“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world the world would love its’ own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. But all this they will do to you on my account, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. (John 15:18-24)
Would it not stand to reason if the atheistic, hedonistic mindset of the world, did not hate Christ and simply “Agree to disagree” people such as Ayn Rand, Lady Gaga and others of the world not attempt to dispel, dismiss Christ, and His Church and go out their way to criticize, laugh and mock Him and His Church?
“In the most Biblical sense,
I am beyond repentance
Fame hooker, prostitute wench, vomits her mind
But in the cultural sense
I just speak in future tense
Judas kiss me if offenced,
Or wear an ear condom next time
I wanna love you,
But something’s pulling me away from you
Jesus is my virtue,
Judas is the demon I cling to
I cling to”
[Chorus]
“I’m just a Holy Fool, oh baby he’s so cruel
But I’m still in love with Judas, baby
I’m just a Holy Fool, oh baby he’s so cruel
A fourth distinguishing fact is that He does not fit, as the other world teachers do, into the established category of a good man. Good men do not lie. But if Christ was not all that He said He was, namely, the Son of the living God, the Word Of God in the flesh, then He was not “just a good man”; then He was a knave, a liar, a charlatan and the greatest deceiver who ever lived. If He was not what He said He was, the Christ, the Son of God, He was the anti-Christ! If he was only a man, then He was not even a “good” man.
But He was not only a man. He would have us either worship Him or despise Him-despise Him as a mere man or worship Him as true God and true man. That is the alternative He presents. It may very well be that the Communists, who are so anti-Christ, are closer to Him that those who see Him as a sentimentalist and a vague moral reformer. The Communists, have at least decided that if He wins, they lose; the others are afraid to consider Him either as winning or loosing, because they are not prepared to meet the moral demands which this victory would make on their souls.
If He is what He claimed to be, a Savior, a Redeemer, then we have a virile Christ and a leader worth following in these terrible times; One Who will step into the breach of death, crushing sin, gloom and despair; a leader to Whom we can make totalitarian sacrifice without loosing, but gaining freedom, and Whom we can love even unto death. We need a Christ today, Who will make cords and drive the buyers and sellers from our new temples; Who will blast the unfruitful fig trees; Who will talk of crosses and sacrifices and Whose voice will be like the voice of the raging sea. But He will not allow us to pick and choose among His words, discarding the hard ones, and accepting the ones that please our fancy. Sheen, Bishop Fulton J. (1958, p. 6-7)
It would seem Bishop Sheen’s words from fifty plus years ago asserts and/or reaffirms the words of Christ. Would it not stand to reason those such as Ayn Rand and Lady Gaga, had/have to hate Christ? If Christ was simply a crazy man, idiot or Satan himself, why would the world hate and mock Him? It seems as Bishop Sheen said, “It may very well be that the Communists, who are so anti-Christ, are closer to Him that those who see Him as a sentimentalist and a vague moral reformer. The Communists, have at least decided that if He wins, they lose; the others are afraid to consider Him either as winning or loosing, because they are not prepared to meet the moral demands which this victory would make on their souls.” Sheen, Bishop. Fulton
If Christ did not make such high moral demands of the world, the world would not hate Him and simply “Agree to disagree,” perhaps that is too easy…? As Christ said, “If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.” (John 15:24) As doing good and avoiding evil is far from easy or fun. Would it not seem reasonable to assert, because few people are willing to give up the materialistic, hedonistic life and vainglory of the world to follow those demands find it easier to mock, laugh at and hate Christ? Is it not easier to have fun, do what it is that makes us feel good, rather than let anyone tell us what we do is wrong, immoral and unethical? I understand no one in the world, especially in the United States
I would assert that if something or in this case someone, God was not tugging on the internal “Ought” within the being/soul of Lady Gaga, she would not mock and hate Christ and all that He is and represents to humanity. Would she not simply “Agree to disagree,” and move on? Why is it that those that are denying the existence of God, yell for artistic license when it comes to mocking and hating Christ but will not tolerate, when those of us in The Church point out their actions and words are immoral and wrong…? Perhaps they are neither prepared nor willing to meet the moral demands, which Christ calls us to, instead based upon their own moral compass deny the existence of God, hate and mock Christ.
References
(1965) The Holy Bible Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition. San Francisco
Sheen, Bishop, Fulton J. (1958). The Life of Christ. New York
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