Why People Should Hate You

"The Christian Martyrs Last Prayer" - Painting by Leon Gerome

"You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved."
-Jesus, Matthew 10:22

Jesus warned his followers that the world would hate them. Today, we hold onto this warning, as we witness the ongoing martyrdom of Christians from around the world. In many countries, Christians' human rights are violated on account of their faith. Churches are being burned, pastors imprisoned or killed, and many people are forced to flee their country - if not underground.

Persecuted Countries

I understand that many people face injustice on account of other faiths or unaffiliated reasons around the world, but I find it interesting that one man holds himself responsible for the persecution and deaths of his own followers.

The number of martyrs [in the period 2000-2010] was approximately 1 million. Compare this to an estimated 34,000 Christian martyrs in 1900.
-George Weigel

This begs the question, what was so threatening about the message of Jesus that would demand hatred from everyone? And who is everyone, anyway?

When we look at the way Jesus is depicted by the Bible, there is one thing that is inescapable. He clearly thought he was a king. If his goal was simply introducing moral behaviour, it is fair to say he did this poorly. I think there is something to be said about people who wish to take only the morals of Jesus and leave his apolitical agenda aside; it's a tad bit extreme. Take these, for example:

• Do not call anyone a fool
• Settle injustice outside of court
• Self-mutilation is better than sin
• Divorce is adultery
• Never make an oath
• Do not resist an evil person
• Love your enemies

A man who said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic--on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg--or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice.
-C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

So why does pairing these morals with Jesus' politics make any difference?

“My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”
-Jesus, John 18:36

A Donkey Symbolizes Peace

The politics of a king are concerning his kingdom. For Jesus, it is also about a God who keeps His promise to make the nation of Israel a nation of priests. Because of this oath, Jesus is the guarantor of a better covenant. His message identified the true enemy of Israel not as Rome (nor is it now Palestine), but as sin and Satan. He was proclaiming the inauguration of a spiritual kingdom. The morals of Jesus should be equated to spiritual kingdom arsenal. Therefore, as soldiers of the Lord's army, we are not required to carry a gun; on the contrary, we are required not to.

If crucifixion is the coronation ceremony of our king, then you know this is not a kingdom that will progress through force.
-Bruxy Cavey, Why Did Jesus Die?

This is a hard pill to swallow for many of us as Christians, and that is evidenced throughout our history.   We either demoralize Jesus' politics, or depoliticize His morals. With the church institution perpetually being defined as a moral compass, it becomes compromised in politics, and subsequently loses in the end. In fact, the Catholic Church has failed to convince anyone that they are a force for good in the world any more. This is simply not an effort we can expect to see fruition from in this life. Steve Wilmshurst puts it aptly:

It is the overlap of the ages which produces the ongoing collision of the kingdoms and its attendant conflict: the Kingdom inaugurated by Jesus' mission is neither entirely ‘now' nor entirely ‘yet to come'. Thus there are two possible errors here. We could confine the Kingdom largely to the future, denying its effective presence in the world for today and minimizing its political dimension. . . On the other hand, to believe that the Kingdom can be fulfilled within the present age – the dream of certain liberal optimists and Christian socialists – is to ignore the plain teaching of Scripture, supported by our own experience that the power of sin and evil does not look like fading away! . . . The Kingdom's demands are so fundamental that they replace or transform our adherence to every other group, national, ethnic or cultural. . . The way of the Kingdom is to scatter the proud and bring oppressive rulers down from their thrones.

North Korean Christians Praying

What are the reasons people hate you? Are you kingdom-minded?

"We ask North Korean underground church members how we can pray for them," says Eric Foley. "And they answer, 'Pray for us? We pray for you!'" Foley explains, "When we ask them why, they say, 'Because you American Christians put so much confidence in your wealth and freedom that you don't fully know what it's like to be able to trust only in God.'"
-Pam Sparks, Christian News Wire

How has excess and freedom affected your ability to rely on God?

Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written, "I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it," says the Lord. . . Don't let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good.
-Paul the Apostle, Martyred in Rome, 65 AD

Planetary Self-Defence

When I was in high school, I got addicted to an Internet tick-based game called Planetarion. For me, this was the beginning of Online Gaming. In the wake of the Year 2000 Problem, Elite Commander Zirconus was spending all day and night combing the galaxy, forming alliances with neighbouring planets to defend Arsentium against militant aliens looking to deplete my,  ahem, *his resources and steal his orbiting asteroid mines.

To a human, this probably looked more like staring blankly at a chart on a 12" monitor waiting for the next hourly tick to go by so I could buy another eon gun...

Twelve years later, there is now talk of low earth-orbit transit systems attainable by using existing magnetic-levitation technology.

Maglev passenger trains have carried passengers at nearly 600 kilometers per hour (373 mph) - spacecraft have to be some 50 times faster, but the physics and much of the engineering is the same.
-Brian Dodson

With our eyes fixed on the stars, we start to imagine even greater possibilities. Interplanetary travel? Alien life? Earth 2.0? Jedi Academy? Ok, now I'm getting carried away...

Trains would shoot to orbit in seconds in an 80-mile sealed tube – and the scientists behind the $60 billion proposal claim it could revolutionize industry, allowing for cheap space-based solar power and generating unimaginable wealth from mines on asteroids.
-James J. Williams

I don't know about you, but I find this exciting. Slowly but surely, my high school alter-ego, Zirconus of Arsentium, is shaping up to become a reality...


But with technology pushing us beyond the limits of our humanity, so the anticipated challenges come.
End Times prophecies are even more popular than ever among date-setters, and Hollywood has even capitalized on the paranoia. With so many people fixated on the annihilation of our world, it's questionable whether channeling the energy required to save it is worth our time.

And time, apparently, is of the essence.

A rock, which is quarter of a mile across, will pass between our planet and the moon in November 2012 and will be visible with small telescopes. Passing by at a distance of just 201,000 miles, the asteroid will be the largest object ever to approach the earth so close.
-Martin Evans

Discover Magazine predicted the 10 most probable ways the world will end. Rather grim study, I must say. Odds being 1 in 700,000, asteroid impact is the only one nearly 100% preventable (as opposed to unpreventable for the rest).

What could be seen as a demonstration of God's glorious power, instead instills fear to most who describe it as nothing less than a swing and a miss.

The universe is trying to kill us.
-Phil Plait

Perversely, some Christians cry for the riddance of our home in pursuit of something greater in an after life. Was this what God intended?

The LORD smelled the pleasing scent, and the LORD thought to himself, I will not curse the fertile land anymore because of human beings since the ideas of the human mind are evil from their youth. I will never again destroy every living thing as I have done.
As long as the earth exists,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and hot,
summer and autumn,
day and night
will not cease.
-Genesis 8:21-22

Some Christians finish that sentence differently. To them, God's promise is about a flood, and therefore, we should not rule out fire and brimstone. We needn't really take Him seriously. But the way I read it, the earth is meant to continue to exist unharmed. God promises that it will not end in destruction. It will not cease.

Side Note:
The confusion comes from this passage:

By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
-2 Peter 3:6-7

Which is in reference to refinement, as opposed to annihilation.

My question is, if our world is in danger, should we be prepared to defend it?

In 1995, a politically unstable South Africa came together to celebrate the victory of a rugby World Cup championship. If a common adversary in sport is enough to unite a country facing civil war, even for a moment, what would be required to unite our planet?

If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.
-Nelson Mandela

It seems ironic to me that, for many Christians, world peace is not a goal but rather something to be feared. In light of end times prophecies, they seek war with each other as a means to an end. But what kind of God desires that?

Could it be that our God is feverishly trying to unite us?

Supposing our solar system lasts as long, scientists say that within the next 5 to 7 billion years, gravity will force the sun to collapse into its core which will ratchet up the heat on the remaining hydrogen and cause the sun to expand into a red giant. Currently, Plait labels this catastrophe "unpreventable".

So, we've got about 5 billion years, give or take, to figure out where science could lead us, before the sun implodes (*insert tongue in cheek). Is pursuing peace in our world a fruitless task? I believe one day, Jesus will return. And when he does, we will welcome him to reign in his kingdom here.

God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
-John 3:17

Could the Saviour of our world be the Saviour of our universe?

Time Keeps Ticking

some words from the wisdom of Oswald Chambers:

"The central point of the kingdom of Jesus Christ is a personal relationship with Him, not public usefulness to others. It is not the practical activities that are the strength of this Bible Training College— its entire strength lies in the fact that here you are immersed in the truths of God to soak in them before Him. You have no idea of where or how God is going to engineer your future circumstances, and no knowledge of what stress and strain is going to be placed on you either at home or abroad. And if you waste your time in overactivity, instead of being immersed in the great fundamental truths of God’s redemption, then you will snap when the stress and strain do come. But if this time of soaking before God is being spent in getting rooted and grounded in Him, which may appear to be impractical, then you will remain true to Him whatever happens."

it's interesting to think that most of my stress endured on a daily basis is self-inflicted. personal time with God takes a back seat to the endless need to keep busy. i feel that if i stop and catch my breathe, i'm wasting time.

i have learned recently that time is not money. applying this to my current workplace is utterly nothing more than a ridiculous idea, since it is primarily based on commission. but i forget that the "system" is built on this idea; to keep me from God.

even devotional study isn't time with God.

i must repent.

Avoiding Foolish Disputes

maybe "avoiding foolish disputes" means not arguing about anything with no eternal value.

Short and Sweet

when one accepts that ignorance is bliss, the possibilities and conclusions to be drawn are endless. in a state of bliss, one is not faced with obstacles, but has already overcome them. one does not contemplate but has already decided. it is a state of serenity. peace of mind. peace, coupled with joy. why the distinction? can i have peace without joy? or joy without peace? is either really an object of aspiration without a foretaste of the other?

if ignorance leads to complacency, when does this become bliss? is bliss a sinful desire? does God want us to have peace and joy?

okay, this is something i beleive i have already come to a realization on. God wants to divert our attention to Him, rather than our situation. so is God being the object of our distraction, thus promoting ignorance? are christians out of sync with the world because our focus is Christ? is this a good thing?

i think there is more to the equation. we are called to love the world, not ignore it. we are called to be a light, not to wear infared goggles.

is there an alternative to ignorance? if so, is there a higher cause and effect? once we validate Christ as a reason to harness this serendipity, the burden is lifted. bliss is not a sinful desire, but a precious need. ignorance is temporal bliss. Christ is eternal bliss.

Guerrilla Jesus

while reading the subsequent post, do not lose focus. this is but one of the many sides of Jesus. not to discredit anything i am about to say, but please take note.

the genealogy of Jesus is interesting to note, because it it goes through Joseph's (husband of Mary) line. and we know, from reading of His birth, that Jesus did not have a "father" in a mortal human sense, but that Mary was impregnated by God Himself (this is why Joseph questioned Mary's loyalty to him). so i began to question the credibility of the account for Jesus' genealogy. in Matthew 1:16, it includes Mary as the wife of Joseph... as if to hilight the importance of marriage as a binding contract and addition to family. becoming "one"... also, Matthew's inclusion of women in the earlier ancestry accounts for the shadiness of His ancestors. people put Mary on a pedestal. but not Joseph, or any of his ancestors. how come? can we not bear the idea of Jesus having prostitutes and adulterers and pagans for relatives?

i think this really adds to the incredibility of Jesus and His claims. you have to take His word at face value. and the doubt goes with it. taking all this into account, trusting Jesus becomes a little less fuzzy, and a little more provocative.

who was Jesus? when interrogated, He confirmed their accusation against His claim, being the Son of God.

Jesus spoke with authority. the disciples noted this. Jesus would go around casting demons out of people, calming storms, and teaching with humble conviction. and besides all of this, He was perfect. He could wander in the desert for 40 days without food, and be tempted by the devil, yet He would not falter.

He challenged their understanding of the law! He rewrote it for them! He raised the bar. comparing us not to other men, but to God Himself. even as a child, Jesus would sit in the Nazarene temple and debate with their highest teachers. Later, He trashed the temple in Jerusalem, overturning tables of money changers, telling them they had made it into a den of theives Matthew 21:12-13. He called the pharisees and teachers hypocrites! snakes and vipers! blind and unclean! then he accused them of murdering righteous blood between the temple and the alter Matthew 23. And when the priests questioned His authority, He answered them in riddles Matthew 21:23-27.

Yet in His perfection, He remained humble. He was a servant-leader. He washed the disciples' feet.

Read Luke 23:11-12. wow. through Jesus' innocence, two rulers are befriended. yet Jesus said that He did not come down to earth to bring peace, but to fulfill God's law through atonement for our sins. but it just seems to radiate off of Him. He wore it on His sleeve, only to give it away by saying "peace be with you." George Lucas applied this as a bidding farewell: "may the force be with you." though there are also an array of other pagan and spiritual religions behind his "force" concept. it reminds me of wiccan and spiritual feminist ideas of a god that can be influenced for good or evil uses.

Jesus predicted His own death and resurrection. then He did it. and while He did it, He made sure to take one final slap in the sanhedrin's face by ripping the temple curtain in two (the one hiding the ark of the covenant from the priests' eyes upon entering the Holy of Holies, so that they would not be struck dead by the radiant presence of God) Luke 23:45.

Judge a Book by its Followers (revised)

the book: The Holy Bible
its followers: Christians
the judges: ....Christians?

i've been thinking about this for a little while now. (pause for more thought) can people base an accurate preconception of a 'religion' based on its followers? should they be able to? pop-culture teaches not to judge a book by its cover. but christians do it all the time. could one, being a non-believer, tell someone what christianity is without ever reading the entire christian bible, but by judging the lives of its followers? could christians? this would require christians to learn the bible, and apply it to their daily life. i mean, this sounds somewhat absurd. to memorize 66 books of prophecy, ethics, miracles, and genealogy and practice it in your daily life.

perhaps some omissions from the bible are permittable, if we are called to "preach the gospel"... like, we could leave out all the boring stuff, cut straight to the 'meat' and hilight key references in the bible. or better yet, cut out the entire old testament. besides, Jesus never came to save the world until the new testament, right? well, there's 4 whole books about Jesus, so he must be important. maybe we could just pick one book and stick with that. let's stick with john because i think i heard he spent the most time with Jesus. but there's 21 chapters in john. still a long read. so let's boil it down to the main message of Jesus... He did say to obey God's commandments. but there's 10 of those, and i only remember a few... so what are the important ones? Jesus said that the greatest commandment was love.

we have boiled it down to one thing. love. is that it? can we settle for that? can we live that? sure! every christian will tell you that! roman catholics and protestants alike! as well as mormons! jews! muslims! hindus! buddhists! sikhs! taoists! wiccans! we can all live together in peace and harmony! isn't that the ultimate goal? is that love? i think it's more of a tolerance. this is NOT the love that Jesus was talking about. this is not being the "salt of the earth". i think we have the wrong idea about love. love is not about making sure everyone gets along nicely with eachother. love hurts. love bleeds. love intrudes. love heals...

the hippie movement was inspired by contemporary christian music artists. they wrote love songs to Jesus. they told the world that Jesus loved them. that He didn't care where they had been. that God would love them no matter what.

people liked this idea about Jesus. they could smoke a joint, fornicate in the woods, run around naked... and it would never matter, Jesus loved them! well, they LOVED this idea. don't get me wrong, i can't argue with them. the initial message is true! Jesus DOES love me. and THANK GOD for grace...

grace? okay. let's back this up. what is grace for? why do we need grace? grace was God's ultimate gift to man. THROUGH Jesus. he gave us forgiveness and a second chance. this is our second chance. a chance to make a difference. to create change. God demonstrated His love for us by intruding into our lives. sending His son to die for us. to heal us. and that hurts. and Jesus bled for us. he died for us. that is love.

so my point is, we are to be like God. is this unfair? if, to enter heaven, divine perfection is expected of us? can we judge a book by its cover? can we judge the Bible by the lives of its followers? do christians follow the Bible? do christians live bible-inspired lives? we need to stop judging eachother. we need to start loving eachother. speak love, not judgement. we need to stop tolerating eachother. we need to start holding eachother accountable for their actions. speak truth, not compromise.