Jesus didn’t tap

A few weeks ago my daughter pointed out a bumper sticker on a car parked out front of the UFC combat clothing store in Surrey. It said, "Jesus didn’t tap." We both had a chuckle over that.

People have different images of Christ. Personally, I don’t see him as a femmie pacifist. I see him as a strong activist. Although Gandhi was physically frail, he was clearly a strong activist even though he was passionately nonviolent.

The Jesus never tapped out saying came as a bit of a surprise but it did make sense. History records that he was whipped and nailed to a cross. Josephus records that. Then there was the doctrine of the atonement how he bled from every pour in the Garden of Gethsemane. There is no doubt Christ had to be incredibly mentally and physically strong to endure all that.

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A Muslim friend once recommend I watch the movie the Passion of Christ. I was surprised to hear the recommendation come from a Muslim. He said to me, I wonder why God allowed all that to happen to one of his prophets. Some believe that bad things don’t happen to good people and if you are disabled or are experiencing trials, God is punishing you. I don’t subscribe to that belief at all.

According to the religious tradition Christ came for a purpose. I do shun religious extremism. Many in the born again movement shout slogans and live the life of intolerance. Yesterday driving back from the lake we saw a billboard that read "Jesus Saves." I had a twisted thought pop through my mind and before I could vocalize it my daughter reads the sign out load and says, "Jesus Saves at Zellers."

Yeah he must be pretty good with his money I respond. I guess it’s the sappy side of religion I have beef with. Christ spoke pretty boldly against the religious leaders in his day. Not to say that all religious leaders are bad. It’s the blind obedience to hypocrisy I have beef with. God gave us a brain for a reason. For many, over analyzing or intellectualizing everything can be our own personal downfall yet for many others not using our brain is their downfall.

I had a friend who had a T-shirt that said "Jesus loves you but everyone else thinks you’re an idiot." Slightly sacrilegious perhaps yet I did find humor in it. Personally I believe in good and evil. Call it what you will. Evil can infiltrate and corrupt people and organizations both from within and from without. I believe we should shun evil and strive to do good. To me that means opposing exploitation, supporting the less fortunate and living productive lives of service. Of that Mother Teresa was the perfect example.