A Time For Christians To Shine

"You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies.", Johm 8:44 NASB God had told the first family " You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die", Gen. 3:3a. The devil said, "You surely shall not die!" Gen. 3:3b. From Nietzsche's assertion that 'God is Dead' during my early days, to Brown’s, ‘The Da Vinci Code’ and Michael Baigent, ‘The Jesus Papers', the lies continue. It is not my assertion that these men are the Devil incarnate, but simply that they are influenced to be his mouth piece. When you couple the general lack of Bible knowledge in our world today with writings that speak of highly questionable texts as authoritative, you have a mixture designed to cause doubt and disbelief. While it is highly unlikely that the books by Brown and Baigent will have a significant impact on the conservatives of Christianity, it will surely cause questions in the minds of others. I really belief that this is our time as Christians to shine. It is a time for open discussion with our non-believing friends and relatives. These books and the up coming movie have put the subject in the media on ever hand. Therefore it is easy to start a conversation with just the words, "What do you think about....?" We don’t need to be fearful, they don’t know the scripture! We surely don’t need to treat it flippantly, and just brush it aside as a non-issue. It is not a non-issue with them. There is also another opportunity on a personal level for those of us who grew up never questioning these things. It is our opportunity to question for ourselves and be convinced, not on the basis of a faith we inherited, but one tried and proven on a personal level. It is easy at times like this, when these claim are thrown in our face and flaunted by the media before us as if they have some validity, to over react and retaliate. But when calm heads prevail, by those who have looked at the evidence and come to faith, what lies before us is opportunity! These are the days when Peters words ring even more true and relevant, "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence", I Peter 3:15 NASB. Get the commitment right. Give a defense of HOPE. And do it with a respectful spirit.