It is interesting that the name that demons flee from (Luke 9:49-50) is being used as a profane expression of shock, dismay and everything unfortunate. I don’t think I’ve personally heard someone use Buddha, Baha Ullah, Muhammad, Zoroaster and millions of other religious figure in conjunction with an expletive. Another one is John for toilet. This too is intriguing because Jesus spoke highly of John (Luke 7:28). You can see that anything related to Jesus becomes an object of disdain.
Why do you think that is?
Why must the world profane the name?
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
Acts 4:12
“Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place
and gave Him the name above all names,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.”
Philippians 2:9-11
The objective of destroying the Name originates from Satan himself. The adversary can only try to show such vitriol to God by using people, the very ones Jesus gave His life for, to do his bidding.
We may be presented with many choices in life but as you close in on a decision, everything boils down to “this” or “that”. You could have 20 different hued shirts beside a white one but when you pick 1 out of the 20, it becomes only the white shirt versus the color that you pick. We can see this model also in politics. Each party holds a debate with multiple candidates at first, but ultimately end with only two people. Same with religion. There are many but they can’t all be true – it will end up with just the truth or the lie.
The last couple of debates I saw were of Jordan Peterson and Michael Dyson and that of David Wood and Mohammed Hijab. In a debate, the victor becomes evident when the other person resorts to personal attacks. That is what we mostly see in our society today, sadly. If people can’t explain their position, the best way is to make an example of someone by antagonizing the opponent through verbal abuse, false accusations/smears and some even employ victimhood as leverage.
Satan does exactly that to deceive millions claiming those who follow God are not truly free but under His oppressive and restrictive rule. I lived the so-called “grass is always greener on the other side” bit before I met Jesus and all I can say with certainty is that Satan’s so-called freedom is bondage and we can think of countless famous people who seemed to have everything and yet still had nothing to live for. He tries to win people through deception, temptation and every other evil machination. Jesus wins the soul through love.
The “Free” thinker
One thing that I find headscratching is someone who asserts to be a “free” thinker who lets other people explain the high sounding argument on their behalf. They often direct you to a book or a video clip or somewhere. Let’s be honest. Would you really consider that to be free thinking? Where did the person get the ideas from? Of course! From a book or a piece by someone else! The free thinker can devour anything and everything as long as it is not from the Bible.
When people claim “free” thinking, they really mean free from everything that has to do with God. Since we have schools, people get their “free thinking” material from the free thinking professor/person who tells them how and what to think. I can accept that, but latching on to a thinker does not necessarily make one a thinker. Chances are, the moment you separate the person from the thoughts borrowed from the thinker, all you’ll get are ad hominem attacks (this happens way too often). Talk about someone with hubris on steroids, which reminds me so much of Satan in Isaiah 14:14, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.”
I am not ashamed to admit I cling to the Bible. Call me a fool for Christ. You may think that’s bad, but it’s actually good. I know the truth and I’m content. The beginning of the Bible is attacked because it exposes Satan’s tactic of deception and the end of the book is equally attacked because it exposes his defeat. The person who is vehemently hostile to the Bible may think he’s a free thinker, but the thought really does not come from him. It’s from Satan (Colossians 2:8 , Revelation 12:9).
Hubris was Satan’s downfall. Don’t let it be yours.
[Image Credit: SE results via pixshark. Thanks to the OP]
