In This House...

Stained Glass Masquerade

"Stained Glass Masquerade"

Is there anyone that fails
Is there anyone that falls
Am I the only one in church today feelin' so small

Cause when I take a look around
Everybody seems so strong
I know they'll soon discover
That I don't belong

So I tuck it all away, like everything's okay
If I make them all believe it, maybe I'll believe it too
So with a painted grin, I play the part again
So everyone will see me the way that I see them

Are we happy plastic people
Under shiny plastic steeples
With walls around our weakness
And smiles to hide our pain
But if the invitation's open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade

Is there anyone who's been there
Are there any hands to raise
Am I the only one who's traded
In the altar for a stage

The performance is convincing
And we know every line by heart
Only when no one is watching
Can we really fall apart

But would it set me free
If I dared to let you see
The truth behind the person
That you imagine me to be

Would your arms be open
Or would you walk away
Would the love of Jesus
Be enough to make you stay 

Seven Characteristics of Spiritual Abuse

From “The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse” by David Johnson and Jeff VanVonderen

1. Shame-based Relationships: People learn to be or act powerless. Shame is not the same as guilt, a constructive signal which is an emotional indication of wrong actions or attitudes. Shame is a destructive signal about your personal worth, a belief or mindset that you are a bad and worthless person. (pp. 54-55)

2. Performance Focus: With this focus, how people act is more important than who they are or what is happening to them on the inside. (p. 56)

3. Idolatry: The "god" served by the shame-based relationship is an impossible-to-please judge, who obsesses on people's behavior from a distance, and is more concerned about appearance, how things look, what people think and where the power is. (p. 57)

4. Preoccupation with Fault and Blame: Forgiveness and personal apology are not enough when things go wrong, people have to pay for their mistakes and feel so defective and humiliated that they won't act that way anymore. (p. 58)

5. Obscured Reality: In shame-based systems, members have to deny any thought, opinion or feeling that is different than those of people in authority. Interaction with people and places outside the system threatens the order of things; the system (or organization) defines reality. Problems are denied or minimized, and therefore they remain (unless things change, they remain the same). (p. 58)

6. Centralized Teaching: What is true is decided on the feelings or experiences of the religious leadership, giving more weight to them than to what the Bible says. People can't know or understand spiritual truth until the leaders "receive them by spiritual revelation from the Lord" or "until the timing is right" or "until the people are ready", at which time the spiritual leaders "impart" these truths to the people. (p. 70)

7. Image Management: Image managers are more concerned with how they look to other people, and in a shame-based system, religious leaders are loathe admitting error and slow to admit the truth. What counts less is the substance of the spiritual material, and more on how it looks and makes people feel. (pp. 131-136)

Who in this picture is Naked?

by Ted Dekker

Where I grew up, everyone but my kind were naked. It didn't matter if you were religious, good, or bad, you were naked. Those exposed parts of the body that we so diligently cover in the west were not unlike ears or toes in that culture. Here you see me as a teenager wearing a blue shirt surrounded by naked people at a service. The woman with the bad perm is my mother (I love her dearly:) You must know that finding such a picture for western eyes wasn't easy--most images of my youth show so much more flesh.

Some would be so bigoted as to find offense in a picture like this, though I can't imagine that here. Still, the culture I grew up in was very different than the American culture, which in large part gives me that unique perspective some call twisted. Go figure.

Can you just imagine what America would look like if the whole country were naked for one day like my friends growing up were? I think terror would ensue. It certainly would not be inspiring. Clothing sales would surely double the next day. 

I say all of this tongue in cheek, naturally, but it illustrates another truth. We humans are so good at dressing ourselves up. Let me tell you, underneath all of the layers, we all look very much the same. In terms of following rules and living clean well dressed lives, we are simply no better than any neighbor.

The difference between people is truly a matter of the heart, not the skin.

Do you judge or do you love? Will you touch the diseased for flee to save your skin? 

One day it will be your heart, not your skin, that will be found naked. Is it a loving heart?

Considering this, who in this picture is truly naked?

a) The ones without clothes

b) The ones with clothes

c) None 

Be heard

(for more on Ted Dekker check out www.teddekker.com)

Bait and Switch

Bait and Switch

By Wayne Jacobsen

BodyLife • May 2009

Trading the Vibrant Life of Jesus for a Ritualistic Religion Called Christianity.

I saw the sign a year ago in Georgia: Live Free for Three Months. It was a developer's marketing strategy for a declining housing market. When I saw it, however, I wasn't thinking about houses. I thought about Christianity and how we invite people to live free in Christ and then soon after saddle them with all the obligations of being a "good Christian". We generally don't even let them have three months.

When the early believers were first called Christians, we don't know if it was a complement or a mockery. We do know that they didn't invent the term for themselves. The culture called them "little christs" because they had found so much identity in following Jesus. Whatever spawned the term, those early believers adopted it for themselves and for 2,000 years it has been the dominant identifier for those who claim to follow Christ. But that might be changing.

Recent surveys show even believers are becoming uncomfortable with the term. At least in the United States it is increasingly used not for people who reflect the passion of Jesus in a broken world, but for adherents of a religion that has been built on a distortion of the life and teaching of Jesus, not necessarily it's reality. The results can be confusing.

"Are you a Christian?" I used to love it when someone on a plane asked me that question. "Absolutely," I'd answer, proud to be on the side of all that's good and right in the world. But over the last fifteen years, answering that question has become far more difficult. Much of what has been done in recent years in the name of Christianity embarrasses me and disfigures the God I love. Some of it even horrifies me.

So now when I'm asked the question today, I hedge a bit. "It depends on what you mean by 'Christian'," I often respond. If they are asking whether or not I am a faithful adherent of the religion called Christianity, I have to confess that I'm not. I'm not even trying to be. But if they are asking me if I am a passionate follower of Jesus, the answer would be an enthusiastic yes.

In a few short years those realities have diverged significantly. Perhaps there has not been a time since the Middle Ages, where what it means to be a good Christian and what it means to thrive in a relationship with God, couldn't be more at odds. You can do everything required of a 'good Christian' in our day and still miss out on what it means to know him and be involved in a meaningful relationship with him that transforms you to love as he loved.

How many people endure repetitive rituals certain that doing so endears them to God? How many embrace a slate of ethical rules or doctrinal propositions thinking that doing so ensures God's blessings? Jesus offered us a vibrant life of relationship with his Father, and we ended up creating a religion that often disarms that very Gospel of its glory.

"These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men." (Mark 7:6-7) These words are as true for us today as when Jesus voiced them to the religious captives in his. His warnings in Matthew 23 about the pitfalls of religion, are more applicable in our day than they were in his. When is the last time you heard a sermon from that text? Read it. You'll know why.

Something Is Broken

For the last few months I've done numerous radio interviews for people concerned about what's being called the collapse of Christianity. Newsweek did a cover article in April about the collapse of Christianity's influence in America and that fewer people identify themselves as Christian or are a committed part of a local congregation.

There's a lot of handwringing going on about those statistics, most of them blaming the culture. But the problems in religion itself have never been greater. Conservative Christianity aligned itself with a political agenda and a party that turned out to be as corrupt as it blamed the other party for being. More and more believers I know are embarrassed at the anger and arrogance of many so-called leaders who speak to the press on behalf of Christianity. So it's no wonder to me that last year 4000 churches closed in America, 1700 pastors left the ministry each month and another 1300 pastors were terminated by their church, many without cause, and over 3500 people per day left their church last year.

Clearly we have a problem that cannot be blamed on the secularization of our culture. The kingdom is no longer a pearl of great price, and knowing Jesus is no longer the fruit of our religious activities. And people who are beginning to see that, are often marginalized as rebellious or unsubmitted for simply wanting what Jesus promised them.

Many people giving up on local institutions are not doing so because they've rejected Jesus, but finding that the culture of Christianity is actually diminishing their faith not enhancing it. In an email I got the other day, from a frustrated pastor trying to help people follow Jesus, and is just coming to realize that his own job may be at odds with his greatest passion. "Church has become a hindrance to building relationships and loving others."

He's not alone. Many of us came to faith enamored by the life and teachings of Jesus. We were promised a relationship with God but were handed a religion of doctrines we had to believe, rituals we had to observe, obligations we had to meet and a standard of morality to adopt. While most of those were true enough, many found that their attempts to follow them did not produce either the life of Jesus it promised, nor the reality of true, caring communities of faith.

We have traded the simple power of the Gospel for a religion based on human effort. We were invited to relationship and ended up with a host of irrelevant dogma and burdensome obligations. Fortunately people from all over the world are waking up to a fresh hunger to shed the dictates of religion and embrace the wonder and power of a love-filled relationship with the living God.

Was Christianity Ever Meant to Be a Religion?

I guess all of this begs the question, did Jesus intend to start a religion called Christianity, or did we do this to ourselves? I suspect the latter. I am wholeheartedly convinced that he came to end all religions, not by lashing out against them, but by filling up in the human spirit what religion promises to fill but never can. Religion seeks to manipulate human effort to earn God's approval, when such approval can never be earned.

Abraham, a Jewish man, lead the tour portion of a trip to Israel I was on fifteen years ago. Some of those on the tour had been rude to his faith as they tried to "help" him embrace Jesus as the Messiah. On the last morning, I found him alone by the bus and had the chance to ask him if he'd been offended by some of the remarks.

He smiled. He told me he'd been guiding tours for 30 years and someone is always trying to convert him to their faith--Christians, Reformed Jews, Muslims and Mormons. Then he asked me, "Do you know why it makes no difference to me?"

I shook my head. He led me out to the street and pointed at a building, "Do you see that synagogue with the star of David? That's our building. The one over there with the cross on it is yours. Further down, do you see the dome? That's theirs. On the surface they may look different, but underneath they are all basically the same. You would think that if one of us was serving the Living God, it would look differently."

I still remember how much his words impacted me. Religion is the same all over the world. It is a prescribed set of doctrine, rules, rituals, and ethics. It celebrates sacred space, exalts holy-men as gurus and tries to muscle its way into the culture. For 2000 years many have practiced Christianity as a religion, essentially no different than the others, except in who it claims to follow. But if one of us was serving a Living God, wouldn't it look very different?

When we cram the life of God into a box, we rob it of its life and power and only distinguish it from other religions by claiming a more truthful doctrine. Could that be why Jesus didn't teach his disciples how to gain a following or build institutions. He didn't teach them how to meet on Sunday mornings at 10:00 with a worship band and a leader to lecture the others. He didn't give them a prescribed set of behaviors that people were suppose to follow as the means to serve God.

No, he invited them into his Father's house, and a reality of relationship with his Father that would transform them and opened the way for them to share that love with others. That you can't put into a religion and trying to only chokes out any hope of relationship. Putting creed and doctrine above a growing friendship with him supplants the reality he offered us, no matter how correct our doctrine or moral our ethics.

Don't get me wrong. Truth is vital, as is righteousness, but without love they are also empty. Learning to live as a beloved child is far more transforming than the greatest principle you can follow. The life of Christian community isn't found by sharing religion together, but by embracing a journey of growing relationship with him that transforms us by his grace and power.

Losing Your Religion

What does this mean for us? Should we stop calling ourselves Christian or judge those who do? Should we come up with a new term to franchise so we could separate the ones who live it relationally from the ones who are caught up in religion? If we did, we'd only be making the same mistakes that have diminished our life in Jesus over the centuries.

The truth is that Christianity as a religion is a dangerous disfigurement of the God of the Bible. But not all who call themselves Christians live religiously. Given all the excesses and failures of Christianity, I am delightfully grateful that the Gospel of Jesus is still relatively intact inside its doctrine. Unfortunately it only lets new believers live free for so long before burdening them with religious obligations.

And I meet many believers and leaders who have a profound faith and are seeking healthy ways to communicate that journey with others. I rejoice in that, as I do the amount of compassionate aid that such groups share with the world in need. But too many people miss out on the life Jesus offered them by practicing it as a religion instead of growing to know him.

Ultimately the transformation from practicing religion to living inside a relationship with God is not an institutional battle; it is a personal one. We could tear apart all of our religious institutions today and nothing would change. I've been in many a house church filled with people who see the institutional church as the problem and are oblivious to the fact that they've just moved their religion into a home, where close fellowship only makes it more oppressive.

• When God is a distant concept to you instead of a real presence.
• When you find yourself following another man, woman, or a set of principles instead of following Jesus.
• When fear of eternity, not measuring up, or falling into error drives your actions.
• When you find yourself in empty rituals that do not connect you in a real way to him.
• When you are burdened by the expectations of others and feel guilty when you can't do enough.
• When you look at others who struggle with contempt instead of compassion.
• When the approval of others means more to you than remaining in the reality of his love.
• When you hesitate to be honest about your doubts or struggles because others will judge you.
• When you think of holiness as an unachievable duty, rather than aglorious invitation.
• When you think righteousness depends on your efforts instead of his grace working in you.
• When following him is more about obligation than affection.
• When correcting someone's doctrine is more important than loving them.
• When God seems more present on Sunday morning, than he does on Monday.

If you have only known Christianity to be a set of doctrines, rules and rituals, I have great news. Jesus came and died to open up access between you and his Father. Religion supplants that, distracting us with discipline, commitment and hard work that never yields the fruit it promises. If you've been worn out by religion, don't think you're alone. Others are just pretending, afraid they are the only ones, too. Life is only found in him.

Switching Back

There's something about our flesh that craves the illusion of safety that religion affords. Anyone of us can find our heart easily turned toward following rules instead of engaging him. When we recognize that happening, we can simply turn our hearts back to him and choose to move away from the religious traps and connect once again with God as our Father.

Living the Gospel means we live in his love. We come to know the Father's love for us and then sharing that love with him, and with others he puts in our path. (John 13:34-35). No other motive will suffice; no other is necessary. This is where the journey begins and this is the only place it can continue.

Returning to our first love isn't as difficult as we like to make it. For me it just means finding a quiet place and talking to God. When you find yourself caught in religion, tell him you're tired of chasing a religion that isn't working and you want to know him as he really is. Then, wake up each day with a similar prayer on your heart. Watch how he makes himself known to you in the simple reality of living each day. Follow the nudges he puts on your heart instead of the obligations and rituals. Find others who are on this journey and find ways to share the reality of a growing relationship and help guard our hearts about following into empty religious practices.

If you've been steeped in religion for a long time, you'll find yourself going through a very disorienting time. One woman I met called it a Pharisectomy, which is simply having your inner Pharisee removed. You might feel guilty, lonely, lost, or fearful in the process. Your former religious friends may feel threatened that you're no longer doing the things they do. But in time you'll find yourself sliding into the reality of relationship with him that is as increasingly real, transformative and engaging.

Among It, Not of It

So let's not go to war with religion, railing against its failures fighting against its dictates. Instead let's do what Jesus did--let's live beyond it. Let's find a reality of freedom and authenticity in him that can walk alongside anyone with patience and gentleness. Religion is what people crave when they haven't found life in him. Taking their religion away won't fix that. The only thing that will is helping them see a reality of relationship with God that makes all our religious activity unnecessary and unattractive. Jesus could be in religious settings and not be captured by them. He could care about a Pharisee as much as a prostitute.

Live among religion if he asks you to, loving toward those mired in it but you never have to be of it. The Gospel opens the door for us to re-engage the transcendent God, to know him as our Abba and to walk with him through the twists and turns of life, sharing his affection with others.

Live in the reality of that relationship and you'll find it quite naturally finding expression through you as you love and treat others the same way God treats you. People who refuse to live to fear, conform to ritual or put doctrine above love will find themselves having ample opportunity to help others on this journey as well. A dear friend wrote me recently who was feeling a bit swamped by all the people seeking out his help these days, "You didn't say anything about being safe is like hanging up a "counseling available" shingle."

We live in a great day. The emptiness of tradition is being seen for what it is and people are hungering for the reality of relationship. Live there each day and there's no telling where that will take you or who you'll end up walking alongside as Jesus becomes your life.

Then you can live free, not just for a few days or even three months. He came to set you free eternally!

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Biblical Support for Tattoos

by Jason Gennaro

Who says tattoos are sacrilegious? Does the bible? Definitely not!

So why do many good Christians condemn us, those who have tattoos or who want to get tattooed?

Unfortunately, I think many Christians do not fully understand the saving grace that was offered to us through the humanity, death, and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

As devout, tattooed Christians, it is incumbent upon us to educate other Christians about:

1. The context of Leviticus 19:28

2. The Old law and the New Law established by Christ and how Leviticus 19:28 relates to the New Law

3. The context for 1 Corinthians 6:19…Your body as a Temple

4. Certain imagery in the Bible

5. Our duty to evangelize

We also need to prove to our critics that our faith is based on more than just tattoos; it is supported by good works as well. And we must pray as often as possible that divisive but trivial issues (such as body art) are cast aside in favour of more pressing problems: Christian unity, the onslaught of relativism, and difficulties in evangelization...

The context of Leviticus 19:28

It seems every Christian anti-tattoo argument is based primarily on one thing...a single verse from Leviticus:

"You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh on account of the dead or tattoo any marks upon you: I am the LORD."

- Leviticus 19:28

Does this verse really condemn all tattoos?

Read properly, no!

Leviticus 19:26-31 deals with pagan practices and God's prohibitions against adopting those practices. In verse 28, God is warning the Jewish people about a pagan practice at funerals, where pagans would mutilate/mark themselves to appease their false gods. The pagans hoped that by cutting themselves and marking images/symbols of idols on their bodies, that they would obtain favour in the afterlife from their false gods, both for themselves and for those who just died.

See the Matthew Henry Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible, the New John Gill Exposition of the Entire Bible, the Adam Clarke Commentary, and the Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible for more detailed analysis.

As no one with a Christian tattoo is trying to pacify a pagan deity, it is safe to say this verse is not relevant to us.

The Old law and the New Law established by Christ and how Leviticus 19:28 relates to the New Law

Still, many who read the Bible will not take into account historical considerations or the full context of Leviticus 19:28.

Yet, there is a very real problem with using this verse in an anti-tattoo argument. One cannot believe that Jesus is Lord and He came to save the world through grace and love and still accept this verse as applicable to us today. It sounds harsh, but it is true. Why? The answer is simple. Christ gave us a New Law, one that supersedes the Old Testament Law, which includes Leviticus 19:28.

By answering the following questions, we will see that Christ's New Law frees us from the fetters that kept us captive to rituals and observances such as Leviticus 19:28.

- What is the Old Law? Why was it necessary?

- If we had a Law, why did we need a New Law?

- How do we know there really is a New Law?

- Does this mean the Old Law is null and void?

What is the Old Law? Why was it necessary?

Before we explain the New Law and its freedoms, we need to look at the Old Law, its nature, and why it was necessary in salvation history.

Before Christ embraced humanity and became man, the world was in disarray: it was divided and people did not understand that we shared a common Father, that is, the one true God. The bible tells us this much. In fact, we know that men were spiritually childlike, immature, and unable to comprehend their sinfulness, and divided as we were, there was no quick solution for unity. It was at this moment, with the coming of Christ already a part of His Divine plan, that the Lord our God took to himself a people who would be set apart and made ready to receive the Redeemer.

For you are a people holy to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, out of all the peoples that are on the face of the earth.

-Deuteronomy 7:6

To prepare for this moment, the fullness of time when Christ would appear, God gave Moses and the Israelites certain laws that awakened their consciences and, at the same time, set them apart from the pagan nations, a kind of "barrier" that ensured the Israelites remained free from "contamination."

Thus we have the Old Law, as outlined in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. The Old Law is divided into two parts, the moral code and the civil and ceremonial precepts (ritual observances). The moral code, summed up in the Ten Commandments, is a natural law, the law of the conscience, gathered by reason, and the foundation upon which man is to realize his vocation to live in the image of God. The commandments make plain what is against the love of God, and therefore they show us our sins. The second part of the Old Law, the observances, was necessary to ensure the Israelites remained united as a people and apart from the pagans.

If we had a Law, why did we need a New Law?

So the next question is, if we had a Law, why did we need a New Law? The truth is this: the Old Law is incomplete. That is not to say it is unholy or uninspired or not part of God's mysterious plan. The Old Law, with its severe punishments and earthly rewards, was necessary for an obstinate people who were both carnal and unspiritual. God wanted his chosen people to develop an awareness of sinfulness so when the fullness of time arrived, God would introduce a New Law that would allow each of us to know, in our hearts, the love of God, who forgives our sins and raises us to eternal life. And therein lies the weaknesses of the Old Law:

- It does not forgive sins (since only God's love can do this)

- It can suggest that our actions, in accordance with the Law, are the only criteria for eternal life (wrong, since only grace based on faith and our cooperation with this grace can guarantee this)

- It relies on fear of punishment, rather than love, which is God

In truth, if the Old Law did have the power to make us righteous and sinless, clean and perfect sacrifices for the Lord, then Jesus' death on the cross, the sacrifice that opens the door to God the Father, would have been unnecessary.

"I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification were through the law, then Christ died to no purpose."

-Galatians 2:21

"Christ has obtained a ministry which is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second." 

-Hebrews 8:6-7

It is clear that the Old Law alone does not have the power to free us from the chains of sin, because only the grace of the Holy Spirit, given to the faithful through faith in Christ, is able to remove the stain of sin. Faith and forgiveness of sins are gifts that lead to eternal life, and only Christ can give those gifts. The ceremonial and ritual observances of the Old Law were only indications of a purer, more effective way of life, as seen in the New Law, which, when instituted, rendered much of the Old Law meaningless.

But how do we know there really is a New Law?

The entire New Testament is a proclamation of the New Law, as are the actions of the early church. We see the New Law in:

- The writings of the Apostles, the Evangelists, and St. Paul

- The actions of the Early Church

- Christ's words and actions

In the New Testament, St. John the Baptist is among the first persons to acknowledge that there is a New Law we are to follow if we are to obtain forgiveness of sins and gain eternal life.

"The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 

'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'" 

-John 1:29

In just one statement, St. John the Baptist makes it clear that Jesus is the sacrifice (Lamb) that removes our sin, not the sacrifices outlined in the Old Law. If the ritual observances held any weight at this point, St. John the Baptist would have said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who, along with circumcision and burnt offerings, takes away the sin of the world!'" But he didn't.

St. John the Evangelist, in his Gospel, outlines the necessity of faith—not simply observance of the Old Law—as the basis for the gaining of the Kingdom:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." 

-John 3:16

St. John doesn't write that in order to gain the kingdom, we must be circumcised or offer burnt offerings on an altar or refuse to touch lepers. No, he writes that primarily we need to have faith, faith in Christ.

And St. Peter, first among the Apostles and leader of the early Church, said that faith in Christ, and not adherence to the Old Law, is the main requirement for the forgiveness of sins:

"To him all the prophets bear witness that every one who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." 

-Acts 10:43

If some Christians believe that these expressions are too obtuse and obscure and do not sufficiently describe the abrogation of the Old Law in favour of the New Law, then I say that they should read what St. Paul had to say about the Law that governed the lives of the Jews. St. Paul is prodigious in his condemnation of the Old Law as the only necessary tool for the attainment of salvation:

"You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love."

-Galatians 5:4-6

"But now we are discharged from the law, dead to that which held us captive, so that we serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit." 

-Romans 7:6

"For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, based on law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith" 

-Philippians 3:8-9

"Our competence is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not in a written code but in the Spirit; for the written code kills, but the Spirit gives life." 

-2 Corinthians 3:5-6

In addition to the writings of the apostles, evangelists, and St. Paul, the actions of the early church indicate that a New Law was being realized.

St. Peter, leader of the Church and Christ's proxy on earth, shows by example while visiting the pagan Cornelius, who is astounded that St. Peter would meet with him, someone considered unclean by the standards expressed in the Old Law. Here, Peter tells those gathered in the house of Cornelius that a New Law has been promulgated:

"You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit any one of another nation; but God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean."

-Acts 10:28

In the next few years, the early Church would become even more adamant about severing itself from the ritual practices that enslaved the Jews and kept them from loving all equally. In Acts 15, we see the leaders of the Church (Peter, James, Paul, Barnabas, and many others) gather to clarify the Church's position towards circumcision, one of the holiest (and most separatist) laws of the Old Covenant established by Moses. The result should surprise no one: the apostles abolished the requirement for circumcision and almost every other law that bound the Jews. Why? The Holy Spirit told them not to lay a greater burden than was necessary (Acts 15:28) because faith was the first necessary element for a life in Christ.

Another of the most sacred laws of the Old Covenant, the Sabbath, was thoroughly eroded by the time St. Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians.

"On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made." 

-1 Corinthians 16:2

The first day of the week during that time was Sunday, and this verse clearly shows that this was the day that Christians met to celebrate as a community (as opposed to the Jewish Sabbath, Saturday). How could the Christians have abandoned the old Sabbath, one of the holiest of precepts, if they did not have a New Law requiring faith and responding to grace?

But perhaps some Christians may say forget everything above: the early Church misinterpreted what Jesus said and did during His ministry. How far from the Truth this is! Jesus not only spoke about the New Covenant He was establishing, He acted in a way so as to make it abundantly clear that His New Law was a matter of fact:

- He calls apostles uneducated in the Law

- He forgives sinners almost exclusively

- He condemns the religious orthodoxy (Pharisees)

- His teachings and parables show examples of the New Law

- He breaks the Old Law

If Christ were concerned about perpetuating the Old Law, would He not have chosen all of his apostles from among the Pharisees and Sadducees, who were rigid in their confirmation to the Law? Instead, Jesus' choice of men is the complete opposite of such a scenario. His apostles are fishermen, tax collectors, and rebel fighters, hardly those who would be best to teach adherence to the Old Law.

Furthermore, who can contradict the Gospels, which relate how Jesus forgives the sins of pagans, unclean persons, and egregious sinners. (John 5:1, Mark 7:24, Mark 8:22, Matthew 9:20) If God were so concerned with rituals and observances, would Christ have bothered with these people, who obviously did not adhere to the Old Law? No, obviously not. So what do these "sinners" have in common? They have faith, the first necessary element for our union with God. That is why Jesus tells those He healed, "Your faith has made you well."

Of course, Jesus not only saves the sinners, He also condemns those who do follow the Law without concern for the Spirit, and this is very important. The very people who epitomize the Old Law are the people for whom Jesus reserves His most bitter condemnations. In several instances, Jesus denounces the Pharisees, who pride themselves on their strict adherence to the Law.

"How is it that you fail to perceive that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sad'ducees. Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sad'ducees." 

-Matthew 16:11-12

Sts. Matthew and Luke also relate a vehement speech in which Christ denounces the Pharisees, and by implication, the Old Law and its ritual observances to which they are so dedicated:

"...But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you shut the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither enter yourselves, nor allow those who would enter to go in… And you say, 'If any one swears by the altar, it is nothing; but if any one swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.' You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it; and he who swears by the temple, swears by it and by him who dwells in it; and he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith..." 

-selected verses from Matthew 23 (see also Luke 11:39-52)

Jesus' denunciation of the actions of the Pharisees does not end there. He also comments on their observances (part of the Old Law) and how those observances have no power to save them. In the parable of the Tax Collector and the Pharisee, the Tax Collector, who understands he is a sinner but has faith that God will save him, is justified while the Pharisee, who fasts twice a week and tithes all he gets, receives no justification (Luke 18:9-14)

Even Christ's teachings, His parables, are filled with the application and celebration of the New Law. In the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-35), it is not the priest or the Levite—staunch followers of the Old Law—who help the man who was beaten by robbers. Why didn't they help him? Well, if he had died or was dead already, the priest and the Levite, being followers of the Law, would have had to undergo a rigorous cleansing process. Of course, this "process," part of the Law, left no room for compassion. That is why it was the Samaritan, someone outside the Law, who aided the helpless man. Christ is showing us here that love, working in us through the Holy Spirit, is what's important, not adherence to a Law that puts so-called cleanliness above compassion.

With clarity, Jesus rescinds the prohibition against eating foods deemed unclean by the Old Law, because the prohibition has zero chance of making someone holy and welcoming to God:

"And he called the people to him and said to them, "Hear and understand: not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man." 

-Matthew 15:10-11

Lastly, Jesus will BREAK certain precepts of the Old Law in order to show that rituals and observances are nothing without the Spirit, which moves us in unexplainable ways. Christ shocks and angers the Pharisees on two occasions, when He disobeys the Law restricting work on the Sabbath, one of the most revered of the Laws. In one instance, Christ heals a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath (Luke 6:6-10, Mark 3:1-5), and, in another instance, He allows His apostles to pick and eat wheat in a field on the Sabbath (Luke 6:1-5, Matthew 12:1-8). Would Jesus do such things if the Old Law were sacrosanct? This is doubtful. Instead, it's more likely that He wanted to show that observance means little if the heart, the Spirit, is not part of the equation.

Then, there are those who say, "What about Christ's proclamation that He did not come to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfil them?" (Matthew 5:17) It is true that Jesus said that not one iota of the law will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. But Jesus accomplished everything. His life, death, and resurrection fulfilled the prophecies and brought to a conclusion the Old Covenant, opening the way for a New Covenant governed by a New Law. So, when Christ is talking about the Law remaining, he is saying to his contemporaries that they will not see a change while he is alive.

Does this mean the Old Law is null and void?

Without a doubt, we have shown that God, through Christ, has instituted a New Law. Now what? Is all the Old Law null and void? Not at all! We know that each of us needs to follow what is essential in the Old Law: the Ten Commandments. How do we know this? Jesus told us so. When the lawyer asked him to name the first (that is, the most important) commandment, Jesus answered:

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets."

- Matthew 22:37-40

Here, Christ explicitly tells us that laws we need to follow are those that deal with the love of God and the love of our neighbour. Therefore, He is telling us to continue to practice the moral code (the Ten Commandments), but do so because you are motivated by love and spirit rather than fear of punishment.

In fact, Jesus not only tells us that the only part of the Law that is necessary is the Decalogue (Ten Commandments), He also takes those commandments and gives us a new understanding, based on his New Law of love and faith. He shows that it is not enough to follow the letter of the Law, there is also an underlying Spirit:

"You have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be liable to the hell of fire." 

-Matthew 5:21-22 (see also verses 23-48)

Conclusion: the New Law

It is true that we have a New Law that both fulfills and abrogates the Old Law, by elevating the moral code (the Ten Commandments) and rescinding the rituals and observances. Hence, we are not bound by certain Laws, such as those that require our circumcision or the abstention from certain foods. It becomes rather obvious that the prohibition against tattoos in Leviticus is also one of those Laws. It is as simple as that.

The Context of 1 Corinthians 6:19…Your Body as a Temple

Of course, tattoo opponents also like to stress these words of St. Paul:

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your body." 

-1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Unfortunately, the tattoo opponents have not read this verse in context. Here St. Paul is not opposing tattoos but warning the residents of Corinth about the dangers of sexual promiscuity, especially in the pagan practice of having sex with ritual prostitutes. To put this into perspective, Corinth during St. Paul's time was a thriving Metropolis, a rich city with two ports. One of its main attractions was a massive temple dedicated to the Greek Goddess of Love, Aphrodite. Thousands of ritual prostitutes, used in celebration of Aphrodite, congregated around the temple. Since a sizeable part of the newly formed Christian community in Corinth was of pagan origin, the use of ritual prostitutes was something of a habit that needed to be broken. In his letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul shows that we belong to God, brought about through His Son Jesus Christ's sacrifice, and that fornicating with ritual prostitutes is tantamount to sacrificing to false Gods. He is also showing that sexual immorality is a sin against the body, which houses the Holy Spirit, in essence, sexual immorality is a sin committed directly against God.

Certain Imagery in the Bible

We know that religious tattooing before the time of Christ was common for nearly everyone except the Jewish people (otherwise we would not see the prohibition in Leviticus 19:28).

And although there are no scriptural references in which we are told to "get tattooed" (and we wouldn't expect any), there are a number of verses in which the writers, whom we believe were inspired by the Holy Spirit, speak about permanent markings and outward physical signs of devotion. In a very real way, religious tattoos are like those permanent outward signs.

"And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth." 

-Exodus 13:9

"It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes; for by a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt."

-Exodus 13:16

A full reading of these verses shows that God is speaking figuratively about a celebration of the day the Jewish people were saved and brought out of Egypt. For the Jews, this celebration will be their unique mark. Later, around the time of Christ, the Jews began to take these verses literally, tying small leather boxes (phylacteries) on their arms and foreheads and placing passages of Scripture in the boxes.

"This one will say, 'I am the LORD's,' another will call himself by the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand, 'The Lord's,' and surname himself by the name of Israel."

-Isaiah 44:5

"Behold, I have graven you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me." 

-Isaiah 49:16

Here Isaiah is speaking God's word to the more conscious minorities of Israel who, during their exile, are worried about becoming lost amidst the pagans of Babylon. Through Isaiah, God reminds His people that he will never forget them because He loves them, and as proof that He will never abandon them, He tells the Jews that He has graven [carved into...written permanently] on his hands a reminder to save them.

"And the LORD said to him, 'Go through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark upon the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it'." 

-Ezekiel 9:4

The mark in this verse refers to the letter T or the Hebrew letter Tau, which appears as the shape of a cross, and which was painted in lamb's blood on the door posts to save the "remnant" of Israel when God wiped out all the first born of Egypt during the last plague. In this instance, the mark will be placed upon believers who are saddened by the sins committed in Jerusalem.

"Henceforth let no man trouble me; for I bear on my body the brand marks of Jesus." 

-Galatians 6:17

Here, St. Paul is likely discussing the beatings and punishments he endured for the sake of the Gospel of Christ (see 2 Cor. 11:24-28). This is a pointed jab at those who believe they are justified by other marks, that is, circumcision. Undeniable, though, is the tattoo imagery. Brand marks are what Roman slave owners tattooed on their chattel to display ownership.

"Then I saw another angel ascend from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, 'Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads.'" 

-Revelation 7:2-3

"On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, King of kings and Lord of lords." 

-Revelation 19:16

This last verse from Revelation is part of John's prophecy about the destruction of the Roman Empire and the heretofore-invincible Roman armies. The verse shows Christ as the "Master of the Universe" whose name, which is the Word of God (and, in essence, everything), is more than just a title on a royal garment. Instead, it is something that belongs to Jesus alone and is intrinsically linked to He who is Lord of all...through a unique marking on his body.

Now before you e-mail me, remember that these verses are not tattoo proof verses. They only show that permanent markings and outward signs of devotion, similar to our religious tattoos, are not foreign to God or His people.

Our Duty to Evangelize

Finally, it's important that Christians realize that Jesus doesn't want us to hide our faith or keep our faith to ourselves. Just the opposite. He commands us to do everything within our power to let our brothers and sisters know the one true Word, the Good News:

"Go, therefore, and make disciples from all the nations." 

-Matthew 28:19

"What I tell you in the dark, utter in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim upon the housetops." 

-Matthew 10:27

In fact, even if we wanted to keep it to ourselves (for selfish reasons or for fear of persecution), once the Spirit moves us, we can longer keep silent:

"No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a bushel, but on a stand, that those who enter may see the light."

-Luke 11:33

So, whether we choose stone tablets or tattoos, God, through the Holy Spirit, lets us discover the different and dynamic ways we let others know about Him. One thing is certain, though: as Christians, we need to fully proclaim our beliefs, every day of our lives.

Conclusion

It is beyond doubt that tattoos are NOT sinful and that Christians expressing their faith with some ink under their skin have NOT succumbed to Satan's wiles (at least, not because of the tattoos). Yet, let us remember that just because we are allowed to be tattooed, doesn't mean that this is what is best for everyone. St. Paul tells us that we need to be careful that our actions do not lead others away from the faith:

"Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for any one to make others fall by what he eats; it is right not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother stumble."

-Romans 14:20-21

With that in mind, let us pray that, through the intercession of the Holy Spirit, each of us may understand God's intention for us, and whether or not that calling includes some permanent ink under our skin.

Did you find this article helpful? Please consider a small donation to help with the upkeep of the Web site (labor and expenses). Thanks again.

Last updated: April 28, 2007

© Copyright Jason Gennaro 2002-07. Feel free to use this article to educate friends, colleagues, parents, children, believers, and unbelievers. Provided you are not printing the article for monetary gain (e.g., including it in a book), you have my permission to reprint it. If you do print it out, please consider contacting me to let me know what you used it for. I always like to hear how the article was used.

Why Do Bad Things Happen?

I participated in a lively group discussion last night. A group of friends have been gathering for a few weeks now. We eat together, worship a bit and talk about... stuff. So last night I threw out the following question: “Why do bad things happen?”

Now all those assembled have been around church circles most of their lives. Through the years we’d all been exposed to various theologies and philosophies attempting to explain this age old question. Here are a few of the answers we came up with:

• We are reaping what we’ve sown
• We’re out of God’s will
• There's a lesson we need to learn
• It’s warfare, a spiritual attack
• It’s the effect of our sin
• It’s the effect of someone else’s sin
• It’s demonic payback or backlash for our good deeds
• The injustice experienced creates an opportunity for Divine justice
• A combination of the above explanations

My guess is that you could add a few additional items to this list.

So, here’s my point, when bad things happen – do we really know why? Do we know with a definitive certainty why it happened? I think not. If we’re uncertain why bad things happen to us, then we’re even less certain why they happen to others. That uncertainty is a very good reason for grace. Grace toward others and ourselves; grace and dramatically less judgment. Bad things happen and we don’t always know why. When bad things do happen may our default position be one of grace.

What say you?

.

Freedom is Worth the Fight!

Breaveheart is one of my all time favorite movie.  I love Wallace's passion for freedom, it inspires me. What are you willing to fight for? What stirs your passion? What are you waiting for? Let's ride!




"Fight and you may die. 
Run and you will live... at least awhile. 
And dying in your bed many years from now,
would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that 
for one chance, just one cahnce, to come back here as young men 
and tell our enemies that they may take our lives but they will never take 
our freedom!" ~ William Wallace

What Say You?

The Baby, The Whole Baby, Nothing But The Baby, So Help Us God.

by Ted Dekker

Some Thoughts to Chew On

Dear Underground. Would you like some meat to chew on? Some controversy that might help you think about who you really are? Then consider the following argument made for the sake of discussion, not conclusion. I want to know what you think. Read carefully, this is critical stuff. Then choose your response below – A, B, C, D or E.

Whatever you do, please don’t label me based on this exercise ☺

(And don’t worry, we will return to more simple fun very soon.)

SCOURGE OF THE EARTH or compassionate lovers of human kind? Depending on where you live and what your experience is, Christians may be identified as either one, and, much to the chagrin of those who use the label to describe themselves, legitimately so. It all boils down to what you mean by the label ‘Christian.’

Regardless of what we think any particular word should mean, it actually means what society interprets it to mean. Linguistics 101. Like the word gay. I’ve been quoted as saying that I could have once properly been branded the gay author because, although I have always been heterosexual, I once was… well, happy. Twenty years ago gay meant happy, so you could say I was gay. Today the term refers to sexual orientation. So although once I could have appropriately been called gay, I can no longer, not because I’ve changed, but because the understanding of the word in our society has changed and it no longer describes what I am.

Fine. The word is only a label and the meaning of labels change with time and culture.

So it might be with the word ‘Christian.’ For many years following the death of Christ, his followers did not use the term at all, and even then the term was coined by the world to, not the church, which at the time referred to their faith simply as the Way. As far as we know, the term Christian was inspired by heathens in Antioch and eventually stuck. The first twenty years of Christ’s followers, those closest to his life, never even heard the term.

But none of that really matters, it is, after all, only a label. The question is, what does that label mean today. And more importantly, does it describe your life?

Jesus summed up his message as follows: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. Armed with this simple mandate of love, millions of his followers have forsaken the relative safety and affluence of a comfortable life to extend love and hope to the downtrodden over the centuries. Much could be said to explain how and why Christianity has embodied compassion in a world torn by war, terror, and heartache. It’s all about love, my friend.

Unfortunately, in the eyes of many, the religion of Christianity is now far better known for much more and much less than love. Not all of the associations are bad, mind you, but they are a far cry from the message of love that ultimately cost Jesus his life. Ask any pedestrian and, depending on where they live, they will tell you who Christians are. What they tell you may not describe you at all.

Ask the question in the Middle East and you might be told that Christians are killers whose bombs have killed thousands of innocent bystanders in Iraq; murderers who have brutally killed thousands of Muslims in Lebanon. Christian militia entered the Shatila refugee camp in Beirut in September 1982 where they raped, pillaged and murdered with impunity for three days during what became known as the Shatila massacre. The first suicide bomber in Lebanon was a Christian, blowing up Muslims. The scourge of the Crusaders is still alive in the Middle East. This is what ‘Christian’ means to many in that part of the world. Does this describe you?

My father once visited a town in India where Hindus had killed many Christians over the previous months. He was surprised to learn that they were being killed for their association with the West, not Jesus. In that part of the world, Christian means ‘Western’ not follower of Christ.

“So then,” my father said, “if you are dying for a term that doesn’t describe you, are you not dying in vain? If Christian means western to them, not follower of Christ, then to call yourself Christian to them is deceitful, is it not? To the Romans, become Roman. Speak their language, don’t impose your language on them.”

If you ask a pedestrian in Seattle who Christians are, they will likely tell you that Christians are judgmental, insensitive, hypocrites who are out of touch with reality. Or worse, angry right-wing bigots willing to resort to hate speech and violence to protect their narrow way of life. That they are a political group committed to a particular platform, even willing to take up the sword or home-made bombs to defend that platform.

The last thing that will come to their mind is the concept of sacrificial love or Jesus who showed us that love. Just like the word ‘Gay’ the meaning of the word has changed, like it or not.

And it’s not just Lebanon or Seattle. According to a Barna Group poll, only 9% of those outside the church think Christians in America are nice, loving people. Whatever happened to ‘you shall know them by their love?’ Throughout most of the world Christianity is simply no longer associated with the core beliefs of sacrificial love that birthed our faith. It has become like a large vessel of dirty bathwater, full of nasty associations that fly in the face of Jesus’ teaching which centered on love and the cry that ‘we judge not lest we be judged.’ A Newsweek cover story cited the dramatic decline of Christianity in the United States. We live in a post Christian world, many would say. They might be right. And who’s to blame them? No one wants to swim around in dirty bathwater.

But wait a minute. There is more than dirty bathwater in this vessel. There is something precious and live-giving! And there is a rising generation of thinkers who are as eager to protect and cherish that life as they are to throw out the dirty bathwater.

Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater, we say.

It’s interesting that Jesus’ first recorded miracle was turning dirty bathwater (in this case water used to wash dusty feet) into precious wine, a beautiful portrayal of purification. My generation wants that wine back and many are willing—check that, eager—to rid the vessel of the bathwater and replace it with that wine, that truth, that core message of love that Jesus gave his life for.

If Christian means judgmental or bigot to most or even many, then perhaps it is wrong for us to use a willingly use a deceptive label. Perhaps to them we are no longer ‘Christian’ in as much as I am no longer ‘Gay.’

I and my kind are neither bigots nor hate-mongers nor killers nor whatever else those in Seattle and Lebanon might think Christian means. Rather we are passionate believers in a person who came with a message of love, and his name was Jesus.

Question: Why are we so beholding to a manmade religious label even when that label now distorts the original meaning behind it? Crusader and Christian were once synonymous in many parts of the world. If you were transported back to that time, would you have proudly call yourself a Crusader, knowing what you know today?

Our identity is not stamped with any specific political party or ideology however good or bad they might be, but to the man who avoided being identified by any political ideology whenever possible and offered only the sage advice to give unto Cesar what is Cesar’s.
We are not defined by any specific social agenda, however necessary or good, but by the love that embraces the downcast in need of a helping hand.

We do not follow any moral creed invented by man however honorable, nor spit in the faces of those who struggle to put others before themselves however deserving, but we carry the burden of forgiveness and step aside so that he without sin may throw the first stone, if indeed such a man lives.

Our stories are not about pot-lucks and Sunday school playground squabbles, but about that monster called hate and his futile attempts to dash the hopes of the Great Lover.
Perhaps you could call us post-Christian Believers, defined solely by the man we follow, not the institution that bears his name.

We believe that our first calling is to love God with all of our hearts, and that our second calling is to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, and for us that is a difficult enough task to waste the rest of our lives on.

We are not partial Christians, not red-letter Christians, not a new kind of Christian, not non-Christian; we are far more and far less than Christian, children of an unfortunate but very real phenomenon that has dirtied our bathwater so now we want out, but out with the baby, please. The baby the whole baby, nothing but the baby, so help us God.

We are many, very many, millions of many. This is the way we roll and we are on the rise.

Tell me what you think. What best describes you:

A) The term ‘Christian’ as understood by much of the world no longer describes your faith. You want out of that dirty bath water with the baby, the whole baby, nothing but the baby. You do not or would not call yourself Christian unless speaking to a person who understands the term clearly to mean what you mean.

B) The term ‘Christian’ as understood by much of the world no longer describes your faith. But you would cling to that term because it means so much to you, and you would try to change the world’s understanding of what it means. Teach the Romans English, so to speak.

C) The term ‘Christian’ with all of it’s socio-political associations actually describes you pretty well, so you will not worry yourself with this issue.

D) The issues and arguments above ring a bell but they also make you very nervous and so you would distance yourself from them, afraid of what others in your circle might think. You will go with the flow and rest in that current.

E) You believe the term is sacred and that all those believers who did not call themselves Christians in the early church are probably in hell.

I personally am not fully decided. But I must hear from you. At any rate this exercise will make you think about who you are, really are, and that is invaluable.

Think carefully. Let you opinion be heard.