Author Archives: dave

Who is He?

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In Mark 3, part of today’s reading from the One Year Bible Plan, several ideas are given as to the character of Jesus.  All agree that he is no ordinary man.  The disagreement is about what exactly makes him so unusual.

Crowds Follow Jesus (Mark 3:7-12)
Jesus went out to the lake with his disciples, and a large crowd followed him. They came from all over Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, from east of the Jordan River, and even from as far north as Tyre and Sidon. The news about his miracles had spread far and wide, and vast numbers of people came to see him.
          Jesus instructed his disciples to have a boat ready so the crowd would not crush him.  He had healed many people that day, so all the sick people eagerly pushed forward to touch him. And whenever those possessed by evil spirits caught sight of him, the spirits would throw them to the ground in front of him shrieking, “You are the Son of God!” But Jesus sternly commanded the spirits not to reveal who he was.

Jesus and the Prince of Demons (Mark 3:20-22)
One time Jesus entered a house, and the crowds began to gather again. Soon he and his disciples couldn’t even find time to eat. When his family heard what was happening, they tried to take him away. “He’s out of his mind,” they said.
          But the teachers of religious law who had arrived from Jerusalem said, “He’s possessed by Satan, the prince of demons. That’s where he gets the power to cast out demons.”

The teachers of religious law believe he’s possessed by Satan. His own family concludes that he’s gone mad.  The evil spirits that he casts out shriek, “You are the Son of God!” 

C. S. Lewis fans will see in this the Lord, Liar, Lunatic options that the author once suggested.  Lewis’s point was that no one can consider Jesus a great man or a wise teacher and actually take him seriously.  He’s either something much more or something much less.

The identity that Jesus claims for himself is found in Mark 3:12, where it says,  “But Jesus sternly commanded the spirits not to reveal who he was.”

Broken Britain?

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An excerpt from Yahoo! News:

LONDON – Ahhh, Britain. The land of Shakespeare and the Beatles, Churchill and the Queen. Rolling green hills, groovy London shops, hip plaids splashed over raincoats and umbrellas.

Cut to the reality of 2009: the highest teen pregnancy rate in western Europe, a binge drinking culture that leaves drunk teens splayed out in the streets and rising knife crime that has turned some pub fights into deadly affairs.

Ahhh, Britain.

In the latest symbol of what some are calling “broken Britain,” 13-year-old Alfie and his 15-year-old girlfriend Chantelle became parents last week. The news sparked a flurry of handwringing from the media – and even ordinary folk admitted it didn’t help that Alfie barely looked 10, let alone 13, as he cradled his newborn daughter.

Alfie’s father, who reportedly has nine or 10 children of his own, gamely promised to have a “birds and the bees” chat with his son to prevent him from producing a second child before he grows facial hair.

Somehow that was not reassuring.

Read full article

I agree that this article describes a sad situation.  What I’m wondering is why everyone else agrees.  After all, if values are based on individual choice and survival of the fittest is what’s best for the race, then maybe we should just accept as normal and fine all that is taking place. 

“If Alfie is able to pass on his genes early on in life, good for him.”

“If binge drinkers die early from liver disease or knife fights, they are only confirming their own inadequacy for survival. ”

Again, I don’t agree with the opinions I just expressed.  It could be that good and evil, or right and wrong, exist in reality and not just in our minds or opinions.  Perhaps all can and should agree that what is happening in British society (and some other places too, of course) is bad, wrong, and ought to be somehow changed.