A real god doesn’t care about control. A real god already has control of everything that needs controlling.”
Orson Scott Card
I wind up on the receiving end of flames from time to time for my aversion toward carnival rides. My acumen concerning them is simply this: if you’re so bored that you’re willing to risk uncertain death or dismemberment for the sake of entertainment, you either fit the profile for a sociopath, or maybe just need to get a dog.
Millions of sermons have been preached instructing people to give, and God will let you have the car you want, the house you want, and the life you want. In fact, this essay is found frequently by many pastors Googling for prosperity sermons to preach on Sunday. It seems strange, though, that a people who profess to follow Christ are so anxious to convince the church that God wants them to be rich, when the Bible teaches no such thing. So are our brothers just in error, wanting to see their congregation blessed, or are they talking up promises of breakthroughs and open floodgates because they will likely reap some of the benefits? In either case, we Christians shouldn’t be so much concerned about getting what we want from God, as much as we should be concerned about getting what God wants into us.
I’ve often been asked why an intellectual type guy such as myself would believe in Jesus – a figure most Americans equate to a good bedtime story, or a religious symbol for people who need that sort of thing. Quite the contrary, what I’ve discovered over the past fifteen years of being a Christian is that it is highly intellectually stimulating to strive to understand God, and that my faith provides a thought-provoking and captivating relationship with the God who created mankind. I wasn’t raised in a Christian home, nor did I have any real preconceived notions about concepts such as church or the Bible. I, like most individuals, didn’t really know who Jesus was for the first twenty years of my life – all I had surmised was that He was a religious symbol for religious people.
Since the beginning of the early church, men have fought hard against the simplistic and servant-oriented church blueprint installed by the apostles. From the earliest days of the church, she has been plagued by power plays and factions from men like Simon the Sorcerer, Diotrephes, and many who would follow, all attempting to use the church as a means of political, social, or economic power. Over a short period of about a century, Biblical church government had been abused, challenged, and eventually deposed.
I’ve spent many late evenings over the past month translating and researching an intriguing early Christian manuscript called the Didache. Greek for teaching, this first century Greek manuscript reveals the life and heart of the early Church. It has been the center of much academic interest and controversy since its rediscovery in 1883. Prior to this, it was once thought lost to history, although many early church fathers including Athanasius, Rufinus, and John of Damascas cited the book as inspired scripture. It was also accepted into the Apostolic Constitutions Canon 85 and the 81-book Ethiopic Canon. Many early church fathers including Barnabas, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen either quote or reference the Didache.
“Christianity has been made so completely devoid of character that there is really nothing to persecute. The chief trouble with Christians, therefore, is that no one wants to kill them any more!”
- S0ren Kierkegaard
It’s a shame not nearly as many Christians are put to death any more, as it would certainly help our faith remain exclusive to those with true conviction.
A morbid parallel spawned by my lack of understanding in the ritual of Christmas trees
We do this to Tony every Christmas to celebrate the birth of our savior. First, we like to break his legs to make it easier to get him back to the house. I know what you’re thinkin’…broken legs are messy. Well that’s why my son Vinny came up with this great idea to strap him to the roof of the car. A few bucks at the car wash and the problem goes away a lot quicker than payin’ some guy 50 bucks for a detail job. Can you imagine payin’ that much just to have someone clean the blood out of your car? It’s crazy. So anyway… Once we get him home, we like to stand him up on his (still broken) legs so we can look at him just standin’ there all month long, whimperin’. He usually has trouble standing at this time, so we drive a couple screws into his shins to keep him where we want him. Second problem – a lot of blood. I know, I know! Here’s how we fix that. We got this thing at the hardware store with a catch basin. The kids call it the stand – *Snicker* get it? _stand_ ? Anyways, that way we aint gotta shampoo the carpets when we’re done here. If there’s one thing more expensive than gettin’ a car detail it’s payin’ some lady to come and shampoo my carpets. I got these expensive Berber…well, anyway…
“Fascism is a religion. The 20th Century will be known in history as the century of Fascism.”
- Benito Mussolini