Jesus in the Bible Box

The Bible has suffered much ridicule over the centuries and why is this? We tend to put the gospels and the Word in a box leaving no room for exploration. In doing this we only scrape the tip of the iceberg. Not having the proper knowledge of how this book was put together and using it as an accurate historical reference is quite foolish. Besides being foolish you can be missing out on what really matters or defines your faith. You shouldn't put religion in a box it truly hinders your own faith. Personally I've learned that letting go and objectively reasoning what I was raised to believe has further reinforced my faith. Knowing that religious scriptures can or have been manipulated over time, or only made sense to a particular culture at a certain time in it's literal translation, hasn't turned me away but merely expanded its meaning. I recently came across this article by George Elerick Have Christians Sinned Against Jesus' Gospel? where he touches on how several Aramaic and Greek words could change the gospels meaning entirely. Each word has a special meaning used in a certain context. In recent posts I have been trying to touch on this but it was brushed off as if I was saying that what the Bible says has no relevance. Just because the Bible was poorly translated does not mean it is irrelevant but it is important to what message resonates through those poor translations. There are times when we are needed to read between the lines and other times when you just accept word for word but there are times we have to read in a three dimensional sense. The Bible is held in high regard, considered as the light, sword, or foundation of Christianity, but it's merely the outline to something greater. Using the Bible as a crutch to prove our faith is the wrong approach. Finding the right approach is really up to you.

Sorry for being cryptic but that's the thing about faith there is no specific formula on how it works so essentially there is no evidence to prove it exists. Having said that it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

Where to Draw the Line

Art has played a major role in religious views and vice versa, but where do we draw the line as to what is depicted? A few years back there was a cartoonist who drew the prophet Muhammed for a satire that was published and he received many threats. There is this documentary called Bloody Cartoons which touches on censorship in regards to religious satire. I found this documentary quite amusing in many aspects. It just goes to show how personal religion becomes and how little the offense may seem to some can create such an uproar in others.

As some cartoonists use religious figures for satire there are also others that use their talent to convert and spread their gospel. Jack Chick is famous for his cartoon gospel tracts. These are basically like mini comic books that point out sins and try to convince you to convert to Christianity. For example Crazy Wolf displays a native american upset that another woman has turned away from their culture and puts a curse on her. Chick uses dark figures to convey their evil and evokes guilt and condemnation throughout many of his tracts. There is also a documentary on Jack Chick which includes interviews with people that have directly worked with him.God's Cartoonist:The Comic Crusade of Jack T. Chick

I really don't have much to say on either of these documentaries but I found them interesting and thought I'd share.