Coda

I want to tell you a personal story that illustrates why I get so angry that we’ve allowed ourselves to become known by the spirit of pride and condemnation.

Before I get there, I should recognize that I’m often critical of the church in my writings. People may get the impression I hate it. I don’t. I actually love the church. And like I said earlier, I recognize there are multitudes of us who quietly go about our lives being merciful, showing charity, and being a real light in this world—the whole world, not just our own little Christian circles. I’m fortunate to know lots and lots of you like that. My friends at Journey saved my belief in this.

Christians Are Today's Pharisees, pt. 2

< --- Part One

In America we Christians, fairly or not, have collectively become known to our culture to be like Pharisees. All of us, Catholics and Protestants alike, need to hear and learn from Jesus here:

“Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matt 9:13)

Jesus calls to sinners. He doesn't convict them. He gives hope, healing, and mercy to anyone. He loves furiously and he offers good news to bad people. And the sinners flocked to him by the thousands.

They still do today, by the billions.

Meanwhile, the respectable, "righteous" religious people couldn't accept him because he wouldn't take a "stand against sin". He wouldn't sign their petitions to "preserve morality". He actually seemed to enjoy partying with corrupt bureaucrats, alcoholics, and hookers.

When someone first learns that you're a Christian, which of these 2 camps do you believe they automatically think you fall into?

How do we get rid of this stain on our character?

Christians Are Today’s Pharisees

I love Matthew 23. It’s Jesus laying down a no-holds-barred smackdown on the self-righteous Pharisees. It blows the caricature of a flannelgraph, mild-mannered inoffensive Jesus out of the water.

Here’s the thing, though.

Today, he’s speaking those words to us.

We are today's Pharisees.

The Good Friday Deception?

What’s so Good about Friday?

There are those out there who believe Jesus’ crucifixion was in fact the crushing, final defeat it appeared to be.

"My god, my god, why have you forsaken me?" (Eloi eloi lama sabachtani?)

Evidence, they say, that Jesus realized in the last few minutes of life that his naive belief in a loving Father was no match for the powers and systems of the world. They believe that Jesus was experiencing the abject horror of one who realizes he is about to die in vain.

I say these people couldn’t be more wrong.

It seems they haven’t read Psalm 22.

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Whether you're a skeptic or a believer, I promise you'll find something in there to make you think more deeply about your own spiritual journey.

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--Jeremy
Truth poorly defended loses not its truthfulness;
likewise Falsehood aptly defended loses not its falsity.
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The War On Christmas Needs You!

Seems like there’s a lot of talk on American news these days about The War On Christmas. I don’t know if regular people actually believe in this or whether it’s just something that the cable news channels drum up to manufacture ratings, but certain news personalities seem to have confused the changing cultural landscape of our society with an active assault against God Almighty.

My view is that if your god is weakened or threatened by the changing cultural standards of the country you live in, he’s a pretty puny, tribalistic god. A god you believe in for much the same reasons you root for your favorite sports team—because you live close to it (this is a red-blooded Angels fan writing, so I know all about tribalistic loyalties). Anyway, a weak god. Not the living God of the universe whose immense power spoke all things into existence. No, the real God is not on His throne worried, His plans are not threatened, and His will is not thwarted by any so-called “war on Christmas”.

Particle God, pt. 2

Part 1 talked about whether you believe in something or nothing. Many people I know believe that there is indeed something out there, but they're kind of vague and unspecified in just exactly what that something is. Their definition doesn't go much farther than "a Higher Power". Many of them believe this power is a sort of innocuous, vaguely beneficent Energy that directs and guides us.

A belief very similar to the following, if you'll allow me to quote some sage wisdom from a venerable master:

It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together.
                                                                         -Obi-wan Kenobi

Old Ben's not entirely wrong.