This Christian has been asked this a lot. Especially the word "Christian" is fused to your name as part of a morning show for six years. The warnings were there from family members and fellow Christians alike to be become part of The Break Room, despite the fact that none of them offered a gainful employment alternative.
"They're atheists."
"They're agnostics."
"They take the Lord's name in vain."
"You're working in a lion's den, Daniel."
Yes. All those things were and are true. It's funny when people think they know better than you do what you should and shouldn't do based on their own prejudice--something that should be as foreign to the faith as the Sixth Commandment. And when you do anything outside the Christian comfort zones, the same Christians whom are marred by Bill Maher and Jesse Ventura for being simple prove their critics right by their absolute warnings.
How did we get this far?
In fact, how did we go from a resurrection nearly two millennia ago, a baker's dozen of apostles (Paul came later, and thank God he did or else Christianity would have evaporated), the Feast of Pentecost to a Pope (word and office never found in the Bible), the term "Easter" (found twice, unrelated to Christ's miracle), thousands of denominations and hundreds of translations of The Book--all in English?
There are probably just as many reasons, vanity being the source of all of them. And that's just the problem with Christianity today: our own vanity.
Instead of just reading The Book and taking it for what it is, we develop our own ideas on how God should run things. Then we get to days like today when churches are packed with folks genuinely interested in the Old, Old Story and today's disciples can't even pass the test.
Here's a couple of examples:
An usher walks to a family member attending a Baptist church for the first time on Resurrection Sunday and offers this before he walks through the door:
"Happy Easter. Where's your Bible?"
Yeah, that should set the tone for a morning altar call, right?
Here's another one from a Pastor to a member who had reasons for his or her absence:
"Hey, ________. Haven't seen you in awhile. How long as it been? Yes, it's been awhile, huh?"
Yeah. If I didn't know Christ as my Savior and put my faith solely in Him instead of his flock, I'd rather hang with the atheists, too.
Unfortunately, Christians are the only Bibles some people read. Sadly, that goes for even Christians. We're not allowed to screw-up, as unfair as that sounds. Christians are like restaurants--you're only as good as your last meal. If it doesn't go well, the customers aren't coming back.
This Christian screws-up a lot. But offering the "I'm not perfect" excuse is as hallow as blaming the devil. You just have to fess-up, apologize, and move forward.
That's where that whole Lion's Den idea comes into play.
Every Christian should have non-believers to keep them in check. Having fellow Christians do it is imperative, but it's not enough. Fellow Christians are supposed to keep each other honest, but that's like having sixth-graders check each other's math homework for mistakes: they need the perspective of a teacher.
Not so much as an authority, but a fresh pair of eyes.
This Christian, still worthless save for the Blood of Christ, would be even more useless if it weren't for The Break Room, or The Lion's Den as one fellow Christian called it. Because you can't tame lions without proper training.
Which brings us to today: the celebration of Christ's death, burial and resurrection. A story told in all four gospels and repeated throughout the New Testament. Unlike the over-celebrated Christmas story--albeit, still important--the Resurrection is told in all four gospels.
How do you know this? Read The Book.
The show Cosmos on Fox is a great example of the work God has done throughout the universe. If Christians think he stopped with us sin-stained wretches, clearly they've spent too much time in the chapel. Instead of fighting it and accusing it of tearing-down the idea of a supreme being, Christians should embrace the idea of how great God truly is and how much thought he put into the idea of the Universe.
How would anyone know this? Read The Book.
Laws of Thermodynamics? Read The Book.
Pathways in the seas? Read The Book.
Blood being the source of life? Read The Book.
The world being round? Read The Book.
Nah. We just take what the pastors give us, and repeat it poorly. And if they're not doing their homework, then we end up with thousands of denominations and different English versions of The Book, bastardized and diluted.
It's a real simple question: Why God?
Well, look outside.Let's start there. It's huge. Simple enough? It had to be created by somebody.
Either there is a God, or not. If you want to believe this all came from an accident, stop reading here. If you're still curious, keep reading.
(You're curious, huh? Probably just wanna see what's in print, but that's fine.)
Let's continue saying there IS a God.
OK. Look at examples of world leaders of yesteryear and today. They don't like competition. They want to own everything and be all-powerful. Do you think a God wants to share His power with other gods? Based on that example, it's unlikely.
So say there's One. Either he's identifiable, or he's just lazy.
Let's take the latter. Too many young men and women in this country are born fatherless to deadbeats. Sad. Yet, when it comes to God, folks either think he's one of those deadbeats, or he just doesn't care and let's you do your own thing. This writer would hate not having a father, so why would anyone enjoy the idea of an absentee God?
Again, if you prefer that idea, you can stop reading. The rest of us will continue.
It would be an atrocity to think God is out on an eternal lunch. And if you go by the World Leader Theory, no leader puts his position in auto-pilot. He wants total control. He wants to be involved because his ego tells him he should be.
Well who would have a bigger ego than God himself? He created everything. God is where all other egos go to die. When Moses asked who he should tell Pharaoh sent him, God responded by saying "I AM sent you." You don't get much bigger than that.
So, God must be identifiable. He must be tangible. He must be in control and He must want people to come to Him and worship Him and honor Him like a king or a president. They all do. Don't kid yourself.
That must mean He has identified Himself somehow...
Well, if God hates competition, then we can rule out Buddhism because there's no god in that faith; Hinduism, because there's too much competition, and any other polytheistic "deity."
That leaves the three major world religions, all based in the Middle East: Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
Take your pick. Want some help?
Jewish people don't proselytize. Either your born Jewish or not. So if you're not Jewish, you'd better find your way into a temple and get accepted and find a way to sacrifice those animals at The Temple--wait, you can't. It's been destroyed. Good luck there.
Islam: really? Terrorists are being used by the religion to recruit. It's sounds dumb to say, but Osama bin Laden was not a man of faith simply based on his non-terrorist actions, let alone 9-11. Al-Qaeda uses Islam as a recruiting tool. However, since there is no dispensation in the Qu'ran, all the rules in that book apply. So if it means "kill the infidels," so be it.
Wanna try that one? Save your money to fulfill those five pillars.
Or, Christianity.
Yes, this writer will admit it: there are way too many churches and sects. It's sad. And even those who get it right get it wrong, too, at the worst possible moments like today.
That's why you need to read The Book.
It has the Old, Old Story.
And it's the only Way to get into Heaven where you'll never have to account for your mistakes, even those on "Easter" Sunday.
A guy with no infrastructure, who never led and army or a country, who created the universe, felt every temptation humanly possible and lived a perfect life to offer Himself a sacrifice for the sin of everyone else. No strings attached. No pillars. No temples. No more Passovers. He WAS the Passover.
That's WHY, God.
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