The news has been reporting that someone claims he has reproduced the Shroud of Turin using medieval technology.

My faith in Jesus Christ and His resurrection is not based on the Shroud. For sure, if the Shroud is actually a burial garment of Jesus', then it adds another reason to believe. But if the Shroud is a later work of ingenious art, then my faith is not lessened in the least.  Furthermore, even if someone shows that close reproduction was possible using later technology (which may have happened here), this does not prove the Shroud is a later work of art and not a burial cloth for Jesus.

There's a side to me that thinks it good if all physical artifacts involved in any miracle of Jesus or His crucifixion have been lost to history in the same way that I am glad we don't know with any certainty the actual birth date of Jesus. Astrologers, and those taken with astrology would make too much of His birthdate, just as too many people would focus on the wood or the iron or cloth that came into contact with Jesus - a thing - rather than focusing on Jesus and having a relationship with Him.

My faith in the resurrection of Jesus is based on objective reality and affirmed by my subjective experience (I know He lives in me). We have good reasons to believe Jesus was a man of history who was crucified, that He was buried, and that He subsequently appeared alive to many different people in different situations; and that His tomb was empty. All other explanations to cover those things are lacking. So I do believe that Jesus rose from the dead, resurrected and glorified, and I do believe what He taught - shroud or no shroud.

A carpenter, with questionable parentage, from an unremarkable town, walked the countryside.  He attracted followers, keeping twelve with him and three of those especially close as he spoke to groups large and small.  He was part of an oppressed group - a Jew in a Roman-occupied part of the world. He said and did things that confounded the dominant religious authorities of the day. People flocked to him for a miracle.  There was something he claimed that was outrageous to his fellow Jews: He was G-d.  Arrogance? Insanity? Fraud?  From a man who urged people to forgive each other and love each other?

For thousands of years, it had been pounded into the minds and hearts of the Jews that there was ONE G-d and that He was spirit, not an idol that could be kept in a room.  He was a unique, personal being, not a "force" or something we call could be or have if we meditated enough.  And yet here was a Jew, this guy who was extremely familiar with the scriptures – including the ones that said there was just one G-d - walking around claiming to be G-d.  He wasn't part of the recognized system of priests and religious leaders, so he posed a threat to them and their comfortable, established way of doing things.  This guy even had the nerve to disrupt their moneymaking schemes.

Enough was enough!

They handed this guy over to the Romans and demanded that he be executed. He was a threat to the religious leaders, and since he'd claimed to be a king, he must be a threat to the Romans, too.  Furthermore, anyone claiming to G-d was being blasphemous, right?  The Roman leader, while spooked a little, didn't find anything wrong with the man, especially after the man explained that his kingdom wasn't of this world.  Yet the Romans needed to keep order, and people were demanding that this "king" die.  The "king" was taken and scourged - whipped so brutally that his skin was shredded.  That wasn't enough.  The people wanted this "king" to die.  And so this carpenter, who had worked with wood for years to make useful things for other people, was forced to carry the very wood he'd be nailed to so that he could hang on a cross bleeding and losing his ability to breathe.

This man who'd preached loved and forgiveness, who had urged people to turn from their sins, who had healed the sick, who had done some controversial things but never anything wrong, was beaten and executed, all in excruciating pain.

That was what we now call "Good" Friday.

If that was all that happened, most of us would never have heard of Good Friday.  Someone may have mentioned this carpenter in an obscure list of Jews who claimed to the Messiah, but most of us would never have heard of this Nazarene.

But it wasn't all that happened.

On Sunday morning, once the holy days and feasts were over, some people who loved this carpenter were returning to care for his body as a final sign of respect.

The body was gone, though.  Nobody ever found the body.  To their shock, this Jesus, who had been scourged and killed, was alive and well - very well - though he still had the holes in his hands from the nails and the hole in his side where a spear had shoved into him to make sure he was dead.  He talked with them, they embraced him, they felt him, they ate with him.  He'd come and go as he pleased over the next several weeks.  Finally, having done what he'd set out to do, he was taken away in a "cloud"... probably a description of what appeared to be a blindingly bright light.

Because of that Sunday when Jesus was first seen alive after being killed, we now have this Good Friday.  Why is this Friday "Good"?

It is no coincidence that Jesus was executed during the Passover season (the Last Supper was a Passover Seder).  Many years before, when the Jews were enslaved in Egypt, there was a night when they slaughtered lambs "without defect" and placed the blood of a lamb on their doorways.  Overnight, when the Lord passed through Egypt with righteous judgment, the firstborn of every household was struck down - but the Lord "passed over" the homes with the blood.  The Jews were subsequently freed from their slavery.

John the Baptist referred to Jesus as "the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world."  Jesus was the ultimate Passover Lamb "without defect" who shed his blood to free all of us from our enslavement to sin.  That Friday was Good because it is the day that our sins against G-d were paid for... by someone other than us!

But that Sunday...

We've all dealt with death in our lives.  We've all had loved ones that have died.  Thousands of years of recorded history tell us that dead people stay dead.

Yet this miracle-working carpenter was seen alive after his death.  People touched him, talked with him, ate with him.  They stuck their fingers in his wounds.

Being modern people, we are understandably skeptical of this.  We don't have video proof.  But what we do have is history, and the testimony of those who were there.  Good Friday had left the followers of Jesus afraid and feeling defeated.  They had shown themselves to be cowardly, and their leader was now dead.

If Easter (Resurrection) Sunday did not happen, how did such people go on to change the world?  Unless they actually encountered a resurrected Jesus, these people would have no reason to face ostracism and martyrdom to proclaim that resurrection and spread the teachings of Jesus.  It is easy to deny the truth to save your life.  Would people be willing to give up everything they had and die for something they knew to be a lie?  No way!

So what does this all mean for me today?  It means that I have a way to be right with G-d, because even though I have done things against Him, Good Friday was the day that those sins were paid for.  I am forgiven.  I also have someone who is my friend, my advocate, someone who knows what it is like to live life on Earth and knows what it is like to feel pain, suffer loss, and to die.  And that Someone has promised me that if I follow Him, everything will be okay.  Death is not the end.  He has conquered death, and someday death, pain, and sorrow will be taken away from me.  He has backed up His "blasphemous claims" with action, showing them not to be blasphemous at all.

He doesn't want me to cut the heads off of people just because they don't believe in Him.  He doesn't want me to fly airliners into skyscrapers to kill people going about their lives.  He wants me to do things like love others and take care of the needs of others.  This is why so many have built hospitals, universities, and charities in His name.

It isn't about going to church regularly.  It isn't about trying to convince people that my life is perfect.  It isn't about making sure I can retire wealthy.  It isn't about getting everyone else to see things the way I do. It isn't even about keeping a checklist of rules and sticking to that checklist.  It isn't about "getting it right" on my own before I can approach G-d, because that will never happen.

It IS about having a peace with G-d, knowing that He forgives the horrible things I've done and may yet still do if I simply ask Him to.  It is about having fellowship with that Nazarene who rose from the grave and still lives, because He deserves my allegiance and because He did life right.

There are people who believe that everything is an accident, a series of extremely unlikely coincidences.  Sunsets. Surf. Waterfalls. Roses. Redwood trees. Chocolate.  Wine.  Galaxies.  Eagles. Puppies. Kittens. Sex.  Newborn babies.  Those are all accidents?  I don't think so.  All of the complexity in the cells of our own bodies, all of the symbiotic systems of the natural world, where organisms depend on each other for survival.  Those all "just happened"?  I don't think so.  The world is beautiful and amazing, and it is not accidental or inconsequential that a Jew who was without sin and claimed to be G-d suffered and died at Passover and then rose from the dead.

Yes, there is something broken about the world, as evidenced by all of the suffering.  But the fix is in.  The victory was demonstrated almost 2000 years ago.  I can't ignore that.  That has to have an impact in my life, how I view life, and how I live life.  My Lord humbled Himself, suffered and died for me.  And then, He beat death, and someday, He's going to kick death - and its parent, sin - down the stairs, and shut the door on them.  The world won't be broken anymore.  I can't know everything about what the future will bring, but as long as I'm holding on to Him, I'll be in the best company there is.  And since I love Him, as long as I'm around, I should seek to love others, meet their needs, and follow His lead.

May you have a reflective Good Friday and a Joyous Resurrection Sunday.

Although this blog is primarily political in nature, I make no secrets about being a Christian, and occasionally write about religion and issues involving faith.  If you are a consistent thinker who acts on reason, then it makes sense that your worldview will inform your political philosophy and positions.  How can what one believes about morality, judgment, authority, accountability, our origins, our destiny, our obligations, and human nature not influence their politics?

I am, perhaps, too libertarian to be classified with the Religious Right, but I am sympathetic to the Religious Right in many areas, and I’ve written much about that movement here.

Here are some previous entries that are relevant:

God is Not a Cosmic Bellhop

Hit and Run Bible Mockers

When Bill Maher is Unintentionally Laughable

Is Jesus a Republican?

Exposing the Religious Right

What Motivates the Religious Right?

The Religious Right is a Reaction

The Religious Right on Church and State

Religious Right on Marriage

The Religious Right: Sex is For Marriage

The Religious Right on Homosexual Behavior

The Religious Right on Abortion

The Religious Right on Euthanasia, Stem Cells, and Life

A commenter on column by John Stossel, reacting to a Christian commenter's appeal to the redeeming abilities and influence of Jesus Christ, mockingly derided the Christian tendency to cite Jesus Christ as the answer to everything.

Well, actually, He is.

Now, people like this commenter dismiss Christianity (and, presumably, other recognized world religions that involve supernaturalism, God, or future state of rewards/judgments) as outdated superstition.

But if you look carefully and with an open mind, it is quite possible that you will come to the same conclusion as many other highly educated, logical, reasonable, intelligent people – that Jesus Christ is the answer.

We can debate political science all day long.  We can discuss the relationship of the individual to society.  We can debate what to do about the ills, injustices, absurdities, and contradictions of our laws and culture until we’ve worn our fingers down to stumps.

The truth is, whether you want to believe it or not, that the Bible accurately describes the human condition.  We are created in the image of God, but we are fallen with a sin nature.  There is an objective right and wrong that emanates from the nature of God, and we often do wrong because our will is not morally neutral.   All human death and suffering are the result of someone’s sin, quite often (but not certainly not always) the sin of the person suffering.

Human beings are broken.  As a result, our world is broken.  We have committed moral crimes against God, and are suffering as a result.

So what the answer to this problem?  Just about every religion out there says there are certain things you have to do in order to get right with God, or the universe, or whatever.  But the Bible teaches that we can’t ever make it right by our own actions.  Instead, it teaches, Jesus Christ has done it by living the perfect life in our place, dying to pay the debt of our sins, and extending His covering to all who ask.

Okay, so our sins are forgiven, but we still live in this broken world, and we’re still capable of sinning.  Well, guess what?  Jesus also provided us an example of how to live, offers to help us, and has left us some simple rules for living that help us avoid problems.

For example, life is so much simpler and less troublesome when we live by the Biblical principle that sex is for marriage.  Fornication, adultery, etc. bring dysfunction, heartache, jealousy, disease, births to broken homes, and other ills.  Yes, they've been going on since the dawn of humanity, but that doesn't mean they are right.

So, excuse us Christians if we cite what Jesus has done for us by taking away our sin, giving us reassurance and strength, and morals to live by.  We’re very thankful for what He’s done, and frankly, there are no lasting, effective answers to the serious problems of our world without Jesus.  All we can do amounts to temporary band-aids and stop-gaps until He comes to clean house.

Are you really so sure that there is no God who could have ever communicated with human beings?  That sounds like an awfully sweeping negative that would be highly difficult to prove.  If there is a God who has communicated with human beings, wouldn’t the same God have the power to keep His message alive?  Could it possibly be that such a message can be found in the Bible?   Yes, there are educated and intelligent people who dismiss Christianity or any theism and the Bible - but the real question is why do they?  Is it based on sound reasoning, or other things?

Not all Christians are the superstitious bumpkins you dismiss us as.  Oh sure, there are plenty of silly and obnoxious people out there – some on television – who claim to be Christians, and some of them may very well be.  But there are also many Christians out there who have been motivated and empowered by our Lord to do some great things for the world, things you benefit from and enjoy.  Countless people have had their hearts changed by Him, so that they turn from their sins and stop being so destructive to society and themselves.

He’s changed my heart.  I know that is no proof to you – you don’t even know me so you can even tell if I have changed over the years.  But if you care to take an honest look at the apologetics, there is good reason to believe that He can change your heart, too, and that the Bible has some good life lessons relevant to us today.

Yes, Jesus Christ is the ultimate answer.  At least, that is the best conclusion to which reason leads me.

Previously, I wrote about what makes someone an authentic Christian, as there are many people who identify themselves – or are identified by others – as Christians, but in the strict theological sense, they aren’t.

Now on to the question: “Is Jesus a Republican?”

My short answer is “no”.

But he certainly isn’t a Democrat, either.

The GOP is a U.S. political party, and as such, is a man-made organization, the main purpose of which is to get members elected and appointed to government offices.  It is a flawed organization founded and comprised of flawed people.

I do believe, though, that conservatism can be consistent with Christian principles, and in fact I maintain that my own conservatism is consistent with my Christian worldview.  And, in the U.S., it is the GOP that is a home to the conservative movement and is one of the two dominant, effective political parties, hence my support for the GOP.

In an ideal situation, the perfect form of government is a benevolent dictatorship - an absolute monarchy, actually – with the monarch being eternal, unchanging, unequaled, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, holy, loving, merciful, and just.  (That’s God, to those of you who are slow on the uptake.)  But since He has given us the freedom to govern ourselves for now, and we are a mix of unrepentant sinners and repentant-but-still-unperfected sinners, I do not believe there is a better governmental system than the brilliant one devised by our mostly Christian-influenced founders – our union of states in a capitalist, constitutional, democratic, representative, republic with separation of powers and checks and balances.

It is that system that recognizes that people will generally look out for their own self-interests and in doing so will cooperate where mutually beneficial, and will also engage voluntarily in private charity.  It is that system that recognizes that since sin has marred each of us, none of us should have too much power.  It is that system that recognizes that people will do wrong, and some of those wrongs demand a collective response from the people as a whole.  So, it is a system that understands that true nature of people.

This is a system worth conserving.  Hence - conservatism.

Conservatism promotes respect for human life; defending and esteeming marriage; respect for authority; personal freedom, responsibility and accountability; punishment and restitution for wrongs; private charity; and encourages acknowledging God in all areas of life.  These are all very much part of what Jesus taught and affirmed.

Leftists, including some Democrats, cite God as Creator and Jesus’ acceptance of prostitutes and others marginalized by society during his earthly ministry, His message of forgiveness, His “cast the first stone” and “take the plank out of your own eye” statements, His commands to take care of the needy, His “turn the other cheek” statement, and His willingness to be beaten and crucified as examples of why Republicans and conservatives are wrong and why Christians should support Democrats in their efforts to:

-expand government social spending (including allowing illegal aliens to come here, stay here, and receive such spending)
-socialize health care
-implement “environmental protection” legislation
-promote pacifism
-promote licentiousness, especially in sexual behavior

Such applications take Jesus’ words and actions out of context and twist His words.

It is bizarre to me that people who so stridently promote and defend philosophical naturalism (claiming that we and everything else in the universe are the products of nothing more than natural processes alone) appeal to our belief in a Creator to promote their “environmental protection” agenda.  Many of these people are the same people that see nothing wrong with dismembering babies in the womb.  Many of the same people who promote government-funded (meaning taxpayer-funded) health care for seniors by appealing to our compassion would just as soon put our seniors to death, claiming it is for dignity and pain-relief, but in actuality because the seniors would become an expensive inconvenience.

Yes, Jesus accepted and forgave people who admitted and repented of their sins.  You can’t repent of sins if you don’t recognize them as sins in the first place.  The phrase “Go and sin no more” comes to mind.  He saved their souls but did not necessarily protect them from the earthly consequences of their sins.  The repentant thief on the cross comes to mind – Jesus told him “Today, you will be with me in Paradise,” indicating he was forgiven, but Jesus didn’t use His power to remove the man from the cross and stave off death.  And yes, people should take the plank out of their own eye before trying to remove the speck in someone else’s eye, and if you have repented of your sins and turned to Jesus, then the plank has been removed.

He’ll judge the world in the future, but Jesus certainly wasn’t “nonjudgmental” during His earthly ministry.  According to the written accounts of His teachings, He talked a lot about Hell and had some choice words in public for certain people, and don’t forget what He did to the money changers.

Jesus ordered His followers to take care of the poor, not the government.  He didn't advocate stealing from the rich to "care for the poor".  He told a rich man to sell everything he had and give it to the poor himself, not to sell all he had and give it to Rome for redistribution.  

Jesus did not teach pacifism, either.  As Greg Koukl points out, “turning the other cheek” likely refers to dealing with insults.  Jesus sent His disciples out with swords.  I’d agree that Jesus would be against using force unjustly, but not all use of force is unjust.

(Oh - and despite what PETA would say, Jesus was not a vegetarian, either.)

I’d like to note that nowhere does Jesus command us to spread Christianity by force.  He commanded us to make disciples, true, but everything about His earthly ministry teaches us to make disciples by preaching the Gospel through our words and living the Gospel in our actions.  Promote clean living.  Care for those in need, including telling them when, where, and how their sins are causing their problems (IF their own sins are causing those particular problems).

So, while I wouldn’t say that Jesus is a Republican, I would say that being a Republican is entirely compatible with being a Christian.  Being a Christian is much more than just being involved in politics, however.  It also includes living a moral life and giving of your time, talent, and treasure to those who need it.  We can’t insist that the government get out of social spending and then not pick up th slack ourselves by tending to the legitimate needs of others.  That is all part of having a relationship with Christ as your Lord and Savior.

There are a lot of people who identify themselves as Christian because they were born in the U.S. and aren’t Jewish, or because they are conservatives, or because they’ve attended church services at some point in their lives, or have a Bible in their home, or were baptized, “dedicated”, or confirmed.

The truth is, it is possible to attend church regularly, be active in the church, to give to a church, to celebrate Christmas and Easter, to have been baptized, and to read the Bible without really being a Christian.

A Christian is a follower of Christ - someone for whom Christ is Savior and Lord.  I know there are people who like to define Christian as anyone who attends or is a member of any church that uses the word “Jesus” somewhere in their statements or sermons or has Bibles, or anyone who identifies themselves as Christian.  I suppose for broad sociological purposes that may work.  But in the theological sense, there are plenty of people who attend church who aren’t Christians, even if they identify as such.

Since words mean things, it is important to define who I’m talking about when I refer to Jesus Christ.  Why?  Well, the Jesus Christ of the Watchtower is different from the Jesus Christ of the LDS church is different from the Jesus Christ of New Agers is different from the Jesus Christ of Islam is different from the Jesus Christ of ‘Word of Faith’ televangelists is different from Jesus Christ of the Bible and traditional, orthodox Christianity.  (Here come the comments!)

The Jesus Christ I’m writing about - the Jesus of the Bible and orthodox Christian theology - is both fully God and fully man.  I say “is” because He is alive.  He is the “Second Person” of the Trinity - meaning He isn’t the Father and isn’t the Holy Spirit.  He took on a human nature and grew as a normal child in Mary, a Jew.  His conception did not involve a human male as it was a miracle that took place inside of a virgin.  Jesus lived the perfect life without sin - quite unlike the rest of us – though He did experience much of what we experience.  He lived as Jew, preached, taught, prophesied, confirmed the truth of the Scriptures (what’s called the “Old Testament” in many circles these days), and performed miracles by the power of God, not by the power of “faith”.  He was beaten and crucified and died on the cross.  In doing so, He became the perfect sacrifice, the fulfillment of the Jewish system and examples, taking away our sins so that we can fellowship with a holy God.  After that, He was resurrected from the dead (that means bodily) to everlasting life.  He still lives and will judge the world at the end of this age - whenever that may be.

Oh - and there is one God, a triune God, hence the Trinity.  There is no other true god.  Nobody can “become” god.  God is God and has always been and always will be God.  So, it isn’t like we can be just like Jesus in every way.  He is unique.

Anyone who has made a decision to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior is “born again”, making the term “born again Christian” a redundancy.  You don’t have to stand on street corners shouting about Hell to be a Christian. You don’t have to walk around saying “praise God!” every minute.  You don't have to be some wimpy person who people walk all over.  If Jesus Christ - the true Jesus and not someone some are calling Jesus - is your Lord and Savior, you are a Christian.  You are born again.  Your sins are forgiven.  You have eternal life.  Do we still screw up?  Yes.  We will until we are resurrected or transformed.

If Jesus Christ is really your Lord and Savior, then there should be some evidence of that in your life:
You have a relationship with Him. 
He is your priority.
You live His way, not your own way.
You own up to your sins, repent of them, and ask forgiveness, even if you have to do it many times over. 
You seek to avoid those sins in the first place. 
You seek to help others as He has delegated those tasks to His people.

If you aren’t a Christian but want to be, you can become one right now.  It is between you and Him.  You don’t need to go to any particular building or perform any sort of ritual or lose a body part or talk to anyone else - just Him.  Once you are a Christian, though, you will find it helpful (and you will be obedient to your Lord) if you do find a healthy, well-balanced Bible-teaching church to attend, study the Bible, and pray frequently.  Don’t know how to pray?  Just start by talking to Him, and be willing to “listen”.

Getting back to politics...

Is Jesus a Republican?  I'll save that for another posting.

Unless you are living under sharia law and are kept ignorant of such matters, you know that this is the weekend during which Christians especially commemorate the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The books of the Bible claim that that both of these events were historical events - that they actually happened.

If both of these events did actually happen, then they are the most significant events in all of history.

The resurrection of Jesus is not a mere resuscitation of a man destined to later die and decompose, but rather a restoration of life to His dead body and a transformation into a glorified state in which He will never die again - eternal life.  He is the first and so far only human being to resurrect to eternal life.

It was the resurrection of Jesus that confirmed the significance of His crucifixion.  As C.S. Lewis put forth, Jesus was either “a liar, a lunatic, or Lord”.  Since then, “legend”, as in never having existed, has been added to the “possible” choices by the academics and philosophers who seriously discuss these matters.  The assertion that Jesus never really existed requires ignoring or “explaining away” quite a bit beyond just the books of the Bible, it also requires a discounting of the non-Christian references to Jesus in Roman, Jewish, and Gnostic writings, and an alternate explanation for the emergence of a sect of Judaism into the Christian church.

Over the years, people have tried to explain away the resurrection, attacking it as impossible (as if they have ultimate knowledge that God can’t ever have performed miracles), a hoax, or a legend.

Hoax theories have included such claims as “Jesus didn’t really die on the cross, he merely passed out”, “the disciples stole his body”, and “Jesus had an identical twin” to “explain away” the basic documented facts of the death of Jesus on the cross, the empty tomb, the appearances of Jesus alive after the crucifixion, and the rise of early Christianity among a group of Jews.

But for it to be a hoax, it would have been a hoax perpetrated by a powerless group of ordinary people who then maintained the secret of the hoax in the face of hardship, persecution, and death.  We’ve witnessed the willingness of people to die for what they believe to be true, but would a group of people be willing to die for what they knew to be lie, when they could save their skins by recanting?  Plus, why didn’t the non-Christian Jewish authorities ever record that Jesus had a twin?  As for the ‘legend” theory of the resurrection, it requires an elaborate alternative explanation for how a group or ordinary Jewish people started Christianity in the first place and why they would do it in the face of opposition from the Jewish and Roman authorities.

I’m convinced that both events – the crucifixion and the resurrection - happened, and that changes everything.  Jesus’ resurrection proves Him to be Lord.  It means that Jesus is Messiah, Christianity is true, Jesus is God, and Jesus is Savior, and all of us who follow Him have been forgiven of our sins and will fellowship with God, having eternal life.

Nothing could be more significant.

Have you asked Him to be your Lord and Savior?  Have you cast your sins and burdens at His feet and bowed down before Him?  It's the best decision you could ever make.

More on this can be found here:
http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/resurrectionofchrist.html

(Sorry, still having problems imbedding links.)

I invoke the Bible, moral standards, etc. in some of my writing here.  I often describe ideals, or the way things should be.  Never do I mean to imply that I haven’t messed up big time at different times in my life.  The Bible calls followers of Christ to the holiness of God.

The thing is - nobody but Jesus has maintained that level of holiness as a human being.  I sin.

Is the solution to reject moral standards, and call whatever I do right, and even fight to change laws that discourage or punish things I do that are wrong?

No.

The solution was provided by Jesus - living the perfect life and dying on the cross for my sins.  Through Him, I am forgiven, and I can turn to Him whenever I go astray… tell Him I’m sorry, and ask for His help to get me back on track and to keep me from straying again.

So when I blog about some decline or deficit in society, I’m not excluding myself from that.  I do screw up.  But I will do my best not to allow that to prevent me from calling for right and denouncing what is wrong.

Do I think everything that is wrong should be illegal?  No way.  On the flip side, though, I am reluctant to agree that people have a right that should be protected by law to do what is wrong.

Would I like to see everyone follow Jesus?  Yes.  But using government force to attempt to bring that about is not an option.  Forced Christianity is an oxymoron.  Nor do I think that people should be punished by the government for not being Christian.  A truly Christian nation will protect the freedom of religion that is expressed in our First Amendment.  So long as your religion does not promote actions that violate the rights of others, you should be free to practice it.

If you know you are a sinner and aren’t assured of your standing before God, I invite you to read through a modern translation of the Bible - the Gospels, Romans, Hebrews are good books to start – and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  He’s defeated sin and death, and will transform your life.  I still sin, which is why I titled this post "I Am a Sinner."  But He has paid for my sins.  All to Him I owe.  I am His servant, and I can't think of a better Master to have.

Dr. Laura, after making comments about the Roman Catholic Church, has apparently been getting a lot of feedback.  I don’t have a transcript of her recent comments in response to the feedback.  I’m a follower of Christ, but not a member of the Roman Catholic Church.  I also tend to like Dr. Laura’s program, commentaries, and books.

Please excuse the paraphrase, but she said something like how she doesn’t buy into the thinking that there is only one true church and everyone else deserves to die, and that is the kind of thinking we’re dealing with in the terrorists’ motivations.  She also said that all righteous people will inherit the Kingdom of God.

I wanted to comment on this, and since I have this blog, here goes.  The Christian (Biblical) mentality is NOT that “we’re better than everyone else” or that “only our congregation is right” or that “everyone else deserves to die.”

True Christians - meaning followers of Jesus - also believe the righteous will inherit the Kingdom of God.  However, what is righteous?  Who is righteous?  Everyone falls short of the holiness of God - except for one.  Jesus lived the perfect life in our place, and died to pay for our sins, and has inherited the Kingdom of God.  He shares that with all who accept his gift by making Him their Lord and Savior.  All of us are unholy.  Being unholy  is like being pregnant – even if you are just “a little” pregnant, you are still pregnant.  So how can unholy people become righteous?  Through Christ.  He is our representative.  We are guilty, but there is forgiveness of our guilt through Him.  The circumstances of your birth do no matter.  Your citizenship does not matter.  How wealthy you are does not matter.  What matters is - do you stand before God to be judged on your own record or the life of Jesus?

Furthermore, Christians do not want anyone to die and go to Hell, nor do we think we are better than anyone else.  The first thing we do is admit our sin.  We admit we’ve blown it!  Then we turn from sin in that we no longer will call it right even if when we continue to stumble – and we will.  So before a true Christian reaches out, he or she has freely admitted their need for a savior.  THEN we seek to share this good news with others - that there is a Savior, and forgiveness for all who ask of Him.  Hell is for people who reject God on God’s terms.  After all. Heaven is eternal fellowship with God, and if you don't want to fellowship with God now, why should you be forced to for all eternity? There is nothing in the Bible calling for people to force someone to be a follower of Jesus or to kill someone for not being a Christian.

The Christian faith is about living with Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Who Jesus is and what He has done is at the heart of the faith.  There are many churches that are built on that faith - some with different customs, different music, different styles, different organizational structures - but all are made of imperfect people.  Any human organization can be corrupted and become harmful, and churches are no exception.  If a church has become systematically harmful, people should leave and seek to gather together with other believers elsewhere - in a healthy church.  A healthy church does not protect pedophiles from the law.  A healthy church does not condemn all other churches.  A healthy church teaches the Bible and lives the Bible, ministering to the needs of the congregation and the community.  A healthy church does not reassure people that it is okay to continue in their sin.

Maybe you’ve been exposed to a lot of nonsense about Christianity.  I recommend reading the basic creeds of Christianity here, and if you think Christianity is for people who don't think, check out this site and this one.

As for Dr. Laura, if I remember correctly, she is still searching after following Orthodox Judaism and then somewhat pulling back out of it.  I sincerely hope she finds the peace and joy I know from my fellowship with the Jew, Jesus, who lived, died, and rose to live again forevermore.  I needed His forgiveness, and I still sin, but it is so wonderful to be able to go to God in prayer and ask for forgiveness, and submitting to His will.