The Blasphemy of the Church

"I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man."

                          ~ Napoleon Bonaparte

I've been a Christian for many, many years and it still amazes me how people think of Jesus.
The things in life we deem so important aren't even mentioned about Him in Scripture; even those closest to Him give no indication of His physical features.
Yet, what I have found is the fact that people tend to impose of Jesus their own beliefs and thoughts of what the Lord ought to be rather than who He truly is.

I grew up in a fine local church where behind the baptistery was a stained-glass image of Jesus holding a lamb; it was the picture of Jesus as our shepherd.
Indeed, He is.
At the seminary I attended, there were a series of paintings depicting various scenes from the Apocalypse as described by the Apostle John.
In one such painting, Jesus is seen on the canvas as the returning King and Judge of the world.
He is these as well.

Both artists have infused what they believed in their heart Jesus to be on to their artistic mediums. 
Christians do the same, but we do not necessarily use artistic means to communicate what we believe; instead, people will know what we believe about God by simply watching our lives.
Because of this fact, at times, there is no greater blasphemy of God to be found on earth.

In the older movies of a bygone era, Jesus was often portrayed as stern, unemotional, without feeling - moving through life with another world in mind.
To me, this 'Prozac Jesus' never really communicated the whole truth of who He is or what He has done for the benefit of humanity.
Others agreed.

When the 1960's and '70's dawned, with them came a reinvention of Jesus Christ.
This may seem strange, but every filmmaker and author who portrays Jesus does so through a lens of their own bias.
The same is true for every Christian.

The real question is - Who do you believe Jesus really is and is that the same Jesus we find in the Gospels?
The evidence of such, it will be found through the life you lead, how you interact with people and what you say to them. 

For example, when Christians do things in secret, trying to get their 'way' in a church or garner support for things that aren't Godly; what does this say about their faith?
What does it say about who they believe Jesus is?
This is a question which is not for me to answer, but if we had to judge Jesus Christ by the worldly actions of some church leaders, many would never come to know Jesus as their Lord.
Indeed, for this reason, many do not and will endure eternal separation.

In 1969, President Nixon personified the pride of the American people when our astronauts were confirmed as stepping foot on the moon, by saying:
"It's the greatest day since Creation."
That was when Billy Graham reminded the President of Christmas and Easter.
Touche. 

While the President was consumed with American pride, he boasted in the success of the moon landing; momentarily forgetting of the work of Christ.
At times, Christians will become consumed with ourselves, our lives, our wants and desires - and in that selfishness, forget all about who Christ is and make Him in an image of ourselves.

In many of my writings, I often return to the question of suffering, of evil in the world, of pain.
These familiar themes betray me; for, I know something of feeling the cold blow of evil, of betrayal, of suffering through disease and the physical and emotional pain which comes from it all.
It is like I am fingering an old wound which never really heals.

When God does not respond in our lives like we think He should, we tend to act on our own.
This is blasphemy because we are to imitate Him and not think Jesus should imitate our lives; if He did, I can promise few would follow Him.
Yet, we still want God to rescue us from the scene of suffering and pain.

Job's great accusation against God:
"Do you have eves of flesh?"
If we were to ask the same today in our time of suffering, the answer would be a clear and strong, 'yes.'
God does have eyes, flesh and a voice through the person of His Son, but also through every man and woman who is called by His name.
God is not mute nor is He unfeeling; He feels just as you feel for when we hurt, He hurts.
And when we injure another believer, it is as if we have injured God Himself for He is within us by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Often we hear of Christians, 'seeking the will of Jesus...' for their church or their lives.
The problem with this is that most Christians cannot look beyond themselves to 'find' Jesus' will for either their lives or the local church - if they could, there wouldn't be as many people who have sworn off the church because of the undue pain it has caused them.
But I digress.

It is true that most Christians can only see themselves in Jesus.
For example, the Lakota tribe refers to Jesus as 'the Buffalo calf of God.' That's fitting for Indians found on the Plains.

The Cuban government, on the other hand, circulates a painting among the people of Jesus with a carbine slung over His shoulder. They tend to see the Lord as a political revolutionary.
In the wars of religion with France, the English would often shout, "The Pope is French, but Jesus Christ is English."

Quiet simply, people have a hard time looking beyond themselves for a true image of Jesus in their lives - thus placing an image of themselves in His place.


I own countless books written about Jesus.
Some picture Him as a revolutionary, a magician, as the husband of Mary Magdalene, a Jewish cynic, a prophet and even a cult leader.
Some describe Him as black, like Africans; while most of the paintings I have seen of Him show Jesus with fair skin.
I am told that there are images of Jesus similar to the Hindu gods in India and even a few Asian versions with Jesus having slanted eyes.

Quite frankly, this only tells us of our failings as Christians; giving Jesus our flaws rather than allowing Jesus to hep transform us into becoming more like Him.
To make Jesus like me, or you - that is blasphemy.

Honestly, it has been my observation that if you want to see what people really think of God, just look at how they live and what they talk about.
And if you do this, you will be confronted by the issue of wondering what in the world some people see in the Gospels about Jesus that makes them so mean and angry towards others.
If they didn't think God was that way, they wouldn't act that way - which leads us to wonder why some people lie, gossip and hurt their brothers and sisters in Christ while claiming that right because they occupy a church office.
You never see that in Jesus, only in humanity and if a person acts this way because they think Jesus acted in this manner, it is pure blasphemy against God.

In Scripture, there are few details on Jesus' family; in fact, scholars still debate whether Jesus Himself had brothers and sisters or if the words referring to his siblings should be more accurately translated as 'cousins.'
In the Gospels, written by those who knew Him best, there is not one word given for a physical description of Jesus.
There is no mention of His shape, His stature, hair or skin color and not even a mention as to the pitch of His voice.
These are facts we place much on in our time and in our world; but were of little consequence to the Gospel writers. 

The main thrust of the writers of the New Testament in general and the Gospels in particular is the fact that Jesus died as a sacrifice to bring fallen humanity forgiveness from God if we will simply believe in His work on the Cross.
Honestly, I don't really care what color Jesus' skin is; I only need to know that He loved me enough to die for me so that I may have abundant life in His name.

Knowing this, any fog of life, its inconsistencies, its pain or suffering, any of these things should soon clear up when we look to the Gospels themselves and there see revealed the real Jesus.
For in the Scripture, there is no propaganda, only truth.

Until next time, win one for the good guys.