Saving Daylight

SAVING DAYLIGHT

By J. Andrew Taylor

The room was empty.  My first book signing and not one single person showed up.  How humiliating. I knew that scheduling the signing for eight A.M. was daring, but it was a Sunday. Didn’t most people do leisurely things like visit bookstores on Sundays? I felt the heat of someone’s eyes on me and turned around.  Mr. Paige, the owner of the bookstore, shot a disappointed glare at me over his bifocals.  I shrugged an apologetic reply.  He shook his head and returned to his newspaper.  I had promised him that, should he allow me to host a signing, the event would surely bring in potential customers; epic fail.

Back when I was a new father, I had suffered my first and (up till now) only panic attack.  At the time, I thought that I was having a coronary and was glad that it was at least happening in a hospital.  This time, standing there in “Page by Paige Books and Periodicals”, my heart raged and pounded like some hideous monster trying to escape from my inner child’s bedroom closet.  The curious thing about panic attacks is that they are full of opposite extremes.  I felt cold and clammy, yet I was sweating copiously.  I felt like lying down, yet my heart was hammering a hole through my chest as if I had just run a mile.  My mind was muddled, yet I was completely aware of every detail of my anxiety.  Suddenly, I felt my soul melt from the heat of my shame and I gave up.

Crestfallen, I walked out the door and into the clear spring day.  Almost instinctively, I went across the street to the coffee shop.  I ordered my usual Chi Tea latte and found that overstuffed blue chair that, even though hundreds of people “borrowed” it when I wasn’t there, I still considered mine.  I finished my latte and gazed at the dregs at the bottom of the cup; trying to mimic a hippie tea reader named Ocean I had known in college.  As I stared at the random and haphazard shapes at the bottom of my cup, it was as if the universe was telling me just that: “Your life is a random and haphazard clump of debris at the bottom of the overpriced teacup of life.”  I ordered another.

As I sat there busily NOT reading the daily newspaper, I looked over at the next table at a young woman.  She was furiously typing on a laptop.  Her fingers were not only speedily zipping across the keyboard, but they were also hammering down on them as if punishing them for not moving fast enough.

I suddenly realized that it was in this same coffee shop that I had spent nearly a year, furiously typing out the very book that I was supposed to be signing across the street. I swallowed hard as a molten lump of irony lodged itself in my throat.  There was a part of me that wanted to go over to her and say, “Do yourself a favor, give it up and just get addicted to Farmville on Facebook or something.”  I didn’t say it of course, but I wanted to. I’m serious.

            The girl caught me looking at her and forced me to break the ice. “Business or pleasure?” (Damn! What a dweeb I am!)

            She stared at me in that “deer in the headlights” kind of way.  “Excuse me?”

            “Your keyboard is smoking.  I was just wondering if you were writing because you had to or because you wanted to.”

            She looked up to a space somewhere between her and the ceiling and considered her thoughts for a moment.  “I guess you could say that I have to because I want to.  Or that I want to because I have to.”

            “Now I’m confused.”

            “You know….Sometimes, as a writer, I wonder if I WANT to write because I MUST or that I MUST write because I want to.  It’s a “chicken or the egg thing” Ya know?”

            I knew exactly what she meant.  “Only a real writer would understand that.”

            “A real writer?  I wish.  Sometimes I feel like a preschooler doing the equivalent of finger painting with a keyboard.  You know; something that your mom might hang on the fridge, but not something anyone would want to spend money on.”

            (OUCH!)

            “Finger painting with a keyboard?  Nice visual. Maybe you do have the knack. Maybe you are a real writer.”

            She stared at me with an expression as blank as that first page of a new writing project.  “Oh.  I don’t know.  Maybe someday.”

            “Maybe someday what?” I urged.

            “Maybe someday I’ll write the “Great American Novel”, get published and have a book signing and make lots of cash.” She laughed.

            “A book signing, Huh?” I asked hoping she didn’t notice my voice cracking.

            “Why not?  That’s what writers do isn’t it?  I mean…That’s what I’m doing here.”

            My brain locked up. “You’re here to sign books?”

            “No, silly.  I’m waiting for a book signing by one of my favorite authors to start at the bookstore across the street.”

She made a gesture with her head toward the window.  My eyes instinctively followed.  To my amazement, I saw a queue of people lined up in front of the bookstore.  Could it be?  The young woman was packing up her things and preparing to leave.  Drunk with hope, I followed her out the door and over to the bookstore.  As we approached the front door, a round of applause arose from the line of people.  All of them were looking in my direction.  I waved at them timidly.

As I entered, I saw Mr. Paige.  He was beaming a huge smile as he led me to the table we’d set up earlier.  “I didn’t think that you were coming back.”

“I almost didn’t.” I replied as I took my seat. “I don’t understand, Mr. Paige.  Where did all these people come from?”

He pointed at the clock on the far wall.  “Daylight Savings time.”

I shrugged.

Mr. Paige laughed.  “Everyone was an hour late.”

We both laughed this time as I set to work greeting and signing MY book.  After about half an hour, my hand started to cramp; but I didn’t care.  The pain was exquisite.  I set my pen down a moment and looked up at the next customer.  It was the girl from the coffee shop.

“That was a mean trick.” She cheerfully scolded.

“It wasn’t a trick.” I replied.  “I just wanted some tea.”

“Sure you did.  Man, if I had only known that it was you.”

I remembered the conversation we’d had across the street and her enthusiasm. “Ok. I admit it.”

She looked shocked. “That you were just messing with me earlier.”

“No.” I said, signing my name to her copy.  “I was there checking out my future competition.”

She smiled. “Do you really think so?”

“Just keep typing as fast and furious as you were before and you’ll be signing a book for me soon enough.”

“Thank you.” She giggled and hopped away.

“And remember!” I shouted after her. “Just don’t schedule your book signing on Daylight Savings Sunday!”

I-Doll

By J. Andrew Taylor

          There are few universal fears (not including the phobias) that everyone can relate to regardless of culture, personal experience or psychosis.  To name a few, there is the fear of the dark, reptiles, clowns and dolls.  It is a general rule that the majority of humans are afraid of the same things.  Yes, some people keep snakes, and dolls, but I believe that they do this as a way of controlling their inherent fear and that fear becomes a tolerance at best and an obsession at worst.  Let’s focus on the fear of dolls.  Why do most people put the fear of dolls so high on their list of personal fears?  The answer is just a little disturbing, but here we go nonetheless.

          Every culture no matter how remote and every civilization has in one way or another created images and endowed that image with “life” in some way.  As long as mankind has been on Earth, civilizations have made statues or images of either animals or human to depict their gods or human kings and queens that where considered “divine”.  The Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Aztec, Incan and Mayan are just a few of the major cultures that have done this profusely.

          Every religion throughout history has created images of gods and treated them, in one way or another, as if the idols somehow exhibited either the best or worst of every human emotion, thought or spirit.  As “modern” people, we run the danger of distancing ourselves from those ancient peoples and attributing their idol worship as “naiveté” or “primitive” religious beliefs.  I say, YES.  This practice is both naïve and primitive; and by that I mean that it is a basic, in-born and primitive human inclination.  As proof of this, I submit that you yourself have either witnessed, or practiced it.

          When an angry mob wants to protest and symbolically “kill” a political leader, they first create an effigy of that leader and usually mutilate or burn that image.  The practice is also seen in the Voodoo religions in the form of dolls that are mutilated and tortured in place of a real person.  Another familiar case in which we recognize “life” in a doll is the ventriloquist’s dummy.  Sure, we laugh at and like this doll, but the fact still remains that we see human characteristics in it that is separate from the performer.  The list goes on.  The fact is that there is REAL POWER in these practices.  There is a spiritual truth here.  You may yet feel a distance from those practices and judge them archaic or antiquated.  Remember, if you will either yourself or your own children playing with dolls and stuffed animals; and to them, they are “real”.

          If you have ever watched a little boy playing with action figures or a little girl playing tea party with her dolls and having conversations with them you will understand what I mean.  To the little girl for example, every single one of her dolls has a distinct personality and “voice” and she communicates with them as if they were ‘real’.  Now, the question here is a little “spooky”.  Did the little girl simply “imagine” the doll having a voice, or is there an entity that somehow “claimed” that doll as its own image and infused its spirit into the doll and therefore gave “life” to the doll.  My answer is simple.  There is a reason that the word “image” is in the word “imagine”.  The two go hand in hand.  This habit of attributing “life” to dolls is pervasive in popular culture.  The “Toy Story” movies come immediately to mind.

          Further still, here is a quote from the much loved novel; “A little Princess” by Frances Hodgson Burnett:

          “What fascinated Ermengarde the most was [Sara's] fancy about the dolls who walked   and talked, and who could do anything they chose when the human beings were out of          the room, but who must keep their powers a secret and so flew back to their places ‘like   lightening’ when people returned to the room.”

          And because of this, there is a real reason most humans would list “fear of dolls” very high on their lists of spooky things.

          Mankind has always had an inborn fixation with created images and endowing them with human characteristics i.e. emotions, thoughts, spirit etc.?  The answer is that we ourselves, are created images that have emotions, thoughts and spirit.  God created us in HIS image and endowed us with such things that make us HUMAN. We are “spirits inhabiting a physical form”. Demonic spirits are jealous of our relationship with God and, having no physical form themselves, crave status as “spirits in a physical form” and jump at the chance and have for ages past, encouraged fallen man to provide them with those forms; i.e. graven images, idols, ‘divine’ statues and dolls.  The ultimate prize to any demon is to actually possess not just a created image, but to possess a human being instead.

            Did you ever see a doll’s innocent face and imagined that you could ‘feel’ a spirit behind those staring eyes looking back at you?  Somehow our spirits ‘feel’ a living thing inside the graven image.  How many ‘scary’ movies have been made where a dolls face gave you the creeps just by looking at it?  There may be a reason for that feeling. This is the same thing that the ancients ‘felt’ when they worshipped those statues and idols as gods.  Their spirits could ‘feel’ the living thing in the image.   Let me end by saying that NOT ALL man-made images ARE inherently possessed, but that all have the POTENTIAL for it depending on the spiritual significance we assign to them.  I believe that God knew this when he commanded us:

Exodus 20:4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.”

We have been warned.

Sleep tight

Camping with family

I spent the weekend camping with my family.  Throughout, I came to the realization that mankind has spent the last few thousand years trying to improve their living conditions precisely so that we would not have to sleep out in the elements, cook food over an open fire and have sanitary personal conditions. And so, why would we subject ourselves to reverting back to living in that environment?  Needless to say, I do not enjoy camping that much.  Other than spending time with the family and telling scary campfire stories to my nieces and nephews, I would have preferred to stay and enjoy the comforts of home.

“I HAVE FAILED, NOW WHAT?”

            A few years ago, I was sitting in my local coffee house sipping an obscenely overprice cup of “gourmet” coffee.  As I sat there, I became aware that a college aged couple across the room was in the midst of a heated debate concerning religion.  At first, I could only make out key words in sentences.  A few minutes later as the conversation grew even more heated, I (and the other customers) were able to hear them so well over the hissing espresso machines and the more than loud enough music coming from the ceiling, that I no longer felt guilty of “eavesdropping“.

            Hang around any coffee house or tea house for more that half an hour and you are sure to either be involved in or “eavesdrop” on a conversation about religion.  In my defense, I am using the word “eavesdrop” loosely because usually when people are debating either politics or religion, the conversation can easily be heard by even the most disinterested patrons in the room.

            As a matter of fact, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a coffee or tea house; it could even be in your own house.  These conversations are usually banned at my house during family get-togethers such as Thanksgiving and Christmas due to the possibility (dare I say likelihood) of sparking either a heated discussion at best or a full blown argument at worst.

            In today’s primary schools and colleges, there is a trend toward ecumenicalism. By this I mean Comparative Religion classes that well… “compare” the diverse religious beliefs around the globe and discuss the similarities between them  But the ecumenicalism is not just ecumenicalism among religious people, no, it is a weird sort of oxymoronic drivel that is usually peddled by totally non-religious academics.  I say oxymoronic because, it is what I call “Secular Ecumenicalism”.  It is a philosophy of dispassionately melding the different religions in an attempt to makes it’s students believe that “all religions are essentially the same” or that “all religions pray to the same god, but just call him or her by different names“.           The curricula of these classes are usually written and taught by professors who are decidedly anti-religious and agree with the philosopher Voltaire who said that “religion is the opiate of the masses“.  In other words, people who have no stake in the argument to begin with, other than to recruit the young and naïve student into their secular-humanist ideology.  By doing this, they assert that all religions are some kind of ingrained psychosis that is a product of an evolutionary glitch and are, therefore, of no use other than for governments to control the behavior of its citizens without having to hire huge police forces and armies.  As a result, most college kids, more times than not, sum up their coffee house debates with lukewarm statements like “all religions are the same”.  Now, here is the strangest part…..wait for it…..I absolutely agree.  With the exception of the evolution part.  I agree that all religions are basically the same.

            Now before you hit the “back” button on your browser or close the lid of your laptop in disgust, let me elaborate.  We could list all of the similarities between the religions and conclude that they are all the same, but that doesn’t mean that all FAITHS are the same.

            First, let’s define “Religion”.  I’m not talking about the naive street-level definition of religion that has invaded our dictionaries that makes the word “religion“ synonymous with the word “faith“.  The two concepts are worlds apart.  In my eyes, the word “religion” is a verb.  By that I mean that a religion is something that you do, not something you believe.

            This leads me to another of my “favorite” naïve anti-religious statement:  “I dislike ‘Organized Religions’.”  This statement is redundant.  When the people of a certain faith group together and make lists for each other to follow, they become “Religions”.  This statement would be like saying that you dislike “cold ice cream” or “hot steam“.  It is the organization that make a religion a religion.  One could more correctly make the statement that they dislike organized faiths or at least that they simply dislike religion.  The term “Organized Religion” is superfluous, repetitious and redundant.

            All of the world’s religions claim to have the same goal:  To make its adherents into better people and to live better lives.  To accomplish this task, all religions use some sort of “list” of do’s and don’ts that must be followed in order to be considered “good” people.  In this light, all religions are basically the same.  Hinduism has a list of do’s and don’ts.  Islam has a similar list.  Judaism also has a list.  The lists are what make them religions. 

            The word “faith”, on the other hand, is a noun to describe either an unseen thing or person that is depended upon for rescue.  In this, not all faiths are the same.  On the contrary, they are vastly different.  They are in fact, distinct and usually in opposition to one another.  By definition, religions point out mankind’s failings.  Faiths are the solutions that religions offer for mankind’s inability to adhere to their “lists”.

            These solutions that are offered can range anywhere from monetary donations to repetitious prayers and even animal and human sacrifice.  Some Hindu religions require endless chanting and self flagellation.  Most sects of Islam require that a person’s “good” deeds ultimately outweigh their “bad” deeds.  Also, according to the Muslim faith, one can obtain a “free pass” into paradise by performing the ultimate “good” deed; killing non-Muslims (known as “infidels”).  Buddhism simply and naively tell us to “be good”.

            “Why?”, One might ask.

            “I don’t know, because goodness is a good thing.  Anyhow, just be good anyway.”

            “How?”, You might ask.

            “Meditate on being good, and you will achieve goodness either in this life, or the next. Or the one after that…and so on…ad infinitum.”

            Judaism comes close to a real solution by requiring animal sacrifice on a strict and regular basis for the forgiveness of sins.  There are intrinsic difficulties with this system.  The main ones being that this solution is both temporary and perpetual.  Within Judaism, there is no permanent solution to the sin problem.  Jehovah says to them, “Obedience is better than sacrifice.”  Ultimately, none of the world’s religions offer any real and permanent solutions to the problem of mankind’s failures.  There is no “magic bullet” or “righteousness pill” in any religion that can make a person stop sinning.  It reminds me of a little joke:

            Q:  “Why can’t cows fly?”

            A:  “Because they are cows.”

            (I warned you that it was a “little” joke.)

            Q:  “Why can’t religions bring righteousness?”

            A:  “Because they are religions.”

            This is also the reason so many people “change” religions.  They are continuously looking for something that is “not on the menu“.

            In the beginning, when Adam and Eve sinned, their actions serve as a template for us all in regards to how we deal with God.  In order they are:

Ÿ  COVER

Ÿ  HIDE

Ÿ  BLAME

COVER:  (Religious legalism)

            By this I’m referring to Adam and Eve’s sewing fig leaves together in order to cover the result of their sin.  In other words, they tried to regain their righteousness by “doing” something; performing some action that would undo the sin.  This was the beginning of religion as we know it.  The fig leaf was the first thing on the human religion “list”.  Mankind’s religions can not bring righteousness any more than the fig leaf brought Adam and Eve righteousness.  To believe it and attempt it is infantile at best.

HIDE:  (Atheism/Agnosticism)

            When a religion asked too much of us, or fails to bring the righteousness that we as humans crave, the next step is to hide from God.  There are two ways that we, as humans, do this.  The first, is to physically hide.  The problem is, that we have that annoying little thing called a conscience.  God, in the form of The Holy Spirit, is in our heads.  His Law is written on our hearts.  We can neither run from, nor quiet His voice.  God is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent.  We soon find, as Adam did, that hiding from God is futile.

            When hiding from God fails, the next step is to hide God himself.  We tell ourselves and others that there is no God.  This is the essence of both atheism and agnosticism.  In America, atheists and agnostics have tried, for years, to “hide” God by demanding that He not be mentioned in public speech or media.  Even though we live in a free country and our Constitution guarantees our freedom of religious expression, the political forces of atheism and agnosticism are unrelenting in their agenda to force religions to “Believe in God if you want to, but keep God in your own head.  Do not mention Him in public.”  They wrongly interpret “freedom of religious expression” as “freedom from religious expression”.  The mantra that they use is “separation of church and state”.  These words do not appear anywhere in either our Constitution or our Bill Of Rights.”

BLAME: (Secular Humanism/Victim status)

            The next human inclination, when faced with guilt, is to blame.  Adam totally “threw Eve under the bus” by blaming her for his sin.  He didn’t stop there either.  He ultimately blamed God Himself by saying, “the woman, that YOU gave me…”  So, he’s blaming both Eve and God.  He (Adam) claims “victim status”.

            I had occasion at one point to purchase a new clothes dryer.  Being a good shopper, I checked the latest issue of ‘Consumer Reports’ Magazine to compare the different types of dryers.  Imagine for a minute that all that the article listed were the similarities between all of the makes and models of dryers.  For example:

1. All of them used electricity

2. All of them had drums that spun

3. All of them had built-in timers

4. All of them had at least two heat settings

5. All of them dried clothes

            What kind of “comparison” would that be?  Logic tells us that a true comparison would also include the differences between the dryers.

1. This one uses 30 percent less electricity than all the others

2. This one has an extra large drum

3. This one has a computer controlled timer with presets

4. This one has multiple heat settings according to fabric type

5. This one dries clothes 45 percent more efficiently

            By doing so, we will find the one dryer that is “the best”.  Let me say that emphatically.  “THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE BEST ANYTHING.“  There will be one model of dryer that will be found to be superior to all of the others because it offers this or that feature that no other dryer can offer.

            Consider this.  Only con men, salesmen and swindlers ply their trades by focusing only on similarities.  Continuing with the analogy of the dryers, imagine if you were a sales person trying to sell an inferior dryer to a customer.  You know that, had the person actually done their homework before coming into your store, they would know the “differences” between the dryers.  Let’s say then that this customer has NOT done their homework.

            Your competition, let’s say, it dryer A.  You are trying to sell them dryer B.  In order to do this, you must concentrate on the similarities between dryers A and B.

            “Dryer B has a drum that spins at the same speed as dryer A.”

            “Dryer B also has the same “thing-a-maggig” as dryer A.”

            “Dryer B also has a built in dry timer.”

            “Both dryers A and B have lint traps…..etc…”

            It’s the classic “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” ploy that stage magicians and street hustlers use. What you NEVER do as a salesman, is discuss the “differences” between the two makes of dryer.  If you did, the customer would see through your charade, walk out of your store and promptly purchase a brand new dryer A.

            Logic dictates that if all dryer companies continually try to “compare” themselves (without mentioning the differences) to dryer A; then dryer A must be something special.  Similarly, if all other religions are constantly “comparing” themselves (without mentioning the differences) with one religion in particular, then the targeted religion warrants some investigating.

            Imagine for a second that dryer A offers a free lifetime warranty which includes all repairs, cleaning and even continuous upgrades.  In addition to that, when the dryer finally does die, the manufacturer promises to give you a brand new indestructible dryer.  By limiting our list to only the things that all the dryers have in common, we could miss out on the deal of a lifetime.   Differences are not always bad.

            “Gasp!! Did he actually say that?” You might ask.

            I know that in today’s world, this may be a shocking statement because we have been brainwashed into believing that differences are bad and that they should not be discussed out loud.  “This person has a different skin color.”  “Those persons are drug users.” “That person is a homosexual.”  “This other person has a different body style or that person believes in a different god; but let’s not mention these differences out loud, because it might offend them and we wouldn’t want to seem intolerant or judgmental now would we?”

            In today’s America we have been herded like lemmings into a culture of standardization and blandness that makes uniqueness and exclusivity veritable “crimes” and it’s all done in the name of “equality”.  In the name of political correctness, no one is allowed to declare that his or her own lifestyle or belief system is superior to all others.  The result is a gray, insipid and dull society that retards human achievement, vivaciousness and life.  The biggest casualties in this kind of society are truth and freedom.

            Combine this dreary social state with the fact that mankind’s religious failings (sins) go unanswered and unforgiven, and the final result is a lukewarm, dank Petri dish of a world in which the only things that can grow are the “bacteria” of mankind where the society is…

²⁹being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, ³⁰backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, ³¹undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; ³²who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. (The Holy Bible, NKJV, Romans 1:29 - 32)

…and every decade seems to loosen it’s morals even more the previous ones.  Welcome to today’s America; where most of these things have been legalized and protected by devious special interest groups and corrupt politicians who “approve of those who practice them“.  In my opinion, highlighting, (without malice), people’s differences is good for a society and that it is ok to point someone or something out and say, “That one is the best.” or “That lifestyle is bad.”  But I digress.  Back to my main point.

            In order to be an informed “shopper” of religions, one must list all of the similarities as well as the differences of the religions.  If we do so, we may discover that (like the clothes dryers) one religion will be found to be superior to all of the others because it offers a feature or features that no other religion can offer.

            As stated earlier, all of the world’s major religions seem to have a common goal: To make a person be the best person that they can be.  Also, as stated earlier, they go about achieving that goal by listing “do’s and don’ts” which one must follow to be the best human being possible.  And, as most theologians and professors will tell you, most of the lists are similar. “Don’t murder, Don’t steal, Don’t lie, Give to the poor etc…”

             The biggest problem with religious laws, is that all they do is show us how bad humans really are.  Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and all the rest are all the same only in that they point out just the problems with mankind.  As far as solutions to failure go, they offer none.  Just as we would ask a salesman selling us a dryer, “What do I do when it fails?“, we must ask each religion, “What do I do when I fail?”  It is not the lists of “sins” that set the religions apart, it is their “solutions” to the sins that set them apart; light-years apart.

            Hinduism is a religion.  As is Islam, Judaism and Buddhism.  Even some “Christian” sects are more religion than faith.  By that I mean those organizations that concentrate more on the legalistic adherence to laws, penance to somehow (pay for) one’s sins , rituals and lists than putting their faith in the real solution to the problem of sin.

            CHRISTIANITY, (true Christianity), IS NOT A RELIGION.  It is a faith.  Our faith is not in what we do (remember the fig leaves), but in what Jesus the Christ has already done. Yes, there is a way of life that He calls us to observe and follow, but He does not condemn us for failing.  On the contrary, He accepts us from the get-go as failures.  As a matter of fact, no one can become a Christian without first admitting that they are a failure.  This is called confession and repentance.

            A “friend” of mine in high school once tried to insult me by saying that “Jesus is for losers!”.  I looked him straight in the eye and answered, “Yes, absolutely.”  Jesus is for losers.  I also told him:

“I am not a failure because I’m a Christian; I am a Christian because I am a failure.”

            And, since all people of all religions have failed, Jesus is for all of us.  If you do not first see yourself as being and having lost at the game of life, you cannot find the true solution.

            Romans 22(b) and 23(a) says:

For there is no difference; ²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

            Yet, Jesus didn’t leave us in a state of failure and loss.  Jesus offers the ONLY real solution to mankind’s sin problem.  The Bible tells us in Romans 6:23 that:

²³For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

After Adam and Eve sinned and stood before God with fig leaves covering the guilt of sin, God provided the only real solution to sin.  The Bible tells us in Genesis 3:21 that:

21Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.

            The wages of sin is death.  In order for God to make clothes of skin for them, something had to have died.  Blood was shed to “cover” their shame.  This was the first sacrifice for sin.  Later God would institute this act as Law through a covenant with Moses.

            Later, Jesus came to earth to live as a human and show us that is was possible to live a life according to the LAW and then was wrongly condemned by the religious leaders and executed on a cross.  Through His death, he satisfied the perpetual requirements of The Law for blood atonement.  Because the wages of sin is death, Jesus gave his own life as the ultimate sacrifice.  He paid the wages of sin, having never sinned.  But He did not stop merely at securing salvation for a select few.  He offers His blood as an atonement for the sins of all mankind.

            Everyone has a sin debt.  Everyone.  Yet, because Jesus Himself died sinless, God was able to heap all of mankind’s sins in total upon Jesus’ dying body and therefore pay in full the entire multitude of everyone’s sins.  Our God-given free will dictates that you have the right to go it alone and pay for them yourself.  Though I highly recommend that you don’t.  The price is too high.  You may have to go through hell to pay them.  Although, no one has ever gone “through” hell.  It is a one way trip.

            Remembering the definition of the word “religion”…. Religions say to mankind, “These are your failures listed here.”  “In these ways, you have sinned.”  For anyone who puts their FAITH in Jesus, He says to him or her, “What sin?”  “The punishment for your sin has already been meted out on me.”  “Now go, and sin no more.  Oh, and even if you do, those sins are forgiven also.”

            He doesn’t stop at that either.  He goes on to say that His Spirit will fill us and work with us to change our nature so that we may better follow the example of how to live, that He showed us.  And when we die, He will permanently renew our minds, hearts and bodies so that we will not be slaves to our old sinful failings.  This is a REAL solution to that pesky “sin” problem that all the religions can only point out.

            Remember the analogy earlier about comparison shopping for dryers?  I had you imagine that a certain dryer offered a free lifetime warranty which included all repairs, cleaning and even continuous upgrades. In addition to that, when the dryer finally does die, the manufacturer promises to give you a brand new indestructible dryer.  Just as we concluded that “similarity shopping” is not “comparison shopping”, similarity shopping in the religion market is a study in futility.  We might have missed out on the deal of a lifetime.

            Jesus offers us free cleaning (from sins), a lifetime warranty (“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”) which includes all repairs (Healing) and upgrades (The renewing of the mind and heart).  In addition to that, when we finally die, He (The Manufacturer) promises to give you a brand new indestructible life.  This, my friends, is the deal of a lifetime and beyond; into the next phase of life.  Eternal life.

            Christianity flies in the face of the “Comparative Religions” mantra that “all religions are the same”.  The Bible, in John 14:6 it reads:

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

            Jesus did NOT say, “ I am one of many ways, a truth, and a life….  No! He spoke of Christianity in exclusive terms.  Of coarse,  this is what got Him killed.  And, sad to say, it would just as easily get Him killed today also.  In today’s America, that statement would be considered “intolerant” or “closed-minded” and “exclusionary”.  Yes, it is.  And Jesus meant it to be.  The political correct police of today still hunt down His followers in every country in the world for being “intolerant“, “closed-minded“ and “exclusionary“.  Even in a “free” country like America, they are hunted down, silenced and slandered in the media, in the classrooms and the courtrooms.  “Keep it bland!”  “Keep it equal!”  “Be tolerant!”  “Don’t make anyone feel as if their path, actions or lifestyles are wrong; it may hurt their feelings.”  By all means, let the Petri Dish fester.

            No mere “religion” can compare to what Jesus offers through his blood.  Remember the only thing that the world’s religions can offer is condemnation.  Yet The Bible tells us in Romans 8:1 says:

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,”

            And in John 3:16, 17 & 18:

             16For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

¹⁸“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Then, by definition, Christianity is NOT a religion.  It is a Faith.  It is a relationship with your Creator.  It is a life-long process of becoming “Christ-like”.  His Spirit works in us and transforms us into the person we were created to be.  Do we fail?  Yes.  But our failures are paid for.

            My logical brain always does a cartoon-ish “double-take” whenever someone lists Christianity among the “world’s major religions”.  Thank God (literally) that He has offered us so much more than just another religion.  He has done what no religion on Earth could do. 

            Jesus has solved that which every society in mankind’s history agrees with:  “Mankind is sinful.”

            Hinduism agrees, but is impotent.  Islam agrees, but is useless.  Judaism agrees, but is stuck in an outmoded cycle of transgression and atonement.  Not even the Law of Moses was able to bring righteousness.  The Bible says in Romans 8: 3 & 4:

³For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

             

            So, are religion and The Law bad?  NO.

            Galatians 3:21-25 says:

            ¹Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. ²²But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. ²³But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. ²⁴Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

            Religious laws, specifically, the Law of Moses was a compass that first, condemned us by showing us our sin, and then pointed us to Jesus.  God has written His Law onto the hearts of all mankind to bring us to Jesus.  Even those who do not believe in God, still have a longing for righteousness.   That is why there are so many “religions” in the world.  Even among the most primitive cultures.  It is also why they share “similarities” with the Law of Moses.

            The Law that God wrote onto the hearts of mankind has been perverted into many different religions that enslave mankind.  And, although mankind’s religions are similar in may ways, they can do nothing that brings righteousness.  Thankfully, all of the world’s “isms” will eventually become “was’ms”.  Christianity agrees but actually addresses and answers mankind’s greatest question:  “What do I do if I fail?”  Praise Jesus, that through His blood, the answer is:  “Believe in Jesus, be baptized and then, Do nothing!  It is Finished!”