Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Apocalypse WOW!

I am looking at an 11 x 17 full color brochure sent to me, my church and several members of my church. The cover shouts, "Apocalypse Now!....Coming October 23 to Menomonie, WI". Today is October 26th and unless every major news outlet has missed it, Menomonie is still there. Maybe the Apocalypse didn't know how to get there, took a right turn in Eau Claire and ended up in a farm field and wiped out some poor cow....utter devastation.

Now, I know that this slick (sick) brochure is advertising a program called "Apocalypse Now!" but the silly contradictions are too blatant to ignore. Like the teaser on the back that says, "Future Topics to be Announced!". Future?, What future?

Now.... let me describe the best contradiction of this ad. On the inside, centered among bizarre cartoons of strange multi-headed beasts and scary "Killer nations coming" subtitles, is a large font headline that reads, "Surviving the Terror", and just below that is a caption that says,"This prophecy seminar is presented in a relaxed atmosphere....come as you are and enjoy.....!" RELAXED?! ENJOY?! WOW! Indeed, "Apocalypse, WOW!"

This is a perfect illustration of why I am saying, "God is not Christian". He is not "Christian" in the form of this silliness. He is not "Christian" by the definitions offered by cartoon ads seeking to scare the pants off the average postal customer. The God of historic Christianity, the real, one and only God defies all slick brochure caricatures and is above our fictional fantasies.

I am offering myself as a voice in this brochure wilderness, crying out for those who have an ear to hear, "Let's rediscover God! Let's give God a chance to reshape, reform and renovate modern Christian 'spirituality' into something that shines forth the awe inspiring light of the face of Jesus Christ in our day and on our streets." Will you join me?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I received this advertisement too and wanted to throw it away before my children saw this crazy stuff. He're something from the Message Bible in Phil 2: "Go out into the world, uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and the living God." That sounds much better than scary creatures and the Apocalypse. Amy S.