Truth about Las Vegas Massacre

Dear Reader, after pondering the event of last weekend for a while, I've come to a conclusion.  While many Americans are trying to figure out what an AR-15 is, or what a "bump stock" is, or why someone would commit such atrocities, I offer the only truth that can be had about such an event.  It is similar to the truth I offered in my prayers for mercy after the Sandy Hook Massacre years ago, which I still haven't gotten over.  But I know the "answer" to it, or the "explanation" for it, and indeed the "cause" of such things, even before they might happen.  So here it is:

If this isn't enough for us, then there will never be enough.
Lord, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner!  AMEN

Happy because of Jesus,
Pastor James

Life of Jesus, as if we were college students

How about some talking points?  This list of facts follows the introductory section of a very well-used introductory religion textbook.  My observation here is that it is reported that very many "professing Christians" don't even accept these points as working presuppositions. So here you go- wrestle with this. 

The Life of Jesus

• Born between 4 and 1 BCE in the Judean city of Bethlehem.
• Spent his youth in the Galilean village of Nazareth.
• When he was 30 he went south to the Judean wilderness, where he was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan river.
• John the Baptist appears like an OT prophet in the NT.
• John the Baptist was apocalyptic, warning people of God's imminent judgment.
• John the Baptist called on sinners to repent
• John the Baptist called on them to be Baptized in water as a sign of spiritual cleansing.
• Jesus' preaching agreed with the preaching of John the Baptist, as did much preaching of the early church.
• During his 3 year ministry that followed, Jesus was more or less an itinerant preacher who travelled around with a group of disciples, or students.
• Jesus spoke with authority on the OT scriptures.
• He said the KOG was coming so people should repent, or be sorrowful and willing to change from their sins.
• He said there would be a new era of peace and holiness.
• Jesus companions and followers grew as he travelled.
• These included women, who are prominent in the gospel.
• Jesus was friends with women
• Jesus ate with women in public and in private
• Jesus' women followers stayed with him even in his final days when others abandoned him
• Jesus was on the “cutting edge” rejecting social norms of the day
• Jesus became very popular.
• This caused opposition and resentment from the clergy guild and the religious establishment of his day.
• Jesus seems to have know about this, and that dark days were coming for him and his followers.
• He warned his disciples that rejection, suffering, and death awaited him there.
• Jesus travelled to Jerusalem and arrived just before Passover.
• The gospels described a triumphal entry in where Jesus was greeted.
• Jesus entered Herod's Temple, and “cleansed” the temple by driving out those who had businesses there. This caused a problem.
• Jesus taught in the temple for several days, and then the authorities planned against him.
• Within hours after celebrating a “Last Supper” with his disciples, Jesus was brought before a council of Jewish leaders.
• He was accused of blasphemy
• He was handed over to the Romans
• Pilate thought Jesus was a public threat,
• He ordered Jesus execution.
• Jesus was crucified (hung on a cross) on a Friday, just hours before Passover began and less than a week after he had entered Jerusalem.
• So there is a rough historical outline.
• Matthew and Luke assert that Mary was a virgin.
• All 4 gospels say the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus at his Baptism.
  • In Mat, Mark, Luke a theophonic voice is heard, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” So the gospels link Jesus to King David who was described as God's anointed and son.
  • Jesus is also ID'd as the servant of God who would suffer for the sake of humanity.
    So Jesus was understood by Christians, through an interpretation of certain OT scriptures, to be the Son of God who filled with Spirit of God would suffer for the sins of others.
    All Four gospels say that some of the women who followed Jesus found his tomb empty at dawn on the Sunday following his crucifixion.
  • Some post-resurrection appearances are recorded in some Gospels.
  • When Jesus appeared, his followers remembered how he had predicted the whole thing.
  • In Acts, Jesus stayed 40 days after his resurrection.
  • Jesus sent his disciples out as apostles “one who is sent out”
  • They were to preach to the Ancient Palestinian Jews and the Jews in the diaspora.
  • Jesus then ascended into heaven, bodily, in plain site. A miracle story-
  • As the disciples celebrated the Jewish holiday Pentecost the Holy Spirit descended on them just as had happened to Jesus at his Baptism.
  • Jesus' followers had power, and so the message about him spread.
• The early Christians were mostly practicing Jews. Christianity was originally a Jewish sect, preaching to Jews.

After his crucifixion by the Roman rulers of Judea (in modern Israel), Jesus’ followers proclaimed his resurrection and identity as God’s messiah.

• As the Book of Acts goes on, we see early Christianity open up to Gentiles or non-Jews.
• Some NT books seem to be written for a Gentile audience, and not primarily Jews.
  
  
  
  

True Torture and Hypocricy on Display

Ahem,

THIS is Torture:

Now, try hard not to make fun of it.

NPR's News Quiz makes fun of Church Outreach

People involved give an opinion of Torture Report

NPR's news quiz often has guests who appear to be stuck in puberty.  So does the Senate.  And is it not ironic how a secular materialist outlook on life enables both false outrage (Torture Report) and nervous mocking of important religious figures and activities (NPR's News Quiz)? 

And how both help the cause of evil?

And then there's this:

Jesus said, "Therefore I say unto you, Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come. Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt:for the tree is known by its fruit. Ye offspring of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. The good man out of his good treasure bringeth forth good things:and the evil man out of his evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. And I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."  Matthew 12:31 ff.

For those with questions, let me 'splain it to you.  Jesus died for you, to save you from your sins.

The Faulty Default

Jesus cannot be properly known apart from the saving work of God in the Passion (suffering, crucifixion, death, resurrection).  Why is this important?  Does anyone actually assume to know Jesus while simultaneously ignoring the passion?  I believe this is much more common than you'd think; I believe it is not only the easy thing to do, it is the "default" view of Jesus.

In Matthew 16:13-23 the main point is that Jesus "began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day." This point is common to the synoptics.  We may read this and *yawn* because everyone knows this, silly. 

Yet Peter became Satan over this.  Some early versions of Christianity tried hard to explain this away.  The Epistle of Barnabas denies the whole scenario for Islam's sake.  People have claimed Jesus' goodness, virtue, and divinity while jettisoning the miraculous from the NT texts.  Many great & good call Jesus the good man who said great things we all should follow.  Even Sam Harris points to the Jesus "as revealed in the Sermon on the Mount" and urges all to follow him. 

But Jesus is clear in Matthew 16:21, and He understood this was God's agenda (23) that would not be popular for his disciples.  So we may agree with Peterson on the point, "Jesus is not a god of our own making and He is certainly not a god designed to win popularity contests."

Do we embrace Jesus' suffering, crucifixion, death, and resurrection as the saving work of God?  Or do we agree with Peter who said, "God forbid it"?  May we pause, consider, and believe that Jesus' life was as he said, that his sacrificial work was the work of God, and so realize that to truly know Jesus we must know his sufferings on behalf of the world.  And that is the beginning.