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A Boy From Jericho
My name is Dismas, I was the last child born to my father, a vineyard owner just south of Jericho on the western side of the Dead Sea. We were about 2 or 3 days’ journey from our beloved Jerusalem. Continue reading “A Boy From Jericho”
God Is Not Your Friend
Neil Postman predicted in his 1985 book Amusing Ourselves to Death, that in the post 1980 future, the “truth [will be] lost in a sea of irrelevance.” He foresaw our modern world of wireless access to internet flooded with so much unverified information that it would make us lazy, ego-centric minds with little ability to know truth from error. This phenomenon came true and has now affected all areas of knowledge. Science, politics, ethics, and not the least of which: theology. It is bad enough that our post-Christian, secular world already sneers at the notion that theology is a branch of actual knowledge. Now we have the added obstacle that the Christian world has been watered down by these oceans of secular — and even superficially Christian — opinions masquerading as deep and accurate thought. Continue reading “God Is Not Your Friend”
The Prodigal Son
A modern take on the ageless parable of the prodigal son:
Christmas Nativity Scene Explained
Who do we see in our manger (aka nativity) sets under the Christmas trees? What is the history behind each character? Find out! Continue reading “Christmas Nativity Scene Explained”
Was Jesus… fun?…
“He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouting.”Job 8:21
I have never seen someone talk about the “Doctrine of Fun.” And if we Christians are honest, most of the depictions of Christ in the arts are of Him in a stern or serious mood. Most of our history’s revolutionaries had to climb mountains of adversity, so much of our imagery of them is in that hard hue. It makes sense. Yet I can find many photographs of Gandhi’s lighter side. We have pictures of Winston Churchill laughing. But what about Christ?
The Curious Believability of Christianity
I think you can make a rational case supporting the Christian worldview. No other worldview is as logically feasible as Christianity. This is why I am an intellectually fulfilled follower of the Way (the original label for Christians). Yet, this is not the main reason I take comfort in my bible. The main thrust of my confidence in being an obedient Christian comes from a curious phenomenon that occurs when I lay my soul bare at night. When I’m hovering over my bible by candle light (unnecessary in our modern times but an extremely joyous practice — try it) a form of magic seems to take place. Soaked in prayer, note book in hand and Scripture at my disposal, I seem to be swimming in a womb that is bathing my deepest and most secret wounds. I find a gentle probing into my mind and heart that seems to tease out the doubts, fears and questions I have about my life and my future. This is not an intellectual exercise — which is the only thing available to a materialist — but transportation into a realm of transformation. I cannot prove it logically or with direct evidence. But I could prove it by dying for it.
Continue reading “The Curious Believability of Christianity”
The Christian and the State PART 5 – Political Correctness
In the first 4 parts of this series we established that the more judeo-christian a political theory is, the smaller the roll of the State seems to become. In short, Christian cultures believe God Himself sets the original blueprint for what rules a society follows and how human relationships are structured. Then the State steps in only to enforce this order:
If you observe past political theories that were based on atheistic worldviews (e.g.: former USSR, China, etc) you will note that they elevate the State to the role of God-hood. Something has to fill the power vaccuum. If a transcendent Creator does not exist to establish order and meaning, humans will coalesce into an elite leadership that will then play god over society. In short, the State becomes God because somebody has to: Continue reading “The Christian and the State PART 5 – Political Correctness”
The Christian and the State PART 4 – The American Experiment
The King who thinks he is God… soon becomes the devil.
It would be hard to look at history and find reason to disbelieve that statement.
According to Romans chapter 13, the State is God’s servant and will be judged by Him. Hence rulers who take the mantle of leadership in government will undergo a strict judgment and should rule according to justice and not ego or selfish ambition.
This simple but powerful concept rushed into the once barbaric Roman Empire after Constantine legalized Christianity in A.D. 312. The faith quickly “infected” culture and politics and turned the blood lusting Roman world into modern Europe, a hot bed of human flourishing. For nearly a thousand years after Constantine christened Rome, apostles, scholars, priests and bureaucrats yearned to create a legal system that would be deemed just by the God of their bible. Kings were told that they would be judged according to their righteousness and so pressure mounted on them to be just and fair to their subjects. In A.D. 1215 the Magna Carta was born of this urge and the origins of radical concepts of freedom for the common man were born. Unheard of ideals such as separation of Church and State, the legal system being above the King himself, protection from unlawful imprisonment and unfair taxation were in their embryonic form in “the Great Charter.”
Continue reading “The Christian and the State PART 4 – The American Experiment”
