The other day I was cruising a website and happened to run across a piece titled ‘Beer Is Better than Jesus”. Well, as an occasional partaker of Blue Moon, a smooth alpine brew cooked up by the Coors family, and a believer in Jesus, the piece caught my eye. It reads like a David Letterman top ten reasons why beer is better than Jesus. As I read through the list it became apparent to me that the author probably had never read the New Testament and if he did, he did not understand it properly. If he had, he could not have written his list. I find that to be true of a lot of people. They are so certain that the bible is wrong about this or that but when pressed, they admit they have never read much less studied the Bible. So the obvious question is how can someone refute a book they have not read for themselves?
With that thought as a backdrop I felt compelled to respond to each pf the ten reasons of why beer is supposed to be better than Jesus.
10. No one will kill you for not drinking beer:
Response: Jesus never advocated killing period, much less killing for not believing in him. Instead He taught us to repeatedly forgive one another (check out the book of Matthew in the Bible, chapter 5 verse 44).
9. Beer doesn’t tell you how to have sex.
Response: Neither does Jesus. Not once is He recorded as saying anything about sex. He does tell us to refrain from adultery and immorality though. If you have yet to read the New Testament you would not know that and I think you will be very surprised at what you read.
8. Beer never caused a major war:
Response: Neither has Jesus. He taught that we should love our neighbors as ourselves and forgive our enemies (see Matthew chapter 18, verse 21) and never started or suggested starting a war. It is man that caused war in the name of Jesus (i.e. the crusades).
7. They don’t force beer on minors who can’t think for themselves:
Response: Jesus doesn’t force himself on anyone. He extends an invitation to accept Him but gives us the free will to make the choice. If we don’t accept Him, he leaves us alone to live out our lives. He does say he will deal with our unbelief in the afterlife.
6. When you have a beer, you don’t knock on people’s doors trying to give it away
Response: Jesus does not knock on your door, people do. In fact Jesus says we are the ones who should do the knocking (see Matthew chapter 7, verse 7). It’s your choice as to whether you decide to knock and open the door of your heart to Him. Nor does our acceptance of Him come without a cost. It cost Jesus His blood and his earthly life.
5. Nobody’s every been burned at the stake, hanged or tortured over his brand of beer.
Response: Jesus was scourged 40 times, his skin ripped from his back. He was then nailed to a tree and hung there for 9 hours, dying a slow and agonizing death. All of his disciples except John died as martyrs, murdered for their faith. Throughout the ages millions of Christians have been burned at the stake, fed to lions, impaled and lit afire to serve as human torches, beheaded and killed in numerous other ways simply because they believed in Jesus. Christ never taught that unbelievers should be killed. It was misguided men that falsely accused people of being witches and/or heretics and killed them. They were not following the teachings of Jesus as recorded in the Bible. Just like the atheist Hitler’s attempt to exterminate Jews wasn’t something most atheists would advocate.
4. You don’t have to wait 2000+ years for a second beer.
Response: You can experience the peace, power and joy of Christ in your life TODAY. How? Simply by confessing your belief in Him, asking for forgiveness of your sins (yes, all those men who started wars or killed and tortured in Christ’s names needed forgiveness for those sins) and if you earnestly ask, I guarantee you that you will begin to think differently as Christ becomes the owner of your heart.
3. There are laws saying beer labels can’t lie to you.
Response: Jesus can’t lie to you either. If you check him out, YOUR experience will be your personal truth barometer. If you have not given Him a close look, you will never know what He will do for you. How then could He be lying to you?
2. You can prove you have a beer.
Response: Jesus provides the best proof of himself there can be, his residence in your heart. But if you don’t invite Him in to your heart He can’t show himself to you and you won’t know His truth is real. If you are a skeptic, ask Him to reveal himself to you and earnestly seek Him out by reading the bible. Try it for a month and see what happens. What have got to lose? I’m betting He will reveal himself to you and he will provide all the proof you need.
1. If you’ve devoted your life to beer, there are groups to help you stop.
Response : Hmm, if beer was so good why would you want to stop drinking it? It’s also ironic that one of the most effective groups to help you stop drinking beer is Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). AA was founded by two Christians. Jesus offers the gift of eternal life in heaven. Who would want to stop that?
So next time you are sipping an ice cold brew and you are not sure what you think about Jesus ponder this thought. Ultimately everyone on the planet has to answer this question; who is Jesus? There are only two alternatives. Either He is who He says, the son of God, or He was something else. Why does everyone need to answer that question? Because Jesus is the ONLY teacher, prophet etc to say that He is the only way to heaven (book of John, chapter 14, verse; Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.).
Buddha never said that. Mohammad never said that. The Book of Mormon does not say that. The Torah does not say that. So much for all religions being similar but showing different paths to the same God. Then there is Satan who says, you/we can become like God on our own. That’s the New Age mindset. But again, that’s not what Jesus said.
What do you have to lose by taking some time to give Jesus a fair shake? I can’t think of anything except, some time. What do you stand to lose if you don’t check Him out and….you are wrong? By the time you realize He is who He says He is, it will be too late and you will only be able to knock on heaven’s door, not enter through it. Are you willing to risk trading eternity so you can save some time? If not, instead of cracking open the next six pack, crack open a Bible!
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Is There More To Life?
“There’s gotta to me more to life, than chasing down every temporary high to satisfy me.” So goes the beginning of the chorus of a hit song by Stacie Orrico. Similarly, the country group Sugarland scored a chart topper with their song “There’s gotta be something more.” The chorus to that song goes like this:
There’ gotta be something more
Gotta be more than this
I need a little less hard time
I need a little more bliss
I’m gonna take my chances
Taking a chance I might
Find what I’ve been looking for
There’s gotta be something more”
How often do you find yourself thinking the thoughts reflected in those lyrics? If the answer is often then you are not alone. Seems like both songs have captured the longing of a generation, if not a nation. According to the World Values Survey, conducted by sociologists in 65 nations since 1981, “We see a religious attitude when we ask how often people spend time thinking about the meaning and purpose of life.” Ditto for George Barna, a well known sociologist specializing in researching the state of spirituality in America who noted in a recent study that “millions of young adults are more interested in truth, authenticity, experience, relationships and spirituality than they are in laws, traditions, events, disciplines, institutions and religion.”
This blog gets its title from the emotions expressed in the songs by Orrico and Sugarland and also reflects the reality of a large and growing number of people who are seeking the meaning of life and truth to fulfill that longing in one’s soul to connect to the spiritual. According to Barna, “Spirituality is in vogue in our society. It is popular to claim to be part of a faith community.” But what do people mean when they claim to be “spiritual"? Is it a New Age type of spirituality where God is the same in all forms of religious expression and there are no absolute truths, or is it a spirituality manifested in a Scientology class? Perhaps it’s a kind of “I’d like to teach the world to sing” while connecting to a “higher power” I feel good and I’m a good person kind of spirituality. Then again, Wicca, a form of withcraft, is rapidly growing and so is atheism for that matter, and what about the Christians?
Last year’s Grammy awards were perhaps indicative of a breakdown between self-perception and reality for some who profess Christ. The members of the group that won for best song of the year thanked God for their victory then immediately followed with profanities that had to be bleeped from the broadcast. It seems as if God is in, but living for God is not. Many Christians are living a dual life–one filled with good feelings about God and faith collaborated by some simple religious practices, and another in which they believe they are in control of their own destiny and operate apart from Him. That’s what Barna’s research reveals.
So what to make of this? In his new book “unChrsitian” author David Kinnamin documents the growing cynicism towards Christianity, fueled in part by a growing sense of disengagement and disillusionment, particularly among young people. The numbers are revealing; just 16.5% of non-Christians in their late teens and twenties said they have a “good” impression of Christians. Why such a low percentage? This quote from Brennan Manning sums it up: “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."
Kinnamin’s research supports Manning’s claim as it reveals Christians are viewed as being judgmental, hypocritical, old-fashioned and too involved in politics. There is a general perception that something is broken in the present day expression of Christianity. According to Kinnaman, “I was surprised at how many perceptions were rooted in specific stories and personal interactions with Christians and in churches. The title to the Black Eyed Peas hit song “Where Is The Love?” captures what the people surveyed by Kinnamin say is missing in their interactions with Christians.
Christians can focus on defending themselves and trying to prove God’s existence. Or they can show people grace and truth, loving sinners while admonishing the lost to turn from their sin. Jesus was the best example of this. The Bible gives us many examples of how Jesus won over many an unbeliever by the way he loved them. If you are looking for examples, stay tuned.
The mission of SpiritSeek is to communicate a biblical worldview to the unbelieving, the unchurched and to unsure Christians, challenging them to consider examining the reasons why following Jesus and adopting a biblical truth is the most meaningful choice among competing worldviews. Heavy stuff, I know, but by filtering commentary on events of our times through the lens of a biblical worldview and doing so with a pinch of humor and some sprinkling of levity, it is my hope that SpiritSeek will inspire people to reflect upon the core of their beliefs in ways they may have never done before.
Yes, Stacie, there’s got to be more to life and if this blog is successful in helping just one person come to the realization that the “more to life” can be found in Jesus Christ, then I will have considered this work a success. So if your curiosity is even remotely piqued, come on back and check out the many true life stories of Christ alive in the lives of people all around you and discover why Sugarland had it right too. Because there is more to life, so much more.
There’ gotta be something more
Gotta be more than this
I need a little less hard time
I need a little more bliss
I’m gonna take my chances
Taking a chance I might
Find what I’ve been looking for
There’s gotta be something more”
How often do you find yourself thinking the thoughts reflected in those lyrics? If the answer is often then you are not alone. Seems like both songs have captured the longing of a generation, if not a nation. According to the World Values Survey, conducted by sociologists in 65 nations since 1981, “We see a religious attitude when we ask how often people spend time thinking about the meaning and purpose of life.” Ditto for George Barna, a well known sociologist specializing in researching the state of spirituality in America who noted in a recent study that “millions of young adults are more interested in truth, authenticity, experience, relationships and spirituality than they are in laws, traditions, events, disciplines, institutions and religion.”
This blog gets its title from the emotions expressed in the songs by Orrico and Sugarland and also reflects the reality of a large and growing number of people who are seeking the meaning of life and truth to fulfill that longing in one’s soul to connect to the spiritual. According to Barna, “Spirituality is in vogue in our society. It is popular to claim to be part of a faith community.” But what do people mean when they claim to be “spiritual"? Is it a New Age type of spirituality where God is the same in all forms of religious expression and there are no absolute truths, or is it a spirituality manifested in a Scientology class? Perhaps it’s a kind of “I’d like to teach the world to sing” while connecting to a “higher power” I feel good and I’m a good person kind of spirituality. Then again, Wicca, a form of withcraft, is rapidly growing and so is atheism for that matter, and what about the Christians?
Last year’s Grammy awards were perhaps indicative of a breakdown between self-perception and reality for some who profess Christ. The members of the group that won for best song of the year thanked God for their victory then immediately followed with profanities that had to be bleeped from the broadcast. It seems as if God is in, but living for God is not. Many Christians are living a dual life–one filled with good feelings about God and faith collaborated by some simple religious practices, and another in which they believe they are in control of their own destiny and operate apart from Him. That’s what Barna’s research reveals.
So what to make of this? In his new book “unChrsitian” author David Kinnamin documents the growing cynicism towards Christianity, fueled in part by a growing sense of disengagement and disillusionment, particularly among young people. The numbers are revealing; just 16.5% of non-Christians in their late teens and twenties said they have a “good” impression of Christians. Why such a low percentage? This quote from Brennan Manning sums it up: “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."
Kinnamin’s research supports Manning’s claim as it reveals Christians are viewed as being judgmental, hypocritical, old-fashioned and too involved in politics. There is a general perception that something is broken in the present day expression of Christianity. According to Kinnaman, “I was surprised at how many perceptions were rooted in specific stories and personal interactions with Christians and in churches. The title to the Black Eyed Peas hit song “Where Is The Love?” captures what the people surveyed by Kinnamin say is missing in their interactions with Christians.
Christians can focus on defending themselves and trying to prove God’s existence. Or they can show people grace and truth, loving sinners while admonishing the lost to turn from their sin. Jesus was the best example of this. The Bible gives us many examples of how Jesus won over many an unbeliever by the way he loved them. If you are looking for examples, stay tuned.
The mission of SpiritSeek is to communicate a biblical worldview to the unbelieving, the unchurched and to unsure Christians, challenging them to consider examining the reasons why following Jesus and adopting a biblical truth is the most meaningful choice among competing worldviews. Heavy stuff, I know, but by filtering commentary on events of our times through the lens of a biblical worldview and doing so with a pinch of humor and some sprinkling of levity, it is my hope that SpiritSeek will inspire people to reflect upon the core of their beliefs in ways they may have never done before.
Yes, Stacie, there’s got to be more to life and if this blog is successful in helping just one person come to the realization that the “more to life” can be found in Jesus Christ, then I will have considered this work a success. So if your curiosity is even remotely piqued, come on back and check out the many true life stories of Christ alive in the lives of people all around you and discover why Sugarland had it right too. Because there is more to life, so much more.
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