Question on this Good Friday....
In the last few years, typically around around this time of year, has there been an increase in the number of efforts to undermine core Christian doctrine or is it just my imagination?
i am not talking about some sort of brown-shirt, goose-stepping effort to silence those who are Christ followers.... neither am i talking about serious and reasoned scientific debate about the validity of the claims of the Christian faith .... rather, i am talking about how over the last several years there has been a steady (main)stream, push of "theories" regarding whether or not Jesus "died" on the cross for the sin of humankind, that Jesus had a wife and children or that the Bible is at best, incomplete and at worst, a fraud.
i don't get it.
Sure i'll admit perhaps i am being a bit sensitive but surely it's not all related to my desire to make certain that the faith that i and millions of others strive to live on a daily basis, be protected from serious or any challenge but...
i guess what i continue to be a little perplexed by is how it is seemingly quite acceptable to cast about wild and whacky theories about Jesus. To make what could be considered outlandish and unfounded claims about who He was or what He did is quite okay but it is definitely unacceptable to do any such thing along the same lines about a number of other religious figures in our culture.
Why is that?
It is interesting that while the Christian faith (particularly here in the US) seems to have a rather questionable reputation, there have been increased attacks on it's historical accuracy and scientific validity. If i were a paranoid sort of person i might conclude that there is a perception "out there" that Christianity is in a sense "on the ropes" and it won't be long before someone delivers some "once-and-for-all" knockout blow!
Having worked with churches for a few years now, one thing i must admit with a fair deal of embarrassment is that while there are lots and lots of people who believe they know who Jesus is, very few understand church history and perhaps even less understand the Bible.
This leads directly to my main cause for concern... Pair seemingly knowledgeable "scholars" with very professional television and/or movie producers and directors and the next thing you know... at the very least the general public is being completely re-educated about the historical Jesus and at the most the Christian faith is moved from being irrelevant to being fake.
Not good.
1 comment:
The same thing that makes you uncomfortable is the same thing makes me feel good about this country in some sense.....converting to Christianity might get you jailed in Iran or persecuted in China......spell Muhammed's name wrong in Saudia Arabia and receive death by the sword or depict him in a cartoon in a Syrian newspaper and get ready for a jihad against your family and friends.....in this country - the thought is "whatever floats your boat -just don't come knocking on my door Sunday morning"..... all things considered the US provides fairly fertile ground for Christianity (and other religions I might addd)....the Bible is the best selling book every year (domestic and international)......the amount spent annually on Bibles has been put at more than half a billion dollars and which leads me to believe Christianity is anything but on the "ropes".........
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