Then soldiers rushed into the cell and dragged me to the yard,
Pushed me down before a cross and brought the whip down hard;
“Carry it!” they shouted, as I struggled to my feet,
Put my shoulder under it, and dragged it to the street.

I stumbled through a wall of screams as they drove me through the gate,
It seemed that thousands lined the streets, their voices filled with hate;
Like a wolfpack in the night, that moves in for the kill,
They closed the gap and followed us as we headed up the hill.

And it seemed we’d barely reach the top, when they grabbed me from behind,
Threw the cross down under me, and tied the ropes that bind;
With my arms close to the beams, they nailed both feet and hands,
Then raised that cross up in the air, and dropped it in its stand.

Through a blur of pain I saw the cross there next to mine,
There were people all around it, so I looked to read the sign;
It was nailed there up above his head so the world could see the news,
That the man who hung so helpless there was “The King of all the Jews”.

The folks that stood around his cross made jokes about his name,
They shouted, laughed and spat on him, so I joined in the game;
I said, “Hey, if you’re the king, why don’t you get us down from here?”
But the taunt just sounded hollow, when it echoed in my ear.
For He looked at me with eyes that seemed to reach into my heart,
Shone a light on all my lies, and tore my life apart.
There was more that lay behind that gaze than simply blood and clay,
But knowing was too much for me, I had to look away.

I chanced another look at Him, as He was looking down,
Where the soldiers who’d just crucified us drank there on the ground.
And though He spoke so quietly, somehow His words came through,
He said “Father, please forgive them, they don’t know what they do”.

Then as if they heard Him speaking, the crowd began to roar;
whipped to frenzy by the priests, who urged them on to more.
But the worse the accusations now, the plainer I could see,
The guilt of the accusers, not the One there next to me.

Then the man upon the other cross began to curse and swear,
And his voice was filled with venom as he hurled it through the air;
And all the horror that was in him, that had laid his life to waste,
Came out in every syllable he flung in Jesus’ face.
And Jesus only looked at him, but something rose inside of me,
And in spite of all who watched us there, it could not be denied;
Because His righteousness and innocence were shining bright and strong,
And I couldn’t keep my silence, but the cursing still went on.

Then I cried out, “Don’t you fear the wrath of God, even at the end?”
“You’ll curse us both into the Pit, is that was you intend?”
“We’re only getting what we’re due, we’ve sinned our whole lives long.”
“But don’t you talk to Him that way, HE’S DONE NOTHING WRONG!”

Then with all my courage, in a voice not quite my own,
I asked Him, “Lord, remember me, when you come into your throne.”
He answered me, and even then His love was undisguised when He said,
“Before the sun has set today, you’ll be with me, in Paradise”

The shouts and curses did not stop, even when the sunlight ceased,
But somewhere in the midst of it, my soul had been released;
Though the agony continued, it was still too small a price,
To be allowed to hear those words, and to die…

Beside the Christ.

“Too Small a Price”
– Don Fransisco

But, hey: I believe that the Son of God rose from the dead, so it’s not like I’ve got a lot of room to mock someone for believing things that test the bounds of pure rationality.

No, Christ rising from the dead does not violate the Laws of Logic. Christ rising from the dead violates the Laws of Nature. There is a huge difference. As a Christian never concede rationality to the other side, they are the ones who have to reject rationality.

If God created life, then He has the power over death.
If Christ is God, then he has the power over death.

Since we believe the first two premises to be true, then we must conclude:

Since Christ is God, then he has the power over life and death

So you haven’t given up rationality, you only allowed for God who created the Laws of Nature to violate the Laws of Nature.

God is rational, therefore he doesn’t violate rationality.

For example, God can not create a rock too big to lift, it is a violation of the Laws of Non-contradiction. Therefore the premise if false.

Also, God cannot create a Square Circle(r.t), since it is a violation of the Laws of Non-contradiction.

“The Secret”

I work at Barnes & Noble, and it’s only been the last couple of days that we’ve stopped selling out of the thing. A customer once actually asked what it was about, and I answered, “Well, it’s basically Norman Vincent Peale’s ‘The Power of Positive Thinking’ but with the added twist of blaming things like cancer on having a bad attitude.”

She still bought it.

Another customer thinks the power of the book took over her computer and flashed a message on the screen. She’s a regular, so I didn’t laugh.

But, hey: I believe that the Son of God rose from the dead, so it’s not like I’ve got a lot of room to mock someone for believing things that test the bounds of pure rationality.

On the other hand, the people buying “The Secret” are the same people who, on Oprah’s advice, also keep buying Il Divo records, so they should all be mocked just on sheer principle if for no other reason.

ccwbass on April 8, 2007 at 5:00 PM

Beautiful post!! It’s just pitiful to think of how many people truly believe that the answer to all their woes is this simple book. (What is scary is that these people can all vote..)

Hope all enjoyed the holiday. We attended a terrific service and had dinner for all comers. Good time to reflect on the true meaning of faith and to count our blessings.

If only it weren’t so damned cold!!!! (Supposed to go to the Pirates home opener this afternoon, 35 degrees. Yeah, that’s gonna happen….b-b-b-b-batter up!)

The resurrection thing, though–can’t shake it. He is Risen Indeed.

Christian.

Most definitely Christian.

To all my Christian brothers, Happy Easter. The greatest of Holidays.

Don’t worry, He rose again so that even you too could have hope if you will confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead. I just pray that you realize that God loves you and provided a way out of your sin before it’s too late. We are all sinners and needed the death and resurrection of Jesus to restore our relationship with the Father. I know that my Redeemer lives!

From Rassmussen

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/2007/April%20Dailies/easter2007.htm

Easter Poll: 76% Believe Jesus Rose From the Dead
April 6, 2007
As Christians prepare to celebrate Easter, a general belief in the basics of Christianity remains strong in the United States.

A Rasmussen Reports holiday survey found that 80% believe the person known as Jesus Christ actually walked the earth. Only 8% disagree. The national telephone survey also found that three-quarters of American adults (75%) believe the central reason for the Easter celebration—that Jesus rose from the dead. A similar number (76%) think Jesus Christ was the son of God who came to earth to die for our sins.

Only 13% don’t believe in the resurrection of Christ and 14% don’t believe that Jesus was the Son of God.

These numbers are little changed from a year ago, despite several very public challenges to Christianity including the DaVinici code movie and claims that the tomb of Christ’s family had been found. Only 9% believed the DaVinci Code while most Americans (54%) believe the Bible is literally true. Belief in the Bible varies significantly by state and region.

I work at Barnes & Noble, and it’s only been the last couple of days that we’ve stopped selling out of the thing. A customer once actually asked what it was about, and I answered, “Well, it’s basically Norman Vincent Peale’s ‘The Power of Positive Thinking’ but with the added twist of blaming things like cancer on having a bad attitude.”

She still bought it.

Another customer thinks the power of the book took over her computer and flashed a message on the screen. She’s a regular, so I didn’t laugh.

But, hey: I believe that the Son of God rose from the dead, so it’s not like I’ve got a lot of room to mock someone for believing things that test the bounds of pure rationality.

On the other hand, the people buying “The Secret” are the same people who, on Oprah’s advice, also keep buying Il Divo records, so they should all be mocked just on sheer principle if for no other reason.

Happy historically groundless day – but don’t let that put you off… it’s a ripping yarn.

Happy Pascha, from your resident Greek Orthodox.

Happy Resurrection Day, He is Risen!

Chag kosher v’sameach to all who celebrate Pesach. It would have been enough if He had just brought us out of Egypt, but He has done so much more. Am Yisrael Chai!

Despite official MSM and leftwing hatred of religion, Christianity in particular; and despite the ACLU’s war on God; despite the fact that destroying the influce of religion is a cornor stone of Antonio Gramsci’s program to subvert an industrialized nation in to a Communist State, Christianity remains, as it has remained since 33 AD.

Today….HE IS RISEN!

Happy Easter.

And to our Jewish brothers, you were slaves in Egypt and the power of God freed you. Shalom!

georgej on April 8, 2007 at 7:34 AM

AMEN! He is risen indeed.

He lives to bless me with His love,
He lives to plead for me above.
He lives my hungry soul to feed,
He lives to help in time of need.

God bless us all.

May God bless us all on this day of celebration of a joyous and miraculous occasion.

I prefer not to call the holiday by its pagan name. ;)

but the secularism that holds sway in much of the West — that is, in Western Europe — is flawed; it has a bug in its programming. The mistaken conviction that reason and faith are two distinct realms has weakened Europe and has brought it to the verge of catastrophic collapse.

Right on. I accepted Christ as my Savior after understanding how his death and resurrection wipes out my/our sins. Further exploration of Christianity has significantly strengthened my faith as I discovered how intertwined faith and reason are. The more you learn about the Bible, the more you will realize how awesome is God’s plan, and that we are not random existence. The more we stray from God’s plan and guidance and try to do it on our own, the more trouble and despair we invite.

If you only click one link out of these, check that last one. Doug Kern is the best conservative columnist you’ve never heard of, and the dude is relentlessly funny.

Come…(hee hee) A…(nyar har har har) Little…(bwah ha ha ha) Closer…(nyuk yuk yukity yuk!)
ah havent LOLed that much in a while that was like eating Easter chocolat with Crotch kickin!

thank you See-dubya

*Whew* stitches! ouch stitches I tells ya!

-Wasteland Man.

Hope and suffering in Iraq. An Army chaplain reflects. Christians in China celebrate. Easter vandalism in Santa Cruz. Rod Dreher: “For Jesus’ followers in much of the world, for whom humiliation, pain and even death is always and everywhere close……