Here's an In-your-face, gut level, no frills, look at hard-core Christianity. It tackles the hard issues. No games here... just facts.

I took this image while in a chapel in the mountains. The sun was shining through the plant making this tortured face. Is it Jesus? Probably not... but it reminded me of His sacrifice.


It cracks me up when people say, "God didn't write the Bible! People did! So there!" (These words might be accompanied by a severe whacking upside the head with a protest sign that says, "Let Peace Begin With Me!") Well if this is the case, the same could be said for Zen, Islam, Tao, Buddhism, and any other religion that uses some form of scripture/text. Why do they say this? Because if they hear something they don't like or is contrary to their belief and practice, they can whip out their favorite cliche and say it is just a mistake... an error... a mistranslation... an outdated opinion... an incorrect interpretation... etc... Pretty convenient eh?


Well... if that was the case, none of the Bible could be trusted. Nor could any of the other "Holy" scriptures. The big double standard of their enlightened, tolerant state of existence never seems to include Christianity and its message of "Forgiveness and Love". Why?
Maybe it's because the message is so garbled. Or is it the messenger? Lately, it seems like we love the sinner and we love the sin... or we hate the sinner and hate the sin. But the message of the gospel is simple and point blank. Love the sinner and hate the sin. That's the key! That's the good news. God loves us despite our sinful nature. I believe much of the negativity towards Christianity can be blamed on the so-called
"Christian" him/herself. Face it! We're a mess! We run around and say we believe in God and the Bible, but how many of us know His words in our hearts? How many of us can use God's word effectively to defend or dispute various positions that the world holds so dear? "Well... um... I don't think God would like that very much. So there! And if you don't believe me, you can just go ask my pastor right now!" Then they beat you over the head with their sign that says, "Jesus Loves You!" Ugh! I can understand why Jesus looked up into heaven and said, "Oh faithless and perverse generation, how much longer shall I be with you?" (Mat 17:17)  He became human in order to feel what we go through. But He came here to die for us because He loved us. In the same breath Jesus also said, "My soul is troubled; and what shall I say? 'Father... save me from this hour?' It is for this very cause that I came to this hour." (John 12:27)

If you doubt my sarcastic examples, I encourage you to hop into any "Christian" chat room and see what "Christians" supposedly believe. It's scary! No wonder the world is confused. Not only will you find every kind of denominational doctrine, you will also find an entire spectrum of diatribe and jibberish from other religions that have also decided that Christianity (or certain parts) is a part of their theology as well. Among those who argue whether they were baptized the one true way... among those who argue that they take Communion the one true way... among those who argue they serve God on the one true day... among those who argue they eat and drink the one true food... or worship in the one true church, etc... one can hear a few desperate voices crying out in the wilderness, trying to stop the madness. It is utter chaos! I pity the person seeking truth and salvation in these sites or from these kinds of people. The message is getting lost in the muck and Satan is just fine with that. I think Paul said it best. "I preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified." (1st Cori 2:2)


Well... God's word is alive and well despite us! Wasn't it Nietzsche, the famous athiest, who said, "God is dead!"? I would ask him but Nietzsche is dead now. He also said this, "A hundred years from now, no one will have ever heard of this Bible." Perhaps it is poetic justice on God's part that Nietzsche's own house is now used as a Bible printing and distribution center. You know God has to also have a sense of humor. He created us didn't He?


Scientists used to tell us that it was impossible for a book to remain unchanged over long periods of time... let alone, thousands of years. If it was up to humans, then I would heartily agree. I remember playing a game in my youth group. The first person in line would whisper a phrase or quote to the next person in line and he/she, in turn, would whisper what they heard to a friend... and on and on. The person at the end of the line had the duty of blurting out the message they received. If it wasn't complete nonsense, it was an entirely different message from its original version. "A penny saved... is a penny earned" ended up being, "Granny shaved Benny's earring!" A few people, in just a short amount of time, managed to mangle a simple chunk of common wisdom into something totally meaningless or silly. Imagine what could happen in a thousand years or two!


But it didn't! You know the story of the boy and his goat finding the Dead Sea Scrolls in the caves over in the "holy" land. (It's the place where they're killing each other in order to claim their holy sites!) Scientists and religious scholars were frothing at the mouth to get their hands on them so each could prove the other wrong. After careful translations, scientists were amazed to find that not only had the old testament not mutated, it was exactly the same! Even today, scientists use the Bible as a major tool in research and study, excavation, archeology, history, culture, theology, etc... Everytime they turn over a stone, instead of reinforcing their attempts at making evolution valid or their denials of God, they end up proving more and more that God exists and their theories are way off. Says science... "Hey! Let's come up with a theory that does away with God and makes all of our mistakes random happenings so we cannot be held accountable. But... we'll have to break every law we come up with to support it in order to make it work. Okay? You just need a lot of faith to accept it."
So we reap what we sew. It's all just a matter of semantics right? It is no longer "murder" because we don't call them "babies" any more. We call them "fetus". Jam a scissors in their head before they are totally free of the birth canal and they aren't really "born" right? Suck them out in pieces, collect a few important pieces for medical experiments and then toss them in the dump. Besides... it's called "Choice" now! It's ironic to me that the "fetus" has no choice in whether he or she gets to live... but we don't want to go there do we? "Homosexuality" is now called "Alternate lifestyle". Genocide is called "Ethnic Cleansing". Pornography is called, "Art" or "Freedom of speech". A judge gets thrown out of office for upholding the law and protecting freeedom of religion by displaying the ten commandments. But judges illegally handing our marriage permits to homosexuals stay in office. It's the big double standard. It gets easier and easier doesn't it? Just give it a new name, find a movie star or singer to support it and Bam! We can tolerate it just fine. After all... were just a cosmic accident aren't we? It's not our fault!


Indeed, the Bible holds many scientific truths that conventional scientists discovered the hard way. The book of Job (26:7) (Written thousands of years ago) tells us this: "Behold, I maketh the circle of the earth and I suspendeth it upon nothing". In other words... A spherical round planet hanging in orbit due to gravity. Just a few hundred years ago, Columbus' cronies thought the world was flat and they would fall off the edge if they sailed too far. And during the time this verse was written, the wise Greek philosophers could tell you all about the pathagorem theorem, but the reason the earth stayed in its position was because it was on the back of a few giant elephants. "Well what holds up the elephants?" others asked. "They are standing on the back of a giant turtle of course! Duh!" said the wise. 1st Corinthians 1:19-21 says this: "For it is written: 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understandings of the prudent.' Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe." Ouch!


So where am I headed with all this? I'll tell you. The most important mysteries of God could be spelled out in plain sight and hanging right in front of you lit up by neon lights, but if you don't see the need for Him, you won't see it nor will you understand any of it. The Bible says it like this: "The worldy man without the spirit of God cannot understand the things that come from God because they are foolishness to him and he can't understand them because he is spiritually apart from God." (1st Corintians 2:14)
People say, "If I could just see the miracles for myself, I would believe." Ha! And I say it again. HA! The Hebrews escaping slavery in Egypt traveled by day with a pillar of wind to guide them. And by night, they had a pillar of fire. Food fell from heaven to feed them. When they got tired of that and complained, flocks of quail would sail in so they could supplement their diet. Water flowed from stone in the desert. After all of these miracles... what do they do when they see the Pharoah and his army approaching to bring them back into slavery? "HELP! We're sorry! We'll go back! We wanna be slaves again! We were only kidding! It was Moses who made us do it! We're sorry! What are we gonna do? Ahhhhhh! Hey... is that water parting? Hmmmm..." You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. Even miracles can't persuade the masses.


It works like this, you can shoot the messenger but it doesn't change the message. We, as Christians, are quoting from stuff that we didn't write. You can get mad at us all you want, but the fact is, we are repeating stuff that God wrote. You don't like it? Get mad at Him. It doesn't jive with your philosophy of the decade? Tough! Then don't accept it. It's your choice. God didn't make us preprogrammed robots. We have a choice. Take it or leave it. Don't get all crazy on us just because we choose to believe it. Oh... and by the way. Part of the reason we keep on saying this stuff is because it is a by-product of our guaranteed salvation. It doesn't give us a shinier crown or a bigger mansion. It doesn't mean we are better than you or more worthy. It only means we have something to share. We are commanded to share it. But make no mistake... we are at war with the world in a spiritual sense. Here are some more words, WRITTEN BY GOD, that might shed some light on stuff going on today. Remember, this was written thousands of years ago. We didn't write it. We just believe it:

(Rom 1:18-32) "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, {19} because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. {20} For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. {21} For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. {22} Professing to be wise, they became fools, {23} and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptable man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. {24} Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them. {25} For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. {26} For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, {27} and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. {28} And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, {29} being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, {30} slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, {31} without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; {32} and, although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them."


Sound familiar? You want it... you got it. If you don't like it, don't blame me... a person who sins daily in thought word and deed. A person who is just as worthy of hell as anyone. A person who heard the message and chose to believe it. A person going to heaven someday, despite myself. A person forgiven by Christ, just trying to pass along a free gift to his fellow man. Love it or leave it. But please don't make it out to be anything other than what it really is.

Like I said, I didn't write this stuff!