oh the depressed soul…
May 29, 2006there are times indeed in one’s life that no matter how much one say one is happy and content (and one should be), a gloomy wave of depression will come over and rain down on one’s sunny outlook. today is the 15th day of my battle towards depression. it’s not depression as in i-want-to-die-take-me-now-lord kind of depression, but a kind of depression that hits you that asks you point blank:
IS THERE ANYTHING MORE THAN THIS LIFE?
ah, that age-old question….
Of The Da Vinci Code, The Gospel of Judas, and other heresies
May 22, 2006
I’ve read and watched The Da Vinci Code and watched National Geographic’s presentation of The Gospel of Judas, and I find nothing changed of my basic faith and belief in Jesus Christ as my one and only Savior. I believe that the apostles are there to help him propagate His message and His teachings. I believe that He will come again and will be reigning humanity, and He is coming sooner than you think.
The topics raised by the popular book, The Da Vinci Code have been around for thousands of years after Jesus’ death and ascension to heaven. It is nothing new that he “might” be married to Mary Magdalene, the former repentant prostitute, or that He might have had a child, or that His descendants exists. It is nothing new that apart from the traditional Christian sects existing after His days on Earth, there exists a sect called the Gnostics, who is reported to have an “alternative” view of Christ’s earthly existence and His death and resurrection. Whatever archeologists and experts dig up, it is nothing new. These ideas and alternative stories are already here for us waiting to be revealed, dissected and analyzed. Only now it is now longer exclusive to those who study Religion or Archeology or History, it is now being propagated to the masses and to the curious.
The proliferation of alternative information and ideas, I think, should be considered by all Christian churches to be an opportunity, a mixed blessing, because the mass appeal and the fact that it sells reflect a need of the many to know more about Jesus, the greatest Being who ever walked the face of the earth. Two thousand years later, the enigma that is Jesus Christ still continues to be famous and influential, and Christian leaders and priests should take advantage of the current rage to help spread his teachings to those who do not know it by heart. Debate with their flock, instead of dictating what they should or should not believe, patiently explain to them who He is and what miracles He did to those who follow Him. As the saying goes, there is no such thing as bad publicity.
In terms of whether we ought to believe in it or not, I believe that choice is not for us to make. For instance, it is one thing to read current gossip pages or tv about a celebrity that we absolutely adore and see the version of the celebrity in question in another newspaper or tv. You see the words come out of him saying whether the gossip is true or false, and you believe him, and that’s that. In this case, we don’t have Jesus himself explaining what really happened, so we don’t have the luxury of practical discernment, and we don’t have the choice of not believing it either, for not believing in it will make the events impossible, and all Christians profess that with God, nothing in impossible, and anyway, God and Jesus Christ are free to do whatever they want with the world.
So, what are we, poor sinful ordinary flock to do? When we are flocked by things like this that boggle our brains?
We turn to the heart, and then we ask ourselves 2 questions:
1. DOES IT MATTER?
2. WHO IS JESUS CHRIST TO YOU?
When I asked myself those two questions the first time I finished the book, my answers were these:
1. NO. So if these allegations and alternative happened to be true, it doesn’t matter. Following Him should be my business, not his personal and private life here on earth.
2. In my times of trouble and self-doubt, He is the one who brings me back up. When I am downtrodden and ill on my luck, He is there to makes things ok. I acknowledge His miracles, big or small, in my life. He is my anchor, my refuge, my strength, my confidant. He will still be these things whether those “alternative” theories are true or not.
We shouldn’t be afraid to tackle and ask ourselves hard quesions when it comes to our faith. It is in tackling the tough questions in life that makes us better and stronger people. Dare to ask and dare to be curious.
24 hours
May 18, 2006It seems that lately, 24 hours is never enough for the average person to consume. Our frantic , global lifestyle has enabled us to want to do things lightning fast, and if we know how to use it, Technology could actually help us do our work faster and easier. Or does it, really? What’s in us that we have to consume ALL of the hours that God has given us? What’s in us that we continually accumulate things to distract us from doing what is essential? It is either all we do is waste time or we demand too much of Time that we forget that Time is not ours to bend and extend the way we want to. God controls Time, our mortality depends on His control to our time on earth, and each millisecond is precious.
nothing to do…
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