Although we Protestants don’t really observe it next week is listed by the Roman Catholics as Holy Week, the last week of Jesus’ ministry before his death and resurrection. This is a time when Christians around the world should pause to reflect on what the death and resurrection of our Savior means to us, and it has become a time for another tradition, an attempt by the main stream media and others to trash our faith. Last year it was the rightly forgettable Lost Tomb baloney, the year before, I believe, was the Gospel of Judas, and who can forget Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code (I guess I could, because it honestly took me several minutes to remember the title!) the year before that?
I don’t know about any others, I’m sure there are probably some, but the writers of a nationally distributed comic strip about life in an office are doing their part this year. Earlier this week they introduced a character named Jesus, and although they make sure to add the disclaimer that the name is pronounced Hay-soos, the attempted parody is obvious. Through today, Wednesday, the Hay-soos character has made a bald character’s hair grow just by touching him, the same character can see without glasses and Hay-soos changed coffee into wine. He also gathered a group of twelve to work on an office project, and the last strip I saw had one of the main characters coming to the company’s CEO and offering to point Hay-soos out for forty shares of stock.
As I said this is an attempted parody, but in actuality it is open mockery of the Biblical account of JESUS of Nazareth. One question it brings to my mind is how many “Christians” are going to be offended enough by this to do anything, even posting a blog entry about it? My guess is, not very many. The second question is, why are the writers doing this?
There are several answers to this question, and one is that the writers honestly think it is funny. Another possibility is that, since it is the Easter season, this series is a way to draw readers (and thus revenue). And a third possibility is they think they can get away with it, and they’re probably right. There probably aren't many “Christians” who would write the papers this trash is appearing in to complain, much less cancel any subscriptions to said papers, and certainly Christianity is so marginalized in the minds of many that the series will pass without comment. If, on the other hand, these writers had dared to do a parody about Mohamed, if any paper dared to print it the entire Muslim world would rise in fury and demand not only the blood of the writers, but those who dared publish it.
Finally, this brings to mind two questions every Christian should ask themselves: One, how much longer is the Creator of the Universe going to allow His name to be mocked like this? And when He finally moves, what is our response to this attitude going to be?
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
Cataracts
As folks who know me are aware I’m suffering right now from cataracts in both eyes. That’s nothing unusual for someone who’s pushing the Big 5-0, or at least it isn’t unheard of, but frankly I was surprised that I had them when the eye doctor told me about them a couple of years ago. Until that diagnosis I really hadn’t noticed a diminishing in my vision, or if I did I just put it down to my near sightedness (I’ve worn glasses since my teens) getting worse.
Now that I know what the problem is I can see its effects just about everywhere I look (no pun intended). What is actually a clear mid winter afternoon looks like the air is full of smoke from a distant grass fire, and at night car headlights, stop lights, and street lights all have what looks like a fireworks starburst effect around them. It is so bad I have trouble seeing the cars for the glare, and if anyone is around the vehicles I can’t see them at all unless they move in front of the lights. Even the moon and stars appear to be shining through thin clouds when the sky is absolutely clear, and while some of the fainter stars are blocked by the lights of the town I live in, more are hidden by the clouds in my eyes.
Fortunately, although in the natural world the cataracts would just keep getting worse until I became totally blind, medical technology has been able to remove them for well over a century, and today, with the use of intraocular implants, even the need for glasses has been reduced. Although I have some apprehension and a little fear of the procedure itself, I know the physician who will perform the operation has done it many times before, and will be with me throughout the whole procedure. While I know there are some risks with any surgical procedure, I know the results will be worth it.
As I was thinking about these things it struck me how much it parallels the human condition (for lack of a better phrase). All through life sin clouds a person’s spiritual vision, and many don’t even realize it until it is too late, and they are beyond help. Even when the problem has been recognized and the person’s sins dealt with by the blood Jesus of Nazareth shed on the cross, the old sin nature still remains in the life of a Christian. And that sin nature, although under the control of the Holy Spirit, will remain until it is left behind at the Christian’s physical death. While it remains it clouds the glory of God for the believer, and we know that only after death will we be totally free of the influence of sin.
To those outside of Christ death is terrifying, because all people know they must face it. Even for Christians, for whom Jesus has removed the sting of death, it remains an unknown that causes apprehension and more than a little fear. We have an advantage, however, because our Great Physician has been through the process of death Himself, He has conquered it, and when our time comes He will be there to guide us through it.
Even as I am anticipating seeing the beauty of the natural world clearly again with the film of cataracts removed from my natural eyes, I am looking forward to seeing my Lord clearly, in all His glory, once the film of the sin nature has been removed from my spiritual eyes. It is my prayer that you, too, will come to the Great Physician for salvation.
Now that I know what the problem is I can see its effects just about everywhere I look (no pun intended). What is actually a clear mid winter afternoon looks like the air is full of smoke from a distant grass fire, and at night car headlights, stop lights, and street lights all have what looks like a fireworks starburst effect around them. It is so bad I have trouble seeing the cars for the glare, and if anyone is around the vehicles I can’t see them at all unless they move in front of the lights. Even the moon and stars appear to be shining through thin clouds when the sky is absolutely clear, and while some of the fainter stars are blocked by the lights of the town I live in, more are hidden by the clouds in my eyes.
Fortunately, although in the natural world the cataracts would just keep getting worse until I became totally blind, medical technology has been able to remove them for well over a century, and today, with the use of intraocular implants, even the need for glasses has been reduced. Although I have some apprehension and a little fear of the procedure itself, I know the physician who will perform the operation has done it many times before, and will be with me throughout the whole procedure. While I know there are some risks with any surgical procedure, I know the results will be worth it.
As I was thinking about these things it struck me how much it parallels the human condition (for lack of a better phrase). All through life sin clouds a person’s spiritual vision, and many don’t even realize it until it is too late, and they are beyond help. Even when the problem has been recognized and the person’s sins dealt with by the blood Jesus of Nazareth shed on the cross, the old sin nature still remains in the life of a Christian. And that sin nature, although under the control of the Holy Spirit, will remain until it is left behind at the Christian’s physical death. While it remains it clouds the glory of God for the believer, and we know that only after death will we be totally free of the influence of sin.
To those outside of Christ death is terrifying, because all people know they must face it. Even for Christians, for whom Jesus has removed the sting of death, it remains an unknown that causes apprehension and more than a little fear. We have an advantage, however, because our Great Physician has been through the process of death Himself, He has conquered it, and when our time comes He will be there to guide us through it.
Even as I am anticipating seeing the beauty of the natural world clearly again with the film of cataracts removed from my natural eyes, I am looking forward to seeing my Lord clearly, in all His glory, once the film of the sin nature has been removed from my spiritual eyes. It is my prayer that you, too, will come to the Great Physician for salvation.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Introduction
The Bible says Christians are to be salt and light, and while it may not make me popular in some circles, that is what I have established this blog to do. It is not my intention to offend anyone, but I must be true to the teachings of the Bible, the Word of God. I am Reformed in my beliefs, I believe in Sola Scriptura, or Scripture Alone, and that all other issues are to be judged in that light. May all I post here glorify His name.
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