My Enemies: Part One. . .

okay, i started this back on the 19th and 20th before running out of time and haven't had a chance to get back to it... so, what i'm going to do is post it in two parts... the first is below (after some random thoughts)... trapped? yes trapped... but that's at least five entries away... some updates on writing... The RunDown: On Film and a Jessie Daniels Walk TRu... still need to write this week's reviews (which is shameful, but i did have a good weekend not worrying about them) and gear up for a few upcoming interviews... always something going on... also in the process of redesigning the TRu for a full relaunch to hopefully... well... we'll see... My thoughts on American Idol: Marketing wins again... do you think it's a coincidence that the two finalists were the only two with clearly defined nicknames for themselves and or their fans? brilliant... SOUL PATROL WOO!... anyway... here's what i started the other day... from Friday, 19 May - Saturday 20 May: How is it that cords always manage to entangle themselves up, but corded shoelaces can never stay tied? i'm pretty spaced out today... not entirely sure why, but i'm probably tired... i'm kind of in a weird little break of activity and i'm not sure if it's reality or just that i can't focus long enough to realize what i'm supposed to be doing... it's weird when you have so much to do that you just don't feel like doing anything... well, i had a lot of things on my mind that i wanted to write about, but honestly, i just don't know anymore... maybe i try to hard... maybe i don't try hard enough... maybe i'm in over my head... maybe my toes aren't even wet yet... i wouldn't call this a crisis or anything... i simply just don't know... anyway... let me try to ignore this for a little bit and get something typed up... i think that i'm going to have to review the title i used for the last entry (It Is Well, But Why?) because even though it was something of an afterthought... (i'm still not entirely used to titling these entries)... there's something to it that just won't let go of my thoughts... today though, i'm reaching further back and i'm going to tackle an entry that's been waiting for a little while... My Enemies are Men Like Me So Derek Webb has a song out with this title and i guess that song had something to do with the thought process behind this, but really i've headed off in an entirely different direction... Derek's song is somewhat of an anti-war song reminding us that our enemies are made of flesh and blood just like we are... that Jesus came down and died for our enemies as much as he died for us... that we should love our enemies, even to the point of dying in their place... when i think through this phrase, i think of it as more of an anti "me against the world" mentality... time and time again i hear people complain about how world is prejudiced against Christianity... how the media is so liberal and bent on destroying the message of the Gospel... how we're all so persecuted... The Da Vinci Code is a perfect example... many Christians were up in arms that the book/film is a direct attack against our faith... and i don't see that... and then i'm belittled or picked on by other Christians who think i'm not "handling" this situation appropriately... that i'm not speaking out enough against the book or that i'm not taking it seriously enough... maybe they don't think i take my faith seriously enough... well, here's the thing... and regarding DVC, for the record, i see it as a big fat distraction from what we're supposed to be doing as Christians... perhaps i'll elaborate later if time allows... most of the talks surrounding this or any other "attack" on our faith come from an "us versus them" mindset... "us" Christians (i know it should be "we") are pitted up against the wiles of the devil and the persecution of the world... oh, pity us because we're always on the defense... our enemies are always at our throats... "them," the world, is out to get us and destroy us and the Christian faith... and i don't really see that being the case... well... let me be clear... we as Christians are opposed and affronted by the world, but it's not because of the Christian faith... it's more because we've gotten the Christian faith so horribly wrong... stepping out of the picture for a brief second to look at the scenery, this is what i see... we're bent on martyrdom and our mantra is "The world will hate you just as they hated Me"... see... we know that Jesus said this to His disciples and we know that He only tells the truth... therefore we are determined to be hated by the world and the way we do that most often, as far as i can tell, is to hate them first... hey, it's only natural... if i meet someone i don't think isn't going to like me, then i'm already thinking that i don't like them... it's partially a defense mechanism and that makes logical sense... Christianity however, doesn't... And as quickly as we embrace the idea of the world hating us, we gloss over the whole "love your enemies as yourself" part of Jesus' teachings... we have to... otherwise we can't hate the world first... then they hate us first and have some sort of an upper hand on us... well, before i go too much further, let's take another step back for a second and think about the life of Jesus on earth... i'm going to focus on the last part of that phrase, our martyr mantra, "the world will hate you, as the hated Me"... now... let me ask you this... who hated Jesus when He was on the earth?... who opposed Him? who embraced Him?... how did the "world" react to His presence?... Early opposition to Jesus came from King Herod, because he felt threatened by Jesus, who though still a boy, was called the "king of the Jews" by the Magi... this was a hatred based on a misunderstanding of who Jesus was and what He had come to do... Herod was more concerned with maintaining a superiority over the Jewish community than with anything Jesus had to teach... during His time of ministry and teaching, Jesus was also hated by the Herodians, who were very nationalistic and hated Him based on his charisma and his teachings of a kingdom greater than the Roman empire... Obviously Jesus was quite popular... He drew a crowd whenever He went... His teachings and His powerful miracles caused people from all walks of life to flock to Him as though He were, well, a shepherd... which brings us to the next group of folks who hated Him... . . . to be continued peace... love... bdg...