Couldn't Help Noticing

Keeping in Touch

CNN journalist Anderson Cooper wrote of an interesting story on his blog back in May. Luigi Cascioli has spent his life trying to bring down the Catholic Church. Cascioli believes that the Church is guilty of fraud and cover-up. He believes that Jesus never actually lived. Currently, Cascioli is suing the Church so that they will have to provide evidence that Jesus existed. After many failed attempts to get the suit heard in an Italian court, he will finally have his day as the European Court of Human Rights agreed to hear the case.

The story is interesting and intriguing, if not humorous. However, the real interest for me is in the follow-up comments posted about the story on Cooper's blog. Many of the readers found it hard to believe that someone could actually (or, would want to) prove Christ's existence. One person said “faith is about believing in something that you can't prove”.

Another respondent gave such a stereotypical Western view of religion, I had a hard time believing that he wasn't being sarcastic. Jim from California said:

As for the actual question of whether Jesus Christ existed it is a matter of faith. Whether he existed, or whether he is a fictional character created to foster a belief system based on Jewish tradition doesn't really matter. A Christian, Jew, Muslim, or Atheist who respects life, who tries to help his fellow man, who leaves the world a better place than when he came into it, is surely guaranteed a place in heaven, if it exists, and if it doesn't they will have still enriched the lives of those people they leave behind.

Reading through these comments reminded me to keep in touch with the world's view of Christianity. It is essential in reaching the world with the gospel. For when we do evangelism, the Western world will undoubtedly think that we are calling them to stop swearing, come to church on Sundays and vote for conservatives. Hard work is required to break down the barriers and stereotypes, as presented by these respondents, so that the gospel of Jesus is heard clearly.

I was also reminded that many believers need to be taught and re-taught what faith really means.

DIY Religion

This story, about people being offered $5,000 to try starting their own religion for the sake of a documentary, set me thinking. And I've come up with a promising idea for a new reality TV show.

In my new show, people have to start new religions, deliver their religion's message in a few minutes each week on a nationally broadcast program, and then the public gets to vote by SMS each week to keep their favourite new religion on the show. I'm thinking of calling it “Australian Idolatry”.

Actually, wouldn't it be interesting if all the main religions of the world were pitted against each other in such a game show format. Which religion would be the first voted off the show in Australia? It's very hard to pick: Catholicism? Islam? ‘Fundamentalist’ Christianity? Certainly not Buddhism. It would be fascinating to see the criteria people used to make their selection and cast their vote. What a great discussion starter.

Conversations about religion

Here's something I find refreshing and encouraging: a major media organisation (The Washington Post/Newsweek) has decided that religion is worth talking about. To quote them:

Religion is the most pervasive yet least understood topic in global life. From the caves of the Afghan-Pakistan border to the cul-de-sacs of the American Sunbelt, faith shapes and suffuses the way billions of people—Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and nonbelievers—think and act, vote and fight, love and, tragically, hate.

And so, in a time of extremism—for extremism is to the 21st century what totalitarianism was to the 20th—how can people engage in a conversation about faith and its implications in a way that sheds light rather than generates heat? At The Washington Post and Newsweek, we believe the first step is conversation—intelligent, informed, eclectic, respectful conversation—among specialists and generalists who devote a good part of their lives to understanding and delineating religion's influence on the life of the world.

For mine, this is a very positive development and will be worth following. Even more so because they have selected a Christian panelist who will intelligently put forward a biblical perspective without compromise. You can read Al Mohler's first contribution to the discussion here.

You’ve read the book ...

Memo

To: Simon Flinders
From: Matthias Media

Simon, thanks for your review of Joel Osteen's book, Your Best Life Now, in Briefing #338. We're sorry you were less than impressed. Perhaps you would find the new Your Best Life Now—Board Game more to your liking. It is available through Amazon for just $US24.98.

For a bit of an explanation of how the game works, have a look at Tim Challie's blog.

And if all that fails, perhaps this new Joel Osteen product might be another resource you'd like to trial to help you foster a more successful ministry.

Couldn’t have put it better

I was just happily reading and enjoying my legal thriller book by Reed Arvin (The Last Goodbye) when I came across the following perceptive comment:

Guilt. That, for the criminal lawyer, is the operative word. It's no accident that juries don't find defendants innocent. They say they're ‘not guilty’, because somewhere in the collective unconscious roams the knowledge that nobody is truly innocent or unstained. Those words just don't fit the human race.