Stage In The Sky

Recently, the world watched as a group of drag performers openly mocked and insulted the Christian faith and Christ’s last supper. Outrage ensued. I wonder what the prophet Jeremiah would have to say about all this?

Are they trying to turn Christians into the very thing they already accuse them of being? For years, the mainstream has slandered Bible-practicing Christians as a bunch of intolerant bigots who are looking to oppress non-believers and the LGBTQ community. 

And of course, the main reason why the Mainstream can so openly attack Christianity is because many of us are far from what they’re accusing us of. Seriously, do you think there would be a “Pride Month” in America if we were all oppressing them? 

Sure, you’ll have some of the more zealous Christians out in arms, but I’d argue, that’s not most of us. Most Christians are more than likely to just change the channel, walk away, shield our children’s eyes, and stay away from people like that. We’re not going to put our hands on you or forcibly stop you from engaging in your lewd, immoral, and degraded behavior. 

But after the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, where you had a bunch of Drag Queen performers try and recreate the “Last Supper,” an artwork symbolizing Jesus Christ establishing a covenant with believers to remember his sacrifice of body and blood (Luke 22:7-38)…you’re starting to see comments like this: 

“We will all be punished for the sins of the few. If some ask, why? It is because we haven’t stopped this behavior. We haven’t condemned it to the point of stamping it out of existence. We are part of the problem and we will be punished the same as the offenders!” 

That’s one of hundreds of comments in the NYPost’s article about it. It got over 151 likes. 

To be clear, I do NOT think like that. Romans 14 teaches us that we’ll be judged as Individuals based on our own convictions. This is why I encourage everyone to pick up the Bible and read it for themselves, or else you’re vulnerable to being tricked and misled.

The most I can do to “stop this behavior” (aside from teaching God’s Word) is vote for politicians and laws that would make it difficult or outright prohibit people from openly indulging in immoral behavior. Seriously, if I had my way, adultery and paternity fraud would be punishable crimes.

But if you live in a society where most people 1) love their sinful behavior, 2) don’t fear God, and 3) don’t know God enough to know what he disapproves of, you get our modern-day culture where people are open and accepting of immoral and promiscuous behavior. Because they don’t know any better and, worse, they don’t WANT to know any better. 

Thomas Jolly, the artistic director for the Opening Olympics said he wanted to display, “inclusion”. He said: 

“Our subject was not to be subversive. We never wanted to be subversive. We wanted to talk about diversity. Diversity means being together. We wanted to include everyone, as simple as that. In France, we have freedom of creation, artistic freedom. We are lucky in France to live in a free country. I didn’t have any specific messages that I wanted to deliver. In France, we are republic, we have the right to love whom we want, we have the right not to be worshippers, we have a lot of rights in France, and this is what I wanted to convey.” 

He contradicted himself. Did you catch it? He said he didn’t have any specific messages that he wanted to deliver, before saying, “in France,” we have the right to love whom we want and not to be worshipers. “This is what I wanted to convey.” 

Sounds like you had a specific message to deliver, Mr. Jolly.

And it’s interesting that he chose Christianity to make his point and not other groups that have demonstrated far less tolerance for artistic freedom in recent years. In Paris, no less. 

The truth is, ladies and gentlemen, Christianity is not inclusive. And deep down, I think most people know that.

This is why they love to provoke. And if American’s don’t educate themselves on the Bible, it’ll eventually get to a point where the Bible is banned, and Christianity is deemed discrimination by which you can get fired or canceled. 

Deuteronomy 22:5 says, “A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this.” 

So, if you call yourself Christian and you do this, what does that say about you? If you call yourself God-fearing and yet you promote, cheer for, and celebrate people who indulge in this kind of behavior, what does that say about you? 

Jesus Christ said the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul and all your mind (Matt 22:37). Are you doing that if you celebrate and cheer for behavior that God deems to be detestable and an abomination? 

“But Rock! That’s the Old Testament. Things changed after the New Testament!” 

So, is your argument is that God suddenly loves that kind of behavior after Jesus Christ came and died for our sins? Because in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul relays similar sentiments. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 says: 

“But Rock! Heterosexual Christians sleep around and have sex before marriage? They cheat on their spouses and have sex outside of wedlock and it’s been celebrated throughout Hollywood for generations, from James Bond to Shaft!” 

And it’s wrong.  

“But you don’t see Homosexuals getting bothered about it! So why are heterosexual…” 

They would be bothered if they were God-fearing Christians. Don’t you see? 

To this day, I’ve written and done essays talking about the widespread proliferation and unnecessary promotion of sex in Books, TV Shows, and Movies. So many scenes of main characters having immoral sex in a story that just doesn’t call for it.

My argument has been, that the reason why they’re doing this is to influence the impressionable youth into thinking this is all accepted, normal, and an important part of growing up. It’s all an attack to turn them away from the “antiquated/prudish/self-righteous/boring” traditional values of Christians.  

Furthermore, are you really making the point of, “They’re doing what’s bad, so we want to do what’s bad too?” Again, what do you think that says about you? 

People have every right to be upset by what happened during the Opening Ceremonies. I believe it was done deliberately to spark outrage and to push Christians into creating a problem by which Leftists can benefit from…Victimhood Status.

They know that a large swath of Christians believe in forgiveness, turning the other cheek, and relying on God for vengeance, to not take matters into our own hands. But for the ones who don’t…they can be propped up and used to paint the majority with a broad stroke. 

It reminds me of the X-Men dilemmas, if I might geek out a little. In Marvel’s X-Men universe, you have a world where some people are born as mutants, with extraordinary powers like super strength, flight, and the ability to read minds that they could use selfishly to dominate and control others, or to serve and save others. 

The regular humans with no powers understandably fear the Mutants. The Humans of Authority (like the President and the Senate) want to regulate, register, and monitor the mutants as if they’re already criminals, and they’re using the example of the villainous mutants to support their arguments. 

Similarly…whether it’s subconscious or not, I suspect Atheists, Agnostics, and Leftists who hate Christians long to use the instances of Bad Christians to support their arguments in calling for the banning of the Bible and keeping Christianity out of the workplace, schools, and public institutions. Essentially, making it illegal. 

At Matthew 24: 9-14, Jesus warns of Signs of the End Times, saying: “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,” verse 13 says, “but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” 

“Then why are Christians so upset? If you know all these supposed bad things are going to happen, or rather, it should be pleasing to you to see your precious scriptures being fulfilled, why all the outrage?!” 

Hundreds of reasons, but the most pivotal one personally…was because he died for me. 

How would you feel if you were in a burning fire, surrounded by flames with hot scathing smoke burning your lungs, and a firefighter went in and pulled you out. He saved you but died in the process. 

How would you feel if you were watching some sporting event or innocuous ceremony and the promoters chose to make fun of that firefighter, making him seem stupid and foolish for saving you? 

I have to use these illustrations because more and more, I’m seeing how my generation simply lacks the comprehension skills to put themselves in another person’s shoes. Everyone’s talking about empathy and feelings and emotional intelligence, but really…it’s not compassion and empathy for others, just themselves. 

Jesus Christ was beaten with whips containing nails that tore out flesh from his back. A man who had a crown of thorns pressed over his head. A man who had nails driven through the palm of his hands and stretched out on a cross so that every breath brought forth a suffocation until he eventually died. 

He did this for all who repent and believe in Him. Everyone. There’s your inclusion!  

It doesn’t matter what you’ve done or who you think you are…as long as you’re alive, it’s not too late to repent and commit your life to Christ and have the hope of being resurrected with everlasting life in a world where there is no cancer, no drugs, sadness, pain, and sorrow (Revelations 21:1-4). 

Everything wrong with this world will be a thing of the past and by God’s undeserved kindness, we have the blessing of being able to experience such a world, all because Jesus Christ scratched off our names on that warrant of eternal death and sacrificed himself in our place. He didn’t have to. But with love, he allowed himself to be killed in our place.  

Pray, my brothers and sisters. Pray for the patience, strength, and wisdom to endure. Jehovah God sees everything. 

Recall the Book Jeremiah, when Jeremiah was addressing Judah, an adulterous nation caught up in idolatry where every street had an altar and there were as many false gods as there were cities. It was a place of promiscuity and contempt for the Word of God. Yes, the people hated God’s word and those who spoke it, seeking to destroy Jeremiah so many times.  

In Jeremiah 6:15, it says, “Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed. They did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall.” 

Jeremiah was called the “Weeping Prophet” for reasons I think I connect with. When people ask, “why are you complaining about things like the Olympics or immorality glamorized in Hollywood” it’s because we love and care about our fellow neighbors as Christ tells us to.  

It’s a sad thing to see the blind marching off a cliff when you’re trying to guide them to safety. 

When I saw what happened at the Olympics, I see smiling faces and people indulging in a parade that leads straight to destruction. 

You have freedom and free-will, yes…but it’s the wicked who encouraged you to ignore that internal shame that’s implanted in all of us when we ignore that moral code that’s called a conscience.  

And in turn, you’ve become wicked yourself the moment you rejected God in favor of making yourself your own god, the decider of right and wrong. 

They say the Old Testament is full of wrath and vengeance…but as I read Jeremiah, I see a loving, patient, and merciful God pleading with his people to turn aside from their wicked ways. And I see a stubborn, idolatrous nation rejecting God’s love. 

The Bible warns what’s going to happen to those people. It happened during Noah’s day. It happened to Jerusalem in 586 BC. And it’s going to happen when Christ returns and all wickedness will be destroyed.  

And time and time again…we’ve seen what humanity does in such times of crisis. That’s when they cry out for God to save them. He’s trying to save you. Right now. But when that proverbial door to the Ark is closed by God’s own hands, no human can open it.