: Can they not convey their message in a reasonable, logical, form without stooping to ridicule and mockery?  (That is a rhetorical question).

    (3) Target their use of the symbol.  As I mentioned, while you can find some example of other religious symbols altered in similar manners meant to mock, they are very few and far between and you will hardly ever find this particular symbol modification amongst other groups.  It is targeted in a laser like focus on Christians.  Not Jews, or Muslims, or Buddhists, or Hindus, etc.  But Christians are the ones that specifically bear the brunt of their ridicule.

    Obviously that is utterly intolerant of anyone’s belief other than their own.  Thus bigoted.  Thus I stand by my conclusion.

    Oh, but wait-a-minute.  Christians are bigoted as well, right?

    Well, not necessarily in the use of the symbol.  First of all, Christians haven’t denigrated the symbol for their own use and with the purpose of ridicule of others.  Sure, Christians may wear their Faith on their sleeve, but remember, in their World View, people are going to die and spend eternity in hell.  And since they care about their fellow man, they need to share the good news (Gospel) with others.

    Contrast that with the evolutionary viewpoint.  One might ask why they even care (obviously they don’t care when it comes to Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, etc.)?  Why in the world would an evolutionist care about the fish symbol on a Christians car?

    In their world view there is no heaven, and there is no hell.  It shouldn’t matter what others think, they are just going to die and go away.  What is it that simply consumes them about the Christian World View and no other?

    Secondly, Christians do not use the symbol in a mocking or a way meant to ridicule others.  They did not denigrate the symbol in any way shape or form.  Others seeing the Christian use of the symbol would not be offended (reference the first century use of the symbol).  They do use the symbol to identify themselves as members of a particular group (Christians) and to identify themselves to other members of that same group.

    And once again, one might ask the question as to why this bothers the evolutionary crowd so much?  Why should they even care?  They are all going to pass away one day and (according to their World View) never, ever know the difference one way or the other.  Why they will probably be forgotten in a couple of hundred years and not even those left will care one way or the other as to the impacts of the symbol use.

    One form and use of the Christian fish symbol is out of love, while the other form is out of hate.  And don’t tell me it is a form of education or correction.  Because if that is the way you educate, I certainly don’t want what you are teaching (and neither will most other people as well).

    Perhaps if we all considered the symbols in our lives a little more carefully, the ones that bring us together, and the ones meant to divide, and we were all a little more tolerant of each others symbols, then we might have a little better communication and perhaps a little more understanding in our world today.

  • Who Is Your Imaginary Friend?

    I’d like to stay with the comment of the individual who posted on Ken Ham’s FaceBook page (See yesterdays blog: MURDERER OR NOT?).  Specifically the end of his comment:

    “It saddens me that an adult could believe such things as fact. You are robbing your children of their lives and wonder by filling every unknown with an imaginary friend. Indoctrination is abuse.”

    I am extremely amused whenever I hear this argument from individuals who simply want to force their version of reality upon me.  It is not that they want to have an honest conversation about Life, Religion, Politics, Science, or Philosophy, rather they simply want to shut down any opposing point of view or any theory that doesn’t match their particular world view.

    So what saddens me is that there are adults that actually believe (a) The U.S. did not successfully land men on the moon and return them safely rather it was all a hoax.  (b) That aliens crashed into the Earth at Area 51 or Roswell NM and the U.S. Military is keeping it a secret.  (c) That the U.S. Government was involved in bringing down the World Trade Centers on 9/11/2001.  (d) That this doll in Key West is actually possessed by evil spirits.  (e) That some Government Agency knows more about you than your closest friend or relative.  (f) Almost any of the wacky stories that I am entertained by nightly on Coast To Coast AM.  (g) That Cuba is a much better place to be than America because of their healthcare.  (h) Anything at all Michael Moore says.  (i) That President Barrack Hussein Obama has a high approval rating.  I could literally go on and on and on.

    I certainly do not know the individual who posted on Ken’s FaceBook page, but I do know other individuals who have made the same ridiculous statement.  And the vast majority of the other individuals I know only care about one fantasy world and one only.  And that is the one they believe I live in.

    I am willing to bet whatever fortune I do not have that this particular individual has no problem whatsoever with (a) Santa Clause.  (b) Easter Bunny.  (c) Tooth Fairy.  (d) Jack Frost.  (e) Cupid.  (f) Loch Ness Monster.  (g) Big Foot.  (h) Swamp Thing.  (i) Paul Bunyan and Babe.  (j) Teddy Bears.  (k) Any imaginary childhood friend other than a God.

    Is it not somewhat interesting that the only imaginary friend/fairy tale these people want to stamp out is the one labeled Christianity?  All the rest are perfectly fine.  Just not this one.

    And he seemingly wants to stamp it out for the children.  Why we are robbing the children of their very lives and wonder by propagating some imaginary friend on them (yes, a fairy tale).  What our FaceBook posting friend never considers is that I am obviously a victim also.  I must have had my life and wonder robbed as a young child.  Balderdash!  Is it not of some wonder that every child that has ever succumbed to the allure of Santa Clause eventually outgrows it.  I have many friends who were brought up in the Church who haven’t set foot in one in years.  I have friends whose parents are Christian and yet they profess to be atheist.  And I also have friends whose parents are anything but Christian and yet they profess Jesus Christ.  It would seem that there is this one imaginary friend who stretches across the boundaries of a lifetime, and that is decided upon on a case by case basis with each person making an individual choice.  Our FaceBook posting friend conveniently ignores all the evidence and inserts his own world view in order to interpret the data as he sees fit.

    Why would any right thinking individual outgrow Santa Clause, yet not outgrow the person of Jesus Christ?  Why is Santa Clause such a good and healthy imaginary friend and fantasy, yet the person of Jesus Christ is not?  Why is there one particular person, one particular set of followers, and one particular book that is so threatening to people?

    And I have a question for our FaceBook poster.  After removing prayer from schools, the study of creation from the classroom, and Nativity scenes as a form of Christmas decoration,  who in the world is he afraid of?  It is not Christians who are pushing their religion on the simple minded as we our led to believe, rather it is the strong minded (I might say close minded) who are attempting to rip Christianity from the fabric of our very lives.

    Indeed, a little imagination is a good thing.  But when I start defending my imaginary friend, one must conclude that that I am either delusional or else there is more to my imaginary friend than meets the eye.

    I am a huge admirer of Dr. Ravi Zacharias.  I was privileged to be at a session once where he was answering questions and I heard him say “It’s my fantasy and I’m perfectly happy with it, so leave me alone”.  Indeed, the one fantasy that no one wants to leave alone, is Christianity.

    My world view has an answer for this.  It says we wrestle, not with flesh and blood, but with principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  What is strange is that those that would shut down my world view would even care.

    So my  friend is more than just imaginary.  He is quite real.  His name is Jesus Christ and he is the Son of the Most High God.  Who is yours?