What They Think of Us: Zombie Nativity

Jasen Dixon says that he did not intend to offend anyone with his zombie nativity scene. There is now a fundraiser under way and a Facebook page for what supporters are calling a “wonderful piece of artwork.” Hostile online posters derisively said “… Jesus is the most famous zombie the world has ever known.  …  I thought that Jesus being a zombie was pretty much the central tenet of the religion.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/23/zombie-nativity-jason-dixon_n_6374428.html

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/12/23/ohio-homeowner-told-to-take-down-his-zombie-nativity-scene/

http://www.wptv.com/news/local-news/water-cooler/jasen-dixon-man-has-to-remove-zombie-nativity-scene-due-to-zoning-violation

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/12/24/1224-zombie-nativity.html

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Zombie-nativity-scene/365944350233282

http://io9.com/zombie-nativity-scene-is-possibly-the-greatest-thing-ev-1674937583

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/12/23/ohio-conservative-christians-freak-out-over-homeowners-zombie-nativity-scene-threatens-lawsuit-video/

Do you think that you have no skills which can be used by God for His glory?

Do you think that you have no skills which can be used by God for His glory? He has given each of us skills and abilities.

http://www.alabamas13.com/story/25751305/cutters-for-christ-helping-bessemer-bounce-back-from-tornado

Mike Royer, the news anchorman who appears in this video, is an outspoken and committed Christian. 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cutters-4-Christ-Inc/245762302169254

The similarly named Cutters 4 Christ, Inc., is a for profit professional lawn and landscaping service in Marietta, Georgia (USA). Their Facebook page shows that they do excellent work.

Escapism Has No Place in the Church

Recently, at work, I went to supper expecting to watch the evening news on the break room television.  The television was turned off and everyone in the room was looking down.  No one was talking to anyone.  They were all focused on their personal devices: iPhones, iPads, Kindles, etc.  I did not want to be rude and to disturb them, so I did not turn on the television.  

None of them looked up or acknowledged that I had entered the room; they were each in their own little world, shut off from everything and everyone else around them.  One was reading Facebook posts.  Another was playing a TETRIS-like game in which the falling items were various pieces of candy.

On another night, the other person in the room was already watching a rerun of the comedy series Seinfeld instead of the news.  Seinfeld can be hilarious, but the creators and actors involved with the series have been totally honest in declaring that it is “a television show about nothing.”

There is nothing inherently wrong with games, social media, or funny television programs, but they can become “wrong”when they are used as shelters,  What all of these people had in common was that they were “escaping.”  They were withdrawing into comfortable little corners where the world could not touch them.  None of them was curious at all about what was going on in the outside world.

I had object proof of this one night when I did have the televison set on the evening news.  There was a story about the dedication ceremony of our new hospital building.  One of my co-workers inquired, “Who is that man?”  The man was the governor of the state in which we live.

Christians are not immune to this.  I understand and agree with the separatist impulse among conservative Christians.  Indeed, we are told to be in the world but not of the world and to come out from among them.  We are told to be holy (meaning separated for God) because God is holy. (Leviticus 11:44, 19:2, Isaiah 52:11, James 4:4, 2 Corinthians 6:17, 1 Peter 1:6)

Some Christians make the mistake of carrying this to such extremes that they remove themselves from any meaningful involvement in the outside world.  They use the church and church activities as an escape.  This, in effect, removes them from many opportunities to share the Gospel.   We have been told to go into all the world and to spread the Gospel to all nations.  We are also told to be aware of what is going on around us: to be as wise as serpents but as gentle as doves. (Mark 16:15, Matthew 10:16)

Tell Someone About This Blog

This blog is receiving between 2,000 and 5,000 discrete visits per month.  Why not 5,000 to 10,000?  Tell your friends, relatives, and fellow church members about the blog.  Mention the blog in one of your tweets, on your personal blog, or on your Facebook page.

This is primarily a ministry to Christians but it also is read by persons who are not Christian.  There have been visits originating from occultic and pornographic sites.  Some readers have been followers of non-Christian religions such as Judaism and Islam.

This blog will never intentionally insult anyone but it also will never back away from telling the Truth.  The Good News is for everyone and if only one person comes to Christ because of this blog, the angels will rejoice. (Luke 15:1-10)

The Church Readerboard

I have no problem introducing humor into Christianity.  One of the funniest comics around is Michael Jr ., an overtly Christian comedian.

One of the places witty humor is often seen is the church readerboard.  The wittiness of the sayings often revolves around double meanings of words.  You decide what you think about this one.  The picture position is moving around on the Facebook page.  What the sign board says is: "God has no favorites - our sign guy does - Go Preds!"
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Grace-Cumberland-Presbyterian-Church/177767247314
The "Preds" are the Nashville Predators, a professional hockey team in the National Hockey League.

Christian Social Network Sites

Facebook is a worldwide social network site with over 800 million members.  There are Christian groups within the Facebook network, but the site itself is secular.  I searched for "Christian Social Network" and found the links below.  The sites are all active, but I have not personally checked them.  Different sites may, and do, have different group emphases.  Some may be doctrinally suspect.  Be careful and be sure that you understand who and what each network represents before you join any of them.

Christian.com
http://www.christian.com

God's Faithbook (This was originally named God's Facebook)
http://www.godsfaithbook.com/index.php

The iChurch Network
http://ichurchnetwork.com

Holypal
http://www.holypal.com

Jesus Klub
http://jesusklub.com

Shout Life
http://shoutlife.com

Faith Freaks
http://www.faithfreaks.com

My Blab
http://myblab.com

Xianz
http://xianz.com

Prayer Group
http://www.prayergroup.org

Our Christian Place
http://www.ourchristianplace.com

My Praize
http://www.mypraize.com

My Church
http://www.mychurch.org

Christian MySpace
http://www.mequam.com

Youth Quests
http://www.youthquests.net

Christian Network
http://www.christian-network.net

Teen Grace
http://www.teengrace.net

UK Christian Social Network
http://christian-web.ning.com

Sanctuary
http://www.sanctuarynet.net

Bible Study Space
http://biblestudyspace.com

Believer Space
http://believerspace.com

God Xpression
http://godxpression.com

DaVersity
http://www.daversity.org

The Desperate
http://thedesperate.com

Christian Rap and Hip Hop
http://www.christianrapandhiphop.com

His Holy Space
http://www.hisholyplace.com

They're Not Happy About it!

On Facebook they are buzzing, Stop Unblack Music !  There are calls for Metalheads to unite and fight to the death.  They feel that their musical form is being hijacked by interlopers: Christians!

Black metal, a form of Death metal, is loud, fast, aggressive, hostile, and anti-religious.  Many of the singers actually growl rather than sing.  The music speeds up, then abruptly slows down, then explodes again.  It is obsessed with violence, death, and evil.

The same musical form is used by Unblack metal bands to present Christian messages.  The music sounds the same, but instead of Satan, murder, gore, and sex, the focus is Jesus.  This is apparently greatly resented by Black metal enthusiasts.  The link below is from metalunderground.com.

http://www.metalunderground.com/news/details.cfm?newsid=64240  This is disturbing stuff.

My take on the issue is that Christians have every right to be in every corner of the world.  Jesus is the Lord of the Universe and we are His Ambassadors.  Though I am not personally a follower of the Unblack musical form, I believe that it is pleasing to God because its intent is to praise Him.

Music is a thing, neutral in and of itself.  Whether or not it is evil or holy depends on the message placed into it.

Jesus Knows You're Here!

I don't know the ultimate source of this story.  My wife and I received it in a Facebook post.

.........................

A burglar broke into a house one night. He shined his flashlight around, looking for 
valuables when a voice in the dark 
said, 'Jesus knows you're here.'


He nearly jumped out of his skin, clicked his flashlight off, and froze.

When he heard nothing more, after a bit, he shook his head and continued.

Just as he pulled the stereo out so he could disconnect the wires, clear as a bell he 
heard 'Jesus is watching you.'



Freaked out, he shined his light around frantically, looking for the source of the voice.


Finally, in the corner of the room, his flashlight beam came to rest on a parrot.

Did you say that?' he hissed at the parrot.

'Yep', the parrot confessed, then squawked, 'I'm just trying to warn you that he is watching you.'

The burglar relaxed. 'Warn me, huh? Who in the world are you ?'



'Moses,' replied the bird.

'Moses?' the burglar laughed. 'What kind of people would name a bird Moses?'

'The kind of people that would name a 
Rottweiler Jesus'

Send Posts to Social Networking Sites

From time to time I will announce and explain features on this blog. Readers can now share individual blog posts from this blog to their social networking sites. Just under the post are five boxes: "M" for e-mail; "B" for Blogger; "t" for Twitter; "f" for Facebook; and an "earth" symbol for Google Buzz. If you think that any of the posts might be useful or interesting to others, feel free to send them to your social networking site. Because of copyright issues, please indicate that the blog is http://saintsontheloose.blogspot.com/


The readership for this blog is growing and, of course, I would like to grow it even larger.  In the past week there have been visitors to this blog from the United States, Canada, Slovenia, Thailand, Israel, India, Sri Lanka, and Luxembourg.  I invite everyone to become daily or weekly readers and to feel free to comment and/or suggest topics.

Quitting Christianity

On 28 July 2010, novelist Anne Rice posted this on her Facebook page, "In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen." She made her decision because she says she refuses to be opposed to homosexuality, feminism, and artificial birth control.

Rice was raised as a Roman Catholic but left the church as an adult. She is best known as a writer of gothic and vampire-themed novels, especially Interview with the Vampire and Queen of the Damned. In 2008, she released her memoir, Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession, about her return to Roman Catholicism. She apparently is not renouncing Jesus but organized religion.

New Feature on This Blog

I have added a new feature to this blog. Readers can now send individual blog posts to their social networking sites. Just under the post are five boxes: "M" for e-mail; "B" for Blogger; "t" for Twitter; "f" for Facebook; and an "earth" symbol for Google Buzz. If you think that any of the posts might be useful or interesting to others, feel free to send it to them. Please indicate that the blog is http://saintsontheloose.blogspot.com/

Friends

On his freelance cartooning website, Australian Baptist pastor Matt Glover features a cartoon in which a man wants to "friend" God but he can't because he hasn't been able to find Him on Facebook. His simple cartoon speaks to the shallow nature of modern pop culture. A "friend" can be someone you've never met and will never meet; you just share trivialities on an internet social network. Some people on the networks have thousands of "friends."
A true friend is much more than an acquaintance and much more than a "friendly" person. The truth is that a true friend is not just a friend; actually they love you. They are willing to inconvenience themselves for you and they are still your friend if you sometimes treat them badly.
It is not a coincidence that a famous gospel song is entitled "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." He endured the ultimate inconvenience for us even while we were still not His friends.

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

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Matt Glover's cartooning website is at http://www.mattglover.com/ and his personal blog, which features his religious insights is at http://www.mattglover.com/wordpress/wordpress/