In �Christmass,� Anthony wrote that, �If you aren�t a member of the great lie, then you are looked at as a fool, an infidel.� If anything, I would say that the opposite is true. To be a Christian is to be �behind the times� and unknowledgeable. For example, the theory of evolution is posed to be a debate between �science and religion�, implying that those who believe in creation are blindly and stubbornly clinging to their idea of God in the face of undisputable facts of science, the way of the enlightened. In reality, the �facts� of evolution theory are shaky at best and all real debates over it are actually debates between science and science. To believe in God is to have your judgment questioned; just ask Attorney General John Ashcroft.
Jesus Christ came as a nobody, a carpenter�s son without social class. Why? Because God chooses to use the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong so that no man may boast before God (1 Corinthians 1:27,29). Anthony wrote, �He (Jesus) spoke his message of being the messiah and nobody of social power wanted to believe him because he was nothing.� This is a false assertion. In Matthew, chapter eight, Jesus says of someone, �Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.� Who is it that he�s talking about? Jesus was talking about a Roman centurion who said to Jesus, �Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.� He believed in the name of Jesus and the power that Jesus held. A centurion was a commander of the Roman armies, a man of nobility and great social stature, yet this one believed in Jesus and his claims. The apostle Paul, who wrote the majority of the books in the New Testament, was an intensely zealous Jewish Pharisee before he accepted Christ. To be a Pharisee in those times was to be looked upon as holy and socially powerful. The main reason that those in social power did not believe was because they didn�t want to accept that there are things more powerful than them. Jesus was a poor man, a carpenter�s son, but what on earth did he become that he wasn�t supposed to?
In claiming to be the messiah, the offspring entity of the Alpha and Omega, the second coming of the Lord, Anthony made claims that are infinitely large. Why won�t anyone believe him when he says these things, and yet there have been millions in history that believe in Jesus? This is because Jesus fulfilled prophecies, made prophecies, and performed countless miracles. There are over a hundred prophecies in the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, pertaining to the messiah, the chosen one of God. These range from the messiah�s birthplace to the state of his body in death and Jesus fulfilled every one of these. How many has Anthony fulfilled? Jesus performed miracles in front of all types of audiences, turning water into wine, walking on water, and healing the sick instantly. Where are Anthony�s miracles? Finally, among other prophecies, Jesus predicted his death and resurrection in three days, a foresight that was also unbelievably fulfilled. Jesus could do all these things because he truly was God incarnate and, when the second coming of the Lord arrives, it will not be as a lowly baby, lying in a manger, but He will be revealed in all His glory. Every knee will bow, whether out of reverence or dread, and confess that He is Lord.
Anthony claims that nobody truly believes in God anymore. I can�t debate this, except when talking about myself, because no one can know the hearts and thoughts of other men.
Anthony also says that �We are good and prosperous, but the moral majority in this country insists on believing in its own unworthiness, and so we go to church.� I agree with the statement to the point that those who believe that humans are completely good and prosperous are indeed in the minority. Especially considering that nearly every religion in history has been a way for mankind to deal with the recognition that we are not good and prosperous, or at least not as good and prosperous as we should be. Whether these religions try to atone for their sins through sacrifice, good works, prayer, or other means, they all realize that man in his natural state falls short of a certain mark. To believe that man is good enough as is, is to be in the extreme minority of human existence.
It�s also interesting that humans all over the world, in all periods of recorded history, have had some sort of notion that there is an immortal part of man that carries on after us when we die. This is a scary coincidence and leads to a healthy fear of what comes next because, if the majority of humans in history are right, then this life is just a small, short part of immortality. I would personally spend more time looking in to what is coming in the future beyond this life and preparing to spend it pleasantly than just living it up in this minute period of my existence.
Getting back to Christmas, it is a day to realize who we are in something greater and to celebrate the birth of the savior of the world, Jesus Christ. True, commercialization and secular influences have brought this holiday to the point where it is nothing more than spending money and getting gifts wrapped in cheesy bows, but for some, there is still the remembrance of the moment when the infinite God intervened his hand into our finite world.
Christmas should be a day of thankfulness and celebration, where we can focus our attention off of our lives and onto the things that are beyond this physical world because Christmas is not about just feeling good. Every day feels good and is a gift from God. Through the boundless joy and ecstasy found only in obedience to a good God, I live to glorify Him, the only one worthy because He is Creator of all and savior of those found in Him. My life in each daily moment is my gift to Him.