Jesus asked Peter, in Matthew 16:13, the most important question in the Bible: “Who, according to others, is the Son of Man?”Our answer to this question is of eternal importance. Unfortunately, many Christians today would have difficulty defining who Jesus is, because many use the name to promote different ideas.
In fact, as Stephen Nichols demonstrated in his fascinating cultural studio, Jesus Made in America, Jesus became a product in the United States, where it is used for candidates to win voters and for Hollywood to sell more movies.
- Therefore.
- As important as presenting a positive vision of Jesus when we preach the doctrine of who Christ is.
- Is to show the false Christs who have gained preference in our Christian subculture.
The following are ten “cultural Christs”, intentionally caricatured to show the false images of Christ that have been reproduced. There are certainly others. I’d like to know what you think of this list.
1) Therapeutic Jesus is delicate and subtle, it helps you improve your self-esteem through positive thinking.
His followers minimize sin and treat religion as a reinforcement to face the week.
Currency: You can achieve your best life (big smile)
2) Train Jesus? It will give you the tips and tools to succeed in everything you do.
Are your followers looking for you out of self-interest? Jesus Manager, Jesus Goalter, Jesus Matchmaker.
Motto: I can do anything that strengthens me (Philippians 4. 13)
3) Jesus Ned Flanders loves children, morality and helps you do the right thing.
His disciples go to church, do good, vote according to values, and help their neighbors.
Currency: Hello, neighbor!
4) The warrior Jesus? It is super male and can be mistaken for William Wallace or Jack Bauer.
His followers (mainly men) get angry at feminized images of Jesus and mistake “masculinity” for pity.
Motto: My Jesus kicks your Jesus’ ass
5) The Jesus of the social gospel? It improves society through social justice and meeting needs.
By closing the gospel, these followers build houses, feed the poor, and fight AIDS for Jesus.
Motto: Preach the gospel and, if necessary, use words
6) The political Jesus? It promotes idealistic activism and is presented in two varieties:
Riding an elephant1, fight tax increases, abortion clinics and prayers in schools.
Mounted on donkey2, it promotes respect for the environment and equal rights.
Currency: Blesses the nation of which God is the Lord. (Psalm 33:12)
7) Jesus Buginganga becomes the Christian talisman. The presence of the products of Jesus combats sin.
His disciples are related to Christian paraphernalia and focus on the life of Jesus.
Currency: OQJF? (What would Jesus do?)
8) The Jesus Rock Band: Base your church on fun activities and cool music.
His followers live behind shows, camps, retreats and other Christian events.
Motto: God is wild!
9) Jesus WordPress: he is hyper-orthodox and fights against theological error.
His followers love to read books, discuss theology and post fights online.
Motto: Love the Lord your God with all your UNDERSTANDING
10) Jesus Peace and Love: Reject the bigoted religious and love everyone as they are.
His followers question authorities, objective truths, judgments and institutional religion, but they like the breadth of sight.
Motto: God is love; everything is spiritual
In each of these cartoons, there are traces of the truth, but the truth is generally disproportionate or absent from other biblical aspects. More importantly, each of these false Christs fails to keep Jesus in the biblical narrative. They kidnap Jesus in the name of another, cause and put him in a story that is not God’s story. Therefore, in order to fully understand who Jesus is, Christ, the Son of the living God, we must seek a return to the scriptures and seek his identity from Genesis to revelation. it is the task of the pastor, the bible school teacher, and all Christians who believe in the Word.
May God enlighten us to see Christ in the scriptures and show us how our culture has shaped our understanding of Jesus, so that we may seek a correct vision of who he is, because when we see Him, we become more like Him (1 John 3. 2).
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1 The elephant is the symbol of the American Republican Party, which generally defends more traditional values.
The donkey, on the other hand, is the symbol of the Democratic Party, the Republican’s rival, generally more liberal.