We talk about being Christ-like all the time. Our hymns repeat the refrain and our children sing about how they are “trying to be like Jesus.” But what does that mean? What was Jesus like as a person? And how could we hope to emulate Him? The question may seem impossible to answer and we may feel despondent under the weight of it. We can know Jesus Christ and we can fulfill His commandment to become like Him. This lost LDS Classic explores what character is, what Christ’s character is, and how we can manifest His character in our thoughts, words, and deeds today. This is how we can possibly, happily, joyfully be like Christ!
Tag: sacrifice
Why Don’t More People Fully Live The Gospel?
If there is one thing Christians are good at it is ignoring Christ. No, I don’t mean we pretend that the Bible doesn’t exist or that Jesus didn’t say this or that thing. Rather, we do everything to explain away what Jesus said, to tell ourselves and others that despite what it sounds like, Jesus didn’t really mean what He said. That way, other than giving some faint lip service to some vaguely humanistic and definitively idolatrous concept of “being nice” we can still get away with doing whatever it is we want to do. But in doing so we lose not only the power of Christianity but the heart of it as well – we lose Jesus. I see it and experience it all the time. It is the very problem that I have dedicated my life to resisting and changing, the very purpose for which this site was created. This article is about why we ignore Jesus and what we can do to change this inclination so that we can more truly follow Him.
How Can You Be A Good Christian? Part 2
We all know that Christ and His Apostles taught us to love our enemies, to pray for those who use and abuse us, and to serve those who persecute us. These are the basic fundamentals of a Christian life. But often the how and why have eluded us. This article looks at the Sermon on the Mount as the Manual for How to Be a Christian and explores exactly what Christ meant, why it matters how we live, and how we are supposed to live as His disciples. This is how you be a good Christian.
What Can Men Do Against Such Reckless Hate?
I recently finished a rewatch of the Lord of the Rings. As always, I was struck by the drama and courage of Théoden and the Riders of Rohan as they made what seemed like a last stand against the overwhelming might of the armies of Saruman. Instead of surrender or retreat they trusted in the words of Gandalf the White and stood against evil no matter what the cost to them, even if it cost their lives. There is a great lesson for us to learn here about how we should live. Using examples from throughout the scriptures I discuss how we can stand against the reckless hate of the world we live in today.
Bioshock 2 and the Redeeming Power of Mercy
I recently completed by playthrough of the Bioshock Trilogy Remastered with 2010’s Bioshock 2. After playing the original Bioshock and then its pre-sequel, Bioshock Infinite, both by Ken Levine, Bioshock 2 is like a breath of fresh air. Both the gameplay and the storytelling in Bioshock is far superior to the other games. But the best thing about the game is that it has an actual message – about the importance of family, the power of mercy, the strength of love, and the possibility of redemption. in its own weird, dystopian way, Bioshock 2 is really about Zion.
Nonviolence in Early Christianity, Part 1
Some of the oldest and most affirmed truths in all of Christendom are that Jesus Christ commands us to love our enemies, to renounce violence, and to reject all other worldly loyalties – be they nation, empire, or people – for the Church, the Gospel, and Jesus Christ Himself. These truths can been in the writings of the earliest surviving Christian leaders and writers. What follows below is the first part in an effort to share a small sampling of these statements which I have tried to place within a rough chronological order. Hopefully they will help the reader, whether Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinist, Pentecostal, Christian Scientist, Latter-day Saint, etc. to understand the role of what we now call nonviolence, civil disobedience, rejection of world powers -what we today call the State – and loving and serving your enemy as central beliefs in the long history of true Christianity, ancient and modern.