Jesus wasn't nice, and I can say this with absolute certainty.  Therefore, I get disgusted when I see a lot of churches and preachers trying to emasculate the teachings of Christ into a simple "just be nice" doctrine.  When a Christian dares deviate from this, liberals pounce and call someone's faith into question, as we saw last week with Christianity Today's attack on President Trump.  That is a deep perversion of the truth and the Lion of Judah's message.

Nice people don't make enemies, and Jesus Christ had enemies in excess.  King Herod believed an infant Jesus to be a usurper.  The Pharisees hated Jesus since His teachings often contradicted their actions.  Because cancel culture was also a thing in the first century, the Pharisees ultimately saw their popularity plummet and wanted revenge.  The Romans wanted punishment for calling Himself a King while the Jews called for his crucifixion because He was nicknamed the Son of God.

Even today, Jesus is attacked.  Democrats like Speaker Pelosi claim to be Catholic while their own policies like abortions and failing to prosecute criminals go against the core of His teachings.  It's no wonder the vast majority of atheists vote Democrat.  If He were alive today, I have no doubts that modern liberals would boycott Him.

"After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him." —John 7:1.

Today, spineless bishops use passionless sermons to preach about acceptance and forgiveness.  Sure, these teachings undoubtedly have a place.  With that said, in churches all across the U.S, you'll be hard pressed to hear anything about the moral teachings that matter like conversion, virtue, and sexual morality.  On the off-chance that you do, they're minimalized and said nicely so that these good Christians can appear to be non-confrontational.  God forbid.

Take for instance this other Christianity Today article on the increasing visibility of the LGBT community and what that means for Christians.  Their take?  We're all "queer":

Is there an easy way out of the current battles over sexuality?  No.  But there is a way through.  A remnant, perhaps small and perhaps substantial, will continue to teach that we are created male and female, to bless the marriages that reunite those two broken halves, and to remind all, married and unmarried, that 'in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage' — Along the way, we all will be queer[.] 

Then we have the case of Adolfo Martinez, an Iowan who took a gay flag hanging on a Church of Christ and then burned it.  He has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.  "It was an honor to do that," Martinez told KCCI.  "It's a blessing from the Lord to be able to stand for his world firmly, against all odds."

Meanwhile, we're celebrating the one-year anniversary of a Satanic statue put up at an Illinois statehouse.

When someone like Adolfo Martinez is so severely punished, it makes the rapid decline in Christian observance and church attendance understandable.  What motivations do Christians have when those tasked with looking over the flock don't seem to care whether or not they're saving anyone from eternal Hell, let alone our rights on Earth?

"Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth." —Matthew 5:5

The meek remain one of the most misunderstood concepts in the Bible.  Some Christians mistakenly assume that it means quiet and submissive; however, it is anything but.  Edward Feser, an esteemed modern philosopher, writes:  

When Christ said, "Blessed are the meek," He was using a military term[.] ... Strength under control. Power under authority. Formidable determination in the face of the constant onslaughts of the enemy. The humble willingness to do what your Master commands you to do.

The exact opposite of feeble timidity.

Did Christ show mercy and tenderness?  Of course, but those characteristics are already overstated. "Be nice" has become quite a false idol of comfort.  Jesus also had convictions and a faith that He was willing to, and did, die for.

That is the essence of virtue that is lost when Christians (especially their leaders) submit to social justice.  It doesn't mean that every Christian should be preoccupied with righting every wrong.  Seeing someone cut in line at Macy's during the Christmas shopping season could probably be ignored.  But when ostentatious Hollywood liberals attack you for attending church and following a faith that they deem an "anti-LGBT hate group," it is righteous to hit back.  Like Jesus, carry a big sword but know when to unsheathe it.  

"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." —Matthew 10:34

Merry Christmas!

Image: Ed Uthman via Flickr.