I recently received a potentially terrifying email. My computer had been hacked, and a virus now had access to my camera, address book and web activity. I had been filmed watching porn (not great for a Christian leader!). The dual videos would now be sent side by side to my entire address book unless I transferred a significant sum of money to the unashamed web blackmailers. Happily, I was able to ignore it, as I don’t do porn. Grew up on the stuff at boarding school, but that’s another story… But my heart went out to those for whom that email would have caused extreme guilty panic.
None of us like to get duped. And there are plenty out there wanting to con, scam, and simply relieve us of our hard-won cash. The Christian world even has its share of those spouting “Gimmee, gimmee, gimmee, my name is Jimmy”. And even if we guard our wallet, isn’t there something a bit dodgy about all this Christianity malarky anyway? Fine for the do-gooders, fine for those that haven’t got enough backbone to make it on their own, but as for us, we’re fine without it, aren’t we?
No, actually, we’re not. Or so says Jesus. This isn’t just a lifestyle choice for some, or a cleaner friendship group for our kids, but something we all actually NEED.
Many years ago, “Please stay behind for tea & coffee afterwards” were the final words of the guy at the front of the church meeting. I remember nervously eying up my escape route to the door, and considering how to avoid eye contact with those sporting over-enthusiastic smiles and a welcome designed to tackle any unsuspecting sceptic. I didn’t want to get caught. I didn’t want to get sucked into something that I was still weighing up. I was window shopping and I didn’t want any help from a sales assistant, thank you very much.
But here’s the scary thing: in my caution about getting duped, I was being duped anyway. Not by the Christians, but by a world belief system that puts self at the centre. Deception WAS at work, but it wasn’t coming from the one called Truth.
As in the best espionage tales, in Christianity vs non-Christianity, there are lots of claims and counter-claims. Wickedness wreaks havoc and blames God. Jesus exposes wickedness and deception and says it is the Devil who is a liar and the father of all lies. Who’s telling the truth?
Christianity isn’t so much based on teaching, feelings or personal preferences, but on an event. And that either happened or it didn’t. Amazingly, there are more surviving documents for this than any other ancient event. Go figure.
So make up your mind. For me, the historic evidence stacked up unequivocally. And not just me, but a crowd of highly intelligent, sceptical, hard-to-win-over, individuals who had gone before me and written powerful accounts of their personal conversions. And these weren’t weak-willed do-gooders, but people who could hold their own in the world arena.
If you don’t want to be duped, get to the facts. But as they will affect you powerfully, make sure you approach them with an open heart, not a closed mind. My bible says “the truth will set you free” Personally speaking, that wasn’t just from an immature porn habit, but from a whole life denying the best thing ever. We’re called “the happiest people on earth” for a reason. Your Christian mates haven’t been duped, and they’re not trying to dupe you. Go on, look into it for yourself, you might actually find something worth living and dying for!
