thelokey

I just finished the book "Jesus: A Novel" by Paul Wangerin. It is, you guessed it, the Gospels in the form of a novel. Since it is a work of fiction, some things were added to the story to deepen the character development, but all in good taste. My favorite character in the book turned out to be Judas Iscariot. Weird, right? The author puts a great spin on his character, making him a young idealist that longed to see Israel restored to its former glory. Throughout the book we see Judas as a man drawn to power and the idea of change. He is always well-intentioned. So through the whole book I'm waiting for some moment or encounter to "turn him to the dark side". There's a few times Jesus rebukes him for one reason or another, but the problem is Judas thinks too much and thinks this peace loving, peace making Jesus is just a front. By the time their final Passover comes, Judas is anxious to see Jesus' power unleashed on the Jewish leadership. When...

I purposely waited until after Christmas to post this in hopes that with Christmas past us, I wouldn't receive hate comments about my "lack of Christmas spirit". No, I'm not talking about the over-commercialization of Christmas, I'm saying that Christmas itself, from a spiritual perspective is over-celebrated. Let me first say that Christmas is great. It is a wonderful time to remember one of the most awesome gifts God gave to man, His Son Jesus Christ. Let me also say that given the fact the Gospel writers took so much time writing about the supernatural events surrounding Christ's birth, it's obviously an important part of the story of Christ. My problem isn't with Christmas, it's with how much we celebrate it compared to another holiday, Easter. We as Christians give very little recognition to Easter (when compared to Christmas). Yes, we do "Passion Plays", we watch "The Passion of the Christ", we have a big Easter service...