News Article On The Crucificion

During my third year in college I made a discovery in an English library.

I was looking for a book to explain Dun Scotus to me. After failing to find it, the librarian told me the book was downstairs "in the stacks". I went downstairs and found these giant shelves that could be moved by turning vault-shaped wheels.

The books were not arranged alphabetically.

While looking through a certain row of books I accidentally backed up against a manuscript that fell right off the shelf. A student walked by and said, "Americans ..." And looked up at the ceiling.

While picking up the manuscript I saw that it was actually a newspaper from mid-first century Palestine.

After reading the article I thought to myself how strangely it resembled articles of our day and age. It almost sounded like it was written by someone from the Associated Press!

The Bodlian library didn't let me borrow the book, so I had to make some clumsy xeroxes, but I have preserved the words in the exact translation I found them.

Execution May Signify Political Changes!
by Alexander Bar-Judas

City of David, Palestine.

This last Friday a Jew was executed in the tumultuous region of Palestine, which has grown deeply concerned with its foreign occupation.

So deeply, in fact, that as many as 60% of the population disapproves of it.

Historically, many in the land have been said to be the Messiah. Some say such a descendent of King David will deliver the people from Roman authority.

Many experts suggest this execution was different.

During the trials which condemned the accused man, the Judge, Pontius Pilate, asked the public if they would prefer to release Barrabas -a notorious criminal. This proved to be a suggestion that was utterly rejected by the crowd, and the accused man was soon crucified.

While this may seem trifling to many, experts note that Pontius Pilate was influenced -and finally gave into- the will of the public.

A growing school of scholars have identified similarities between a succcessful, prospering government and the way it follows popular opinion. These scholars have suggested that once a government follows the public it will prosper.

Although the death of this Jew will clearly be forgotten by the beginning of next week, he may well have played a part in shaping history. Perhaps the occasion of his death will introduce a magnificent change in government where everything will be done in a socially acceptable manner.

Of course his disciples saw things in different terms.

One of his followers, when asked about the political implications of the Jew's execution, replied cryptically, "This man will never be your king until you have personally allowed him to be your king."

Although this man called Jesus will likely be considered a failure by the few who remember him, his message did seem to have a certain value in one sense:

The condemned man seemed to distrust earthly alliances and political associations -a move that many clearly recognize now to be a mistake- but he was said to teach about love and being a servant.

He was known to speak on behalf of criminals -and in one case- a woman who was caught in the act of adultery.

Although people had found this to be offensive against what they considered to be the Law of Moses, historians will most likely recognize him as a progressive thinker far ahead of his time -looking forward to the day when people would be able to look past their feelings of guilt and shame.

Some had put their hopes on Him to deliver them from their sin, but perhaps there is also room to consider his fight against intolerance, unsocial behavior, governments which expect the people to obey them, neglecting inalienable rights, and poor tax codes.

Perhaps the governing priest, Caiaphas, was correct about him. Because the Romans hated uprisings, perhaps it was better for him to die so that the public could go on. After all ... he was just one man.

I found the article shocking because I don't really think of Jesus as a political figure. In fact, it sort of seemed like maybe he was ... I don't know ... misunderstood?

Like people wanted to make him some kind of a ruler or something?

But they didn't want him to rule over their own lives personally?

Well, one never knows what will turn up in a dusty library basement anyway. I hope you didn't find the article as confusing as I did.

Boasting In My Weakness

Matthew Anderson, a friend over at Mere Orthodoxy invited me to post 8 random stories about myself.

1) When I was three years old my father pulled me aside and said, "Son, I love you." After a moment I said, "I love you too, father." And he said, "Do you really?". I remember thinking to myself, "What is love? Is it a feeling? I don't think it is. Is it a giving? But I have nothing to give? Is it merely a word? I believe it is more than that." Eventually I told my father I did love him, but I feared I had lied because I couldn't explain to myself what love was, so how could I love?

2) In highschool I spent a long time in the mornings reading the Bible. First I would notice the Bible on my nightstand. Then I was head off to do some other task. Then I would come back to the edge of my bed and sit. Then I would stand up. Then I would sit back down again. Much, much later, I began to read.

3) As a little boy I used to wonder about how many people there were on the earth. At least a hundred -which was more than I could imagine. "And how strange," I thought, "That I am the only one I have control over." After thinking about this I grew very afraid, and I didn't understand why.

4) During my early days in college I began studying the works of those who used philosophical and scientific evidence to defend the Bible. It was at this time I went to the hospital for an appendectomy. My roommate was a Mormon. I thought I had all the answers. The more certain of this I became, the more foolish my own words sounded to me. Eventually the mormon told me, "Look, I'm not just going to put my hands over my eyes and ears and shout until you go away. The thing is I live by faith." To this day I believe he was in a sense full of lies, but at the time I thought to myself, "Simple faith? How wonderful!". When I returned to college I tried to forget the whole incident.

5) One time as a young child I found a penny on the carpet. I was delighted and hid it in my hands. My father easily saw me do this and asked me what I had. I showed him reluctantly. He told me to give it back, but I refused. He told me again. Although the penny seemed like a lot of money to me at the time, I had this odd sensation that it was actually worth almost nothing and that he would give it back to me if I just handed it over to him. And the more I considered this, the tighter I held the penny. "What kind of man demands to have money handed over to him, so he can give it back?" I was also (painfully) aware of how unhappy I was in my stiffness.

6) In junior high I decided to get baptised. Afterword I was faced with two voices. The first voice said over and over again, "It was a nice ceremony. The people in your community all expect it of you and now it is over with." The second voice said, "This is your chance -maybe your only chance- to change your ways and become a different person. You have set off on a total life commitment, and that is where you should continue." How slow I was to accept the latter voice!

7) While studying philosophy at Keble College in Oxford I cherished the complexity of my studies and how I was (slowly) mastering them. At the same time I had this sinking feeling that all my efforts were to no avail -that my studies promised me everything, but instead gave me nothing. I began to let go of my strenuous efforts at understanding. I feared I had failed at school and also at life. It was then that I began to spend time with a young girl about my age. She was very intelligent, but did not consider her learning something to be grasped. And with what joy she lived! "Surely, this woman has found the true Jesus," I thought. A year and a half later I married her.

8) In highschool we had a large auditorium where we met three times a week for morning assembly. Someone would recite a speach or perform a dance. Then the faculty would get up, face the audience, and yell loudly their announcements. Some mornings it seemed like they were in competition with each other to see who could shout the loudest to get the most attention. I remember often sensing that God was trying to get my attention, but His voice was so quiet!

The Contest

Not long ago a small town in Oregon hosted a sand castle building contest. The town council members voluteered to be the judges of the contest. The prize was to be five gallons of icecream.

On the day of the contest a group of young boys arrived at the beach.

One of the boys took aside another boy and told him, "There's no rule against joining together to build a castle. We can do more together than we can apart. Let's really do something to win a name for ourselves and then split the prize."

The same boy went to another boy and asked him to join his team. One by one he invited everyone to join his team.

When he came to the last boy and extended his offer, the last boy said, "Well, I've really got a castle I want to build. Why don't you build a castle of your own?" And he could not be persuaded otherwise.

"Everyone is on my team except for this boy." He thought. "Clearly I will be on the winning team and get at least some of the icecream."

So the contest began. One boy began building his castle, and nine boys began building a giant castle.

The leader of the nine boys called out and said, "We can't just all start doing our own thing here. If the style is different in different places, it won't work right." So he assigned each boy to work on a different section of the castle.

"You've got to make square spires and rounded walls. The whole thing must be five inches off the ground. The moat will be two inches deep and the entrace will be in the center."

And so the nine boys began.

One of the judges saw what the nine boys were doing, so he said another judge: "Look at what they're doing! They're ganging up. It's not fair for them to combine their work while that other poor boy works by himself."

Another judge, who was perhaps wiser, said, "Don't be quick to disrupt the contest. Watch and see what happens."

While the one boy continued to work on the castle, he said to himself, "Certainly I don't have the talent to defeat nine opponents working together. On the other hand this castle is looking good to me, and -who knows?- perhaps I could win anyway."

Some of the adults watched and said, "This is really going to teach the boys a good lesson about teamwork ... especially for that selfish boy who wants all the icecream for himself."

As the nine boys worked one of them said to another, "This castle shouldn't have a moat. It's too common and medieval." And in his frustration he would occasionally knock over his work.

Another boy said out loud, "We're not making it tall enough. We should make it into a fortress. We should put our effort into making it the largest castle ever!". And he thought to himself, "No one cares about my opinion." In his frustration he made his section of the castle a little bigger -knowing it would hurt the castle's ratings.

The contest came to a close.

The one boy who had worked alone looked at his modest castle and said to himself, "I like this castle." The judge who recommended breaking the boys up heard him say this and found it hard to disagree with him.

The same judge looked over at the castle of the boys who had joined together. Those boys were openly disagreeing with each other. The castle looked different in several places, and was unfinished in several parts.

Some of the boys were working to restrain a boy who had become so angry he had attacked the work of the castle.

The judges met together and agreed the icecream should go to the boy who had worked by himself.

One of the boys cried out and said, "It's totally unfair for that one boy to get the icecream that could have gone to everyone!".

A judge responded, "Your castle is a mess and a disaster to the eyes! Give all the icecream to the boy who worked alone."

The boy who worked alone said, "I wanted the icecream, but I learned while I was working that I wanted to build that castle as well. So why not share the icecream together?"

As the boy was speaking his parents arrived and insisted that they had to clean up at home before an important baseball game, and that they had no time to divide up the icecream.

The team of the nine boys watched with large eyes as the father of the boy took the entire 5 gallon container of icecream and put it into their car. The boy waved at the nine boys as they drove away.

The boys cried and some of the boys screamed. "I didn't get to build the castle the way I wanted ... and I didn't get any icecream!" No one on the beach could console them.

And that is how it will be for everyone who lives by the values of others.

God Bless America

On the 231st birthday of the United States, I would like to come out and say that I am so glad to be an American.

To be sure, a single act of love is greater than all political accomplishments. One should remember that no government has ever done what Christ's kingdom has done for those who love him.

That being said, I am glad to live in a place where evil practices are often called for what they are instead of dressed up in politically correct dishonesty. I am glad to live in a place where a large number of people still freely decide to go to church. I am glad to live in a place where the acts of the devout have aroused the anger and condemnation of the world.

In some ways, America has become a "city on a hill" as John Winthrop famously predicted. While every historical statement is a generalization, there is a sense (I believe) in which America has been set apart from the nations and has not fallen into the woe of secularization.

Many, many people in Europe, in the Middle East, in China, in Russia all hate America. They hate it because our ancestors have labored before God to find His favor, and God has blessed this nation.

The world hates God and will never accept him. My prayer for our country is that we avoid becoming like the other countries ... I would never want to live in any other place!

Ultimately, God does not deal with people on a collective basis. He does not favor people because they were born in America. I thank Him that He has called so many here who have individually, personally chosen to receive His direction and authority for their lives.

May the Lord continue to work in the lives of individual Americans here in this country. May He keep us from the follies of this world. May He continue to bless us and may His chosen ones continue to find His favor.

God bless the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.
God bless the Vice President, Dick Chaney.
God bless the President, who I believe is His disciple, George W. Bush.

Let it be!
God bless America!