How many more commandments do we need?

Check out this picture:

Anyone see any problem with it?

Most will not- After all, most see this and automatically think "well, yeah- if we held these true, we'd keep all the other ones."

The problem is, there are those who would look at this, spout this, and do it all in such a manner as to say that THIS represents the bulk of what is commanded.


Since that's the case, let's go ahead and see what Christ had to say about it.

Jesus replied: '"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: "Love your neighbor as yourself." All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.'"

So there you have it, straight from the Lord's mouth- Everything hinges on these two, yes; but we need the others.  


Why?


Because as humans, we twist things.  How many times has an ex told you they loved you?  How many times do you see the word "love" portrayed in films and television as something akin to foreplay?  




Ah...  I can see the light dawning in the minds of some folks who'd never thought about it before.

The I.C.C.

Inescapable Christian Cowards.

We are not like the world. We run from anything that could get us into trouble, but would be a lot of fun to do. What cowards we are.
There are so many things that we DON'T do, and so many thing that we DO, that the world in general looks at us and utters a collective, "Huh?!"

WHY don't Christians participate in certain activities- seances, orgies, Mardi Gras?!
WHY when they finally DO something fun, do Christians ask forgiveness from people around them- And then from thin air?!
WHY, WHY, WHY do Christians get so worked up over gay marriage, prostitution, drugs, etc.?

These things are all harmless fun when done in the right manner! Gay deserve to be able to marry- Why are Christians so afraid of change?
Why shouldn't prostitution be legal- at least in some places? If it's what they want to do, if they have fun doing it, and if others are getting use from it, why not?
Why shouldn't Weed be legalized? It relaxes you, it calms you down... And if you want to go with a Christian argument, God created everything, right? So... Why not?

These are arguments I, and I'm sure you as well, have heard before. The fact that we oppose these things marks us a wimps, or cowards. We are "afraid" of change, "afraid" of fun, and "afraid" of all the "good" things in life.

For instance:

*We Flee Temptation
Drinking, smoking, promiscuity, pornography... All "good" things, and all things that we openly and loudly decry as wrong. These are things that we run from.
There are other things that are more personalized, such as dancing, certain music, films, etc. Personal preference issues that all add up to being completely and totally wimpy.

*Fear Of Change
Gay marriage? Abortion? Legalized prostitution?
All issues that we, again, loudly and strongly oppose. To see these issues come back so often and with so much support often makes us publicly wonder what is happening to our country. When these issues are brought up again and again, we question the moral fabric of the citizenry as a whole.
Our apparent "judgmental attitude" comes across as the fear of change, and there are examples throughout history tossed in our faces to illustrate that point. Salem Witch Trials, anyone?

*Fear Of Consequences
Whenever we fail our standards, we ask forgiveness from God. They see us praying and wonder why. What we did was merely fun, and we only live once- So why regret?
I have a few regrets, yes. But for the most part, I do not regret anything. All that I have gone through has molded me into who I am today, and I am a better man because of my own mistakes, and the consequences I have suffered.
However, the world sees our conviction from the Holy Ghost as guilt or regret. They don't understand this, in many cases.
Consequences are part of the natural order, but it shouldn't keep you from trying new things, in their minds. Plus, our insistence that there is much more to fear then what we receive on this planet is often viewed as a paranoid delusion formed to fortify our own fear.

Gentle As A Lamb, Wily As A Snake.
Often, our calling to be meek and gentle is misinterpreted as cowardice. Our calling to be smart and strategic is seen as subversive.
The world does not understand the concept of "turn the other cheek" in the same manner as we do. While many Christians take this expression to a wholly different extreme, our understanding is very much the same.
The Golden Rule only remains in effect until someone is in the wrong- then it is replaced with "an eye for an eye."
Our understanding is that when someone wrongs us, we forgive, and move on- If at all possible, treating the offending party no differently. If not possible, we take this rule to mean that we speak no evil against them, and pray for them.
Still, the world in general does not understand how we can wish good for someone who has done us wrong.
Our call to be "wily as a snake" often puts us at odds with governments that attempt to stop the spread of the Gospel. When we smuggle Bibles, walk backwards through the snow, meet as a church body, in worship, when the law specifically states otherwise, we are viewed as subversive. This is also a form of cowardice, in the eyes of many.


These are the reasons we are known as cowards. Cowards that walk up to complete strangers, telling them about the Love of an Almighty God, about Hell, and about the Salvation Story.

I am indeed a coward, because I refuse to deal with the consequences of NOT obeying my God.

This is why the world is so stunned when we Jesus Freaks are so passionate in our persecution. When we Freaks are mutilated, tortured, starved, imprisoned and/or murdered.
We are so "cowardly" in other areas of life, why, HOW, can we suddenly bear these horrors and NOT curse our tormentors; Not deny our beliefs; not do ANYTHING that would ease our suffering.

It is at this time, in this instant of ultimate courage in the midst of ultimate torment, that they begin to see our cowardice as courage- And all that we have said suddenly begins to make sense.


Are you among the ranks of the ICC?

Music Peeves

There is music in this world that is created by stupid people. Seriously. One look at the effort taken to write some of these songs really makes you wonder how the songwriter actually got this far.

For instance... Sheryl Crow sang "all I wanna do is have some fun, I got a feeling, I'm not the only one..." Problem is, we already know she's not the only one who wants to have fun- In the very first verse, she meets a guy who tells her he wants to have a little fun before he dies!
Yet, we are still forced to listen to this moronic chorus line over and over again...

How about Message In A Bottle? The last line of the song "Sending out an S.O.S." repeats over a dozen times!!! What happened- did he run out inspiration?

Then, there's some fool techno song that repeats the same ascending seven tones over and over for six minutes. I normally like techno, but that is stupid!

Then there's that bloody cowboy who thought doing a country cover of Lips Of An Angel would be good idea. Hey, Dude, you're a moron. Slide guitars have no place on that song, not to mention that your cover absolutely SUCKS!

How about Love Train? Hall and freakin' Oates! I lost track counting the times they say "love train" at twenty!!!!!

Then, my personal favorite- Fatboy Slim. The guy has made an entire career of repeating the same line over and over and calling this abject idiocy a song.

OK, folks. That's enough ranting from me. If you're a musician, please for the sake of mankinds sanity- QUIT MAKING STUPID SONGS!