Fuzzy Jesus

America is called a "christian nation" by the world, but I do not think it is Christian in the true sense of the word. The problem is two pronged, it is moral and theological. I had a friend who flat out rejected all of the central doctrines of Christianity, but still considered himself a Christian because he accepted the "Golden Rule" taught in the Bible. My wife has a Muslim friend who claims to be a christian as well as a muslim, but denied that Jesus was even crucified or resurrected.

The current trend in some denominations is blurring the definition further. You can be a practicing homosexual and not only be a christian, but be ordained as a minister in that particular denomination, e.g. united church of christ, anglican, and epicopalian. Jesus and Christianity are being defined out of meaning. Jesus is becomming a chameleon in american society; a generic messiah that conforms to anyone's personal style. In a society that is embracing subjective reality, a concrete first century Jesus is to narrow and claims too much.

The Christian Jesus makes sacrificial claims on our lives. We are commanded to "take up our cross" and follow Jesus. We do not get to choose our path, the path has been blazed by the true and living Jesus. There are no other messiahs;there are no other "true" gods;there are no other absolute moral standards. When Jesus conforms to the culture he is no longer the way,the truth, and the life, but a false anti-christ proclaimed by the blind. The salt loses its saltiness and is trampled under the foot of society.

Christians do not have the luxury of a one size fits all religion. The message is"surrender or die". God's judgement looms over the world, but his love and truth came into it. If this love and truth are refused and redefined, there is nothing left but judgement. Love and truth are an indispensible unity. You cannot have true love without truth, and truth without love would leave us hopeless. The homosexual may not be able to change what he feels, but they must submit their passions to Christ or be judged. The muslim may want to praise Jesus as a prophet, but if they reject him as Lord, they should reject him all together.

TOTT

On Fire

Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Light a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life."

Do you ever get tired of the mundane in Christianity? It seems that it has been cultural zed and tamed by American sensibilities (keep it to yourselfism). The truthfulness of a religious proposition is hardly taken seriously, and usually relegated to the same realm as "my favorite food is pizza or "I like dogs but not cats".

I was thinking about the resurrection and the proposition of some scholars concerning the nature of Christ resurrection. There are scholars who say that the resurrection was not a physical manifestation of divine power, but a faith experience that was spiritually perceived by the early church. It becomes more and more evident to me that biblical scholarship is more concerned with its own philosophical biases than with biblical reality. If you want to sap the fire out of Christianity, the first place to start is the resurrection. Why you might ask? Because it is the vindication of Jesus message, of the rule and authority of God on earth, and its proclamation of absolute truth. If Jesus bodily rose from the dead, this validates his message of the accountability of all to God's law, and our need for Jesus as the savior of our souls.

Christ is not another opaque mystery religion, but the representation and the exact nature of the one true and living God. The veil is not across his face as it was with Moses, but his face shines the brilliant truth of God's wisdom and power. We are not cosmic orphans; we are created in the image of God and were considered worthy of his love. Christ died for us. Love came into history and flesh, suffered and died for lost people. The cross is God's symbol of sacrificial love to the world. We are not alone; we are not alone in our suffering and pain. God identifies with human suffering on the cross, but we will identify with him in his bodily resurrection.

That which we have lost or will lose to death, will be given back a thousand fold by the power of the only begotten. He was raised so we will be raised. This is what sets us on fire. This is the life and breathe of the true religion, and the sure hope to all who will believe. Stop sitting by the fire, admiring its light and heat. We should be consumed with the awesome promise of a real hope to eternal life. We will die, but we will live in this body again. We have found God in hope in Jesus Christ, but one day we will no longer live in hope, but in the reality and completion of God's kingdom.

TOTT

Supreme Blunder

The supreme court has ruled today that the ten commandments cannot be displayed in the U.S. courts. This is such a monumental decision politically, philosophically, and theologically, that I am not quite sure where to begin. All three of the above mentioned categories overlap to a large degree, and what affects one category will certainly, to a large or small degree, be reflected in the others.

The court has unkowingly ( I hope) commited Idolotry and opened the door to judicial relativism. The high court has annexed relativism to constitutional interpretations and divorces the absolute standard, e.g. God's law from guiding true justice. They have declared that God must leave the building, while men decide what is right. They have willingly severed themselved from divine accountability. What will they use for a standard now?

The court has also ruled that file sharing companies can be sued for providing access to individuals to share music and movies. File sharing was obviously seen by the court as intellectual and creative theft (hmm, sound like one of the ten commandments). How ironic and contradictory! The court says "thou shalt not steal", and then boots the God who gave us this commandment out of their presence. How insulting and vain. You say there is no room for divine guidence in the courts, then you use divine laws to make rulings.

The court also ruled that the ten commandments can be displayed on government land. "Hey God, you can have the grass and the concrete, but you cannot have the courtrooms." This would be like kicking the bible out of the church, but allowing its display in the church parking lot. The court has unhitched the yoke of God from its neck, and has declared itself truly a "supreme court". Who or what will guide this blind branch of government, now that it has plucked out its eyes?