This
is an urgent memo to all Bible-inspired Christian
clergy in Ireland.
Dear clerics, you need to radically reclaim the
pulpits of this island for Bible truths before heresies
and fantasies are mistaken for spiritual realities.
If you want a campaign to rally behind, then flex
your muscles and urge the re-introduction of heresy
as a crime against Christianity, the state religion.
In case you haven't noticed, but the Easter celebrations
of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection have been
overshadowed by a campaign to justify the existence
of the so-called Gospel of Judas - the beliefs of
Judas Iscariot, the Satan-gripped traitor who betrayed
Jesus to the Romans.
For centuries, Bible-believing Christians have correctly
portrayed Judas as the ultimate sell-out. His name
has become a by-word for treason, treachery and
skulduggery of the lowest kind.
But the emergence in recent weeks of a 1,700-year-old
papyrus copy of a document dubbed the Gospel of
Judas is giving this arch traitor a whole new spiritual
make-over.
In what amounts to heresy by Biblical standards,
this teaching in the Gospel of Judas portrays Iscariot
as being Christ's favoured disciple.
Judas' betrayal of Jesus was actually a cleverly
concocted plot between Christ and Iscariot to ensure
the crucifixion took place, elevating the supposed
traitor above the other 11 Apostles, according to
this new document.
The Gospel of Judas - supposedly written more than
200 years after Christ's resurrection - paints Iscariot
as Jesus's confidant, loyal servant and a true and
triumphant Christian hero.
So when are you clerics going to wake up and combat
this heresy by preaching some Biblical truths from
your pulpits and reclaiming your positions of influence
and respect among Irish citizens?
Take a leaf out of the radical muslim activities
handbook. Look at the global demonstrations against
the Danish cartoons. When are Irish Christian clerics
going to show their courage by publicly declaring
the Gospel of Judas to be downright heresy?
While there are references in the Bible to people
being demon-possessed, there is only one person
noted who was possessed by Satan himself - and that's
Judas.
It clearly states in the New Testament text Luke
22 verses three and four - "Then Satan entered
Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. And Judas
went to the chief priests ... and discussed with
them how he might betray Jesus."
Wake up, you folks with the dog collars - Judas
was one of the bad guys! Are you going to sit and
twiddle your thumbs while Bible teachings are undermined
yet again?
Unfortunately, the sad reality of the Christian
Church on this island is that the pulpit's credibility
has become ridiculed because of the outrages caused
by convicted paedophile clergy, problems in clerics'
marriages and the row over the ordination of gay
ministers.
Opponents of the Bible will push this Gospel of
Judas to dilute the Christian message and the relevance
of Christ Himself to this modern world.
Combating this vile heresy will not come by protesting
outside halls where the Gospel of Judas will be
discussed. It must come from Christian pulpits the
length and breadth of Ireland.
Christianity has just scored a big hit with an English
exam board agreeing to put the Biblical version
of how the world was created on the curriculum alongside
the daft notions pushed by Godless Darwinism.
But all these gains will be lost if people think
there is some semblance of truth that Judas was
a dead-on bloke who simply had a bad press from
puritans and the Spanish Inquisition.
The trouble is in this high-tech world, fiction
can become reality. Take the release next month
of the blockbuster movie The Da Vinci Code based
on Dan Brown's successful novel and starring screen
legend Tom Hanks.
Brown openly says his book is a fictional novel,
but because it contains real life organisations
such as the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei, there is
the danger film entertainment will become stunning
historical truth in people's minds.
The Code suggests Christ had an affair with Mary
Magdalene before He was crucified and fathered a
child and that this blood line exists today.
Given the hype surrounding both Brown's novel and
director Ron Howard's film, the true Biblical Christian
Church will be faced with the hellish situation
of answering genuine questions about what is essentially
a made-up, but grossly heretical plot, about Jesus
having descendants here on earth protected by a
secret society.
If Christian clerics are not careful, the Biblical
faith will be seen as a farcical set of beliefs
just as daft as the clerics portrayed in television
sitcoms, such as Dad's Army, the Vicar of Dibley
and Father Ted. I await the response from the pulpits
with interest.
