Jesus Course

There are plenty of people who believe in God but some of them say that although they accept that God exists they don’t think it is possible to know anything about God. They might be willing to accept that there must be a creator but that we can’t know what that God is like.

Of course this belief can give a lot of comfort to people who want to believe that there is a God but still want to live and behave as though there isn’t one. It’s possible to admit that the evidence points to the existence of God but then by excluding any possibility of knowing anything about we can continue to live however we want to (without any supreme being interfering with things of course).

Unfortunately, in my view, this doesn’t really make a lot of sense.

For instance, why would God want to create such a magnificent Universe just to ignore it? If God did create everything and then decide not to take any notice of it we get a pretty bad picture of the way God is. Wouldn’t this also be a self defeating argument with a God who is all knowing but doesn’t want to know? All powerful but doesn’t ever do anything? Omnipresent but not wanting to be everywhere. One would have to wonder why such a God would want to bother creating in the first place?

Doesn’t the fact that God created give us an idea that God must, at least, be interested in his creation?

Christians, of course, believe that God is more than interested in his creation. That God is so interested that he chooses to reveal himself to his creation. That within the design and manufacture of the creation it is possible to discover things about God. But then Christians want to go even further and say that God is so concerned about his creation that he incarnated himself in the person of Jesus Christ. That to know God all we have to do is to know Jesus Christ.

Then we believe that God loves us so much that he would be willing to suffer and die for us and then to rise to life to show us hope for the future.

So far from it being impossible to know God it is in fact possible to know God as one might know a friend.

Thoughts jesus christ

Although I haven’t watched the program (I’m in the UK and don’t follow the series anyway – perhaps my loss) I’ve had my Internet news feeds about Jesus dominated by the story of Larry David ‘urinating’ on Jesus painting in a ‘Curb your Enthusiasm’ episode.

From what I’ve read the event seems to have involved some splashed urine on a painting of Jesus that was then mistaken for tears. I think in some ways the idea was a clever one, although perhaps the idea could have been softened to avoid offense with someone washing their hands (perhaps there is something funny about urine that escapes me somewhat).

This is the kind of issue that constantly comes up in the UK with religion and religious characters (although Jesus and Christianity seems to be the main source for the fun) being the object of ridicule and innuendo on many TV comedy shows ).

So then we have the dilema. Do we laugh at it to show we are just the same as everyone else and can take a joke or do we make a stand to say actually this is really quite offensive?

Not just Christians, of course, see Jesus as a great religious figure and this is likely to be offensive to quite a large percentage of the worlds population.

There is always a fine line between using something for a joke and trying to squeeze some humour out of an offensive situation. There are certainly people who find any offensive remarks to be a great source of humour.

Personally I feel that with so many other things to laugh about (and I personally enjoy a good laugh) any humour that degrades other people is not right.

We already have some restrictions on free speech (and rightly so) where people are not free to say what they like about people of different races or genders. We don’t accept that it is ok to say anything you like about anybody (we don’t accept verbal bullying as being acceptable for instance). So at some point we want to draw the line. Personally I think we need to make sure we don’t draw the line so close that people are not free to express opinions – whatever they may be – as long as those opinions are not expressed in a way that is going to cause a riot. This is about the way opinions are expressed and not the opinion themselves.

So we come back to humour. Humour is not just about expressing opinion it is about the way it is done. People must be free to say Christians are wrong but not to piss on them (sorry for the language!).

I think this is a case of things going too far and perhaps we let too many comedians get away with too much – in the interests of free speech and being afraid we are going to be labeled as humourless killjoy spoilsports.

Perhaps comedians are sometimes themselves guilty of bullying others – how far is it from a good joke to bullying someone (those who have been bullied at school will tell you have most bullies use tactics to make others laugh at them).

Of course humour has been used in the past to make us laugh at: black people for being black, homosexuals for being homosexual, Jewish people for being Jewish, etc. And at the time we all collude with the claim that it’s just humour and people should loosen up and learn to laugh at themselves. I hope by now that we have come to see that humour can play a part in the way people view others. Of course it isn’t the cause of the problem but it certainly can contribute to making some pretty terrible things to happen. I hope by now that even those who hate Political Correctness would understand that some things are just too far.

I didn’t see the episode and we get worse in the UK but I want to make a plea for people not to degrade others (or their beliefs) whether in the name of a good joke – or otherwise.

Thoughts humour, jesus christ

Christians always get excited when they hear Jesus’ name mentioned in a pop song. Robbie Williams (I understand he was raised a Roman Catholic) gives Jesus the treatment in another of his songs. However, as is often the case, the thinking about God in the song is not really from a Christian viewpoint.

Here is one of the verses from his song

God gave me the sunshine,
Then showed me my lifeline,
I was told it was all mine,
Then I got laid on a ley line,
What a day, what a day,
And your Jesus really died for me,
Then Jesus really tried for me

The last two lines of this verse are fine but it’s the rest of the song that confuses things.

I guess this just reflects common thinking on religion where you pic n’ mix from them all. My own thinking is that we should listen to different perspectives but not assume that somehow the best answer is going to be to try and mix them together. I like ketchup and I like Golden Syrup. One day I tried mixing them together in a sandwich – it didn’t come out well. Not all things are better mixed up.

All religions claim to hold the truth but they can’t all do so at the same time. Jesus says some pretty distinctive things about himself and God that just don’t fit with any other religion. I advocate respect and the right to choose but we don’t find the truth in a mixing bowl of religions.

Jesus jesus christ, robbie williams

What is life all about anyway? Why do I exist and what is my purpose in life? There are plenty of philosophies that believe we are here by chance and therefore have no purpose. But if what Christians say about Jesus is true then Jesus has some very important things to tell us about life.

There is a prevailing idea around at the moment that life is about pleasure. The way to decide what is right or wrong is to simply consider what would bring the greatest pleasure. This falls down on a lot of fronts, of course, not least because what pleases me might not please someone else and how on earth can I decide anything when I don’t know the long term implications. What pleases me now might turn out to be a disaster for me later.

Jesus has another perspective on life. Jesus tells us that life is not about pleasing ourselves but is about loving and serving God. It is about doing the will of God.

Now, as it turns out, doing the will of God does often bring a great deal of pleasure but not always.

Just before you decide that this is nonsense and you’d rather go back to the pleasure principal you might like to think about the great people from history that we remember the most. Do we remember those who lived for their own pleasure or do we remember those who were willing to sacrifice their own pleasure for the benefit of others. The most inspiring people are those who are willing to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of others. Jesus once said “no greater love has anyone than to lay down their life for someone else.”

Jesus can tell us just what life is all about and gives us a sense of purpose more than anyone else. Why should I bother with Jesus? Because Jesus gives me a reason to live.

Jesus jesus christ

Why should I bother about Jesus? Is a very important question to ask. What is so important about Jesus that he should bother me 2000 later? There are many historical people but I don’t spend my time reading their writings – save perhaps for when I read a history book. Isn’t Jesus just someone else from history?

Over the next few blog entries I’m going to think about this question and attempt to answer it in some way. I think it is a very important question to answer. If Jesus is just another historical person with some interesting things to say then I have some more important things to be spending my time on. But if Jesus is who the church says he is then everything else I might spend my time on seems a little insignificant.

The first point I want to make is that we should bother about Jesus because he is at the centre of something very important that happened around 2000 years ago so that after Jesus things would not be the same in the world ever again.

Jesus isn’t just another person in history. Jesus introduces a way of thinking about life that is different from anything that came before or since. There are similarities, of course, with other religious figures and philosophers but Jesus has some very unique things to say and do. We don’t do justice to other religious leaders or philosophers or for that matter Jesus if we just ignore the differences and focus on the similarities.

Some of the important things that Jesus spoke about will be covered in other posts but for now I want to make the point that something incredibly important happened in Israel/Palestine 2000 years ago and it centres on the figure of Jesus.

This dramatic change is worth exploring for itself. Understanding this change could have a very positive effect on the life of individuals and the world today.

If you doubt this importance then consider that more books and more films and more songs have been written about Jesus than any other person that has ever lived. Even today people’s interest in Jesus does not diminish. There is even an atheist group know as Atheists for Jesus.

Jesus is worth bothering about because no one else has ever had such an impact on the world. If you are looking for answers to the deeper questions of life (and everyone should be) then you have to be bothered with Jesus.

Jesus jesus christ

I just watched Close Encounter of the Third Kind (again) with my children. I always find the part where the big space ship comes across and the aliens come out very exciting. It’s something about feeling that child like excitement about what it would be like to actually meet an alien.

It then got me thinking about God. How often do we feel that child like excitement about meeting God? There should be more excitement of course about meeting God than there should about meeting aliens.

Then it got me thinking that perhaps we often find it difficult to follow Jesus because we have just got so used to him being around. We have lost our excitement and anticipation that should be there when we meet Jesus. There is a gospel story about a short man climbing a tree just to get a glimpse of Jesus. This is the kind of excitement that we need to have each day.

Now I’m sure you are aware that when you get used to having things around the excitement of them tends to dwindle, so how do you keep the excitement alive?

With Jesus I think it comes from thinking about him and what he has done. This is one of the reason Christians are always banging on about the cross. Not just because of what happened but because it’s amazing and makes you feel excited about who Jesus is.

To follow Jesus we need to feel excited about being around him and learning about him. Without this excitement our faith tends to die away until it doesn’t matter much to us. Let’s try and get our excitement about Jesus back and then perhaps following him will be that much easier.

Thoughts discipleship, jesus christ

Fasting has always been a controversial subject for Christians – ever since Jesus defended his disciples who didn’t fast (Matthew 9:14ff). It’s a mistake, however, to think that Jesus had anything against fasting – he did it himself after all.

Fasting in the bible

Fasting pops up many times in the bible and tends to be associated with a need to pray about something. It could be that people wanted to express how sorry they were or that they were asking God for something very important to them.

Jesus was keen on the idea that when people fast they shouldn’t tell others about it. Fasting is something that is done for God and not for others to observe and conclude how spiritual you are. I know that danger myself because I’ve fasted on several occasions and if people find out they are often very impressed (and sometimes confused) – this leaves me wondering if perhaps I shouldn’t have bothered now everyone knows about it.

Is fasting just giving something up?

I think it’s important to not get fasting confused with giving something up for your own benefit. It’s not unusual for people to give something up for a while to try and improve their life (e.g. T.V., alcohol, chocolate, etc) but this is about self and not about God. This is commendable but has little to do with fasting for the spiritual life.

Fasting does involve giving something up – mainly food. This can be a difficult experience and it does have the benefit of helping break dependence on the thing you fast from (e.g. food). However fasting really is about your relationship with God and not the thing you are giving up.

Feeling hunger is a good way of learning to hunger for God

Going without food, for instance, is a good way of learning to depend on God more. The hunger acts as a reminder to think about God and after a while without food you start to feel it constantly. You have to turn that longing for food into a longing for God (it’s easier than it sounds).

Give it a try

So I encourage all Christians to try some fasting, but make sure you do it all for the right reasons.

Christian living christian, devotions, fasting, jesus christ, religion

There is a great deal in the news at present about Abdelbaset al-Megrahi (aka the Lockerbie Bomber) and his early release from prison. Such times always raise big questions about guilt and forgiveness. We want to see guilty people punished and yet we also understand that compassion for someone terminally ill is important. Where does the right path lie?

Jesus had a great deal to say about injustice and forgiveness. Jesus was always very keen to point out that one day we will all have to answer for our actions. This is surely the right thing. We don’t want anyone to get away with the wrong that they do to others – do we? If someone is guilty of a crime, especially a big crime, then we want those people to face justice for the wrong they have done. Jesus says that one day everyone will have to face this.

Then Jesus also wanted to talk about forgiveness, that the only way to win when you have been wronged is by forgiving. I know it sounds mad because we all want justice but that desire for justice can become a lingering pain when the justice seems not to be done, and if you have ever been a victim of a crime you will know that no amount of justice satisfies this hunger. There may be some peace of mind in knowing the perpetrator of a crime is being punished but that punishment can never undo what was done. The only way to beat the pain is to find forgiveness.

This is tough – not easy. It is far easier to be angry and demand retribution than it is to be able to forgive and yet it is the forgiveness that has the power to heal.

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi will one day have to face the ultimate judge of all things, and for him that time is fast approaching. But alive or dead, in prison or free, it is the victims and their families that suffer and need to find peace and that peace can only come through forgiveness.

Politicians exchange insults at such times as this and call each others methods into question and yet it is the victims families that continue to suffer. I don’t want to add any words that will just cause pain to them but I believe Jesus would want them – and us – to think more about forgiveness than retribution, even though it is hard to do so.

Thoughts forgiveness, jesus christ

Being a follower of Jesus can sometimes seem like more of a chore than a joy. We get so worked up about what we should or shouldn’t be doing, or what we should or shouldn’t be believing that we can lose some of our desire to follow.

Then of course non-Christians look at us and think that being a Christian doesn’t look like a lot of fun but just more rules and regulations to follow. We tell them that we get freedom from following but they what they see is lots of rules and regulations.

If you are struggling or starting to drift into thinking being a Christian is just about following a set of rules or beliefs then I encourage you to try and get some more love back into your relationship with God.

There are all kinds of ways of doing this but why not set aside an hour or two (or more) in your diary for just thinking about how great God is. Listen to some music if you like, go walking in a beautiful place, just sit still and think about the beauty of God. We all need this every now and then. It all starts with love.

Thoughts christian, devotions, jesus christ, love

Sadly too many times Christians have mistaken discipleship with legalism. We trawl the bible looking for rules to obey and then get upset when we can’t obey them. But I’m not convinced that this was what Jesus had in mind in the first place.

Jesus does say that he has not come to abolish any laws but he also wants to go to great lengths to explain that following Jesus is about learning to think like Jesus thinks and not following rules and regulations.

This is always difficult for Christians because we don’t want to sound like wishy washy people who say it doesn’t matter what you do as long as it feels good but this is kind of what Jesus taught. But the feeling good bit is about making God feel good and not ourselves (although we feel good when we do what pleases God). God has given us a description of himself and what it is like in his kingdom but instead of saying, just do all these things and everything will be fine he says follow me and you will start to live like I’ve described.

Being a Christian is not about following rules its about developing a mindset and a way of feeling that pleases God. The benefit of this approach is that we then get to live the kind of life that God intended for us and this means we live life as it was designed to be lived (this is the best way by the way).

This all may sound confusing but simply put we don’t follow rules and regulations we follow a person – Jesus. To live properly we simply ask: “what would my life be like if Jesus were living it?”  This doesn’t mean trying to live like Jesus did (e.g. carpenter, beard, dusty roads, sleeping under the stars, riding donkeys, etc) but trying to work out what Jesus would do given your life.

So next time you are tempted to think in terms of law remember that this was never Jesus’ intention for you.

Christian living jesus christ, law