h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Jesus Came To Make Christians..?

There is a saying that I have heard: “Jesus came not to make people into Christians, but to make Christians into people”. What can this mean?

Well, firstly, let’s remember that the word Christian was invented by outsiders, in Antioch (Acts 11:26). To go by Paul, we called ourselves ‘brother’ and ‘sister’, as many of us still do, to this day. And the faith was known not as Christianity, but as ‘the Way’ - as it is still known, by some, to this day. ‘Christian’ is therefore a world’s-word, and as such, is well suited to carry all the bad connotations that the world would burden us with, all the muck and filth that the world smears the people of God with, because we stand in the place of Jesus, whom they hate, because he loves them – they are so, so confused, poor souls. They hate, because he loves? How mad is that! This is why Jesus came all the way from heaven to earth, to save us, because we were confused, and muddled, and we didn’t know which way was up, let alone the way from earth to heaven, from curse to blessing, from death to Life. He had to come to show us. And to open the Way to the Father, and to his Eternity. And, finally, to take us there, himself the Way of God.

No longer belonging

We can say that we live in a post-society society, where people exist not in groups with common purpose, will and belief, but as fractured, shattered individuals; no longer belonging, but alone, apart, isolated. Needing each other, but no longer knowing how to touch each other with the love that truly joins.

Needing peace

The word for ‘peace’ in Greek is eirene, which scholars think derives from a word ‘to join’, as in people joining together. People joining together, as in marriage for example, both presupposes peace, and creates it; peace is the natural human context for human life. So when Eve took the fruit, and ate, and gave to Adam to eat, and he ate, peace died, and great was the loss of the peace of God.

Jesus gives us his peace

So Jesus says, today, “My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give”. Jesus gives us his peace, which is different from our peace; and even his giving is different from our giving. He gives without asking for anything in return; and he gives for us to keep, not as a loan, without condition, never threatening to take it back.

He gives us his grace

The word for grace is derived from the word to rejoice, in Greek. God’s giving is an expression of his delighting in us. His giving is as free as his loving; it is entirely independent of anything we do or don’t do.

We belong to God

We are not our own, writes Paul; we were bought, at a price. To buy us back to life, God had to pay a terrible price: he had to give up his own Son, his only, his beloved Son, Jesus of Nazareth. He had to give him up to a terrible death, but not only death; he had to give him up to judgement, to torture, to mocking, to scourging, to Jewish curses and a Roman cross. He had to give up his own Son to the worst punishment, the worst execution the world has ever known, that of crucifixion. Scholars tell us that this was the most horrible, painful, and prolonged death, with great agony and torment. And finally, with separation from the Father, unthinkable though that may seem for One who said, I and the Father are one, and again, who said, The Lord you God is one Lord.

Separation from God

One as they were, they were torn apart, when a world’s sinfulness and sins were poured out onto Jesus, and the Father’s wrath engulfed him. Jesus, who had known nothing but the Father’s smile all the days of his life, was shamed and disgraced in the sight of his people, outside the City of David, his great ancestor. Even his disciples fled from him, with only faithful John remaining.

Victory over Death

But it was our separation that Jesus endured, it was our sins that he carried on the cross. Holy Jesus had no sin; he was burdened by our burden, and died our death, and, having died our death, he was raised in Life. This is why death no longer rules over us, since when we believe in Jesus, we receive his life in place of our death, a life free from sin and death, a life raised to Eternity. By his love, his life has conquered our death, so when the Father gives us faith to believe, we are taken out of death and carried into his eternal life of love. And just as death is a constant companion to those born of Adam, so life and love are the constant companions to those born from above by the Spirit of God, and by water. And those in whom God’s life and love are constantly kept, those so blessed are made to be God’s sons, and Jesus’ brothers and sisters. It is no shame for Jesus to be called our brother, because we share in the same Spirit and in the same Blood, the Spirit of Holiness, the Blood of God made man.

I am the Way

So Jesus came to make the Way, to be the Way for those who will walk in it from earth to heaven, from curse to blessing, from death to Life: himself the Way of God.

So let us walk in that Way, the Way of Eternity, and let us let God perfect his Life in us, and we shall become whole in the Love of his Son: fully and completely human, made in God’s image and likeness, conformed to the Likeness of the Son of God.

Jesus Came To Make Christians..?

for Sean and Jonathan

There is a saying that I have heard: “Jesus came not to make people into Christians, but to make Christians into people”. What can this mean?

Well, firstly, let’s remember that the word Christian was invented by outsiders, in Antioch (Acts 11:26). To go by Paul, we called ourselves ‘brother’ and ‘sister’, as many of us still do, to this day. And the faith was known not as Christianity, but as ‘the Way’ - as it is still known, by some, to this day. ‘Christian’ is therefore a world’s-word, and as such, is well suited to carry all the bad connotations that the world would burden us with, all the muck and filth that the world smears the people of God with, because we stand in the place of Jesus, whom they hate, because he loves them – they are so, so confused, poor souls. They hate, because he loves? How mad is that! This is why Jesus came all the way from heaven to earth, to save us, because we were confused, and muddled, and we didn’t know which way was up, let alone the way from earth to heaven, from curse to blessing, from death to Life. He had to come to show us. And to open the Way to the Father, and to his Eternity. And, finally, to take us there, himself the Way of God.

No longer belonging

We can say that we live in a post-society society, where people exist not in groups with common purpose, will and belief, but as fractured, shattered individuals; no longer belonging, but alone, apart, isolated. Needing each other, but no longer knowing how to touch each other with the love that truly joins.

Needing peace

The word for ‘peace’ in Greek is eirene, which scholars think derives from a word ‘to join’, as in people joining together. People joining together, as in marriage for example, both presupposes peace, and creates it; peace is the natural human context for human life. So when Eve took the fruit, and ate, and gave to Adam to eat, and he ate, peace died, and great was the loss of the peace of God.

Jesus gives us his peace

So Jesus says, today, “My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give”. Jesus gives us his peace, which is different from our peace; and even his giving is different from our giving. He gives without asking for anything in return; and he gives for us to keep, not as a loan, without condition, never threatening to take it back.

He gives us his grace

The word for grace is derived from the word to rejoice, in Greek. God’s giving is an expression of his delighting in us. His giving is as free as his loving; it is entirely independent of anything we do or don’t do.

We belong to God

We are not our own, writes Paul; we were bought, at a price. To buy us back to life, God had to pay a terrible price: he had to give up his own Son, his only, his beloved Son, Jesus of Nazareth. He had to give him up to a terrible death, but not only death; he had to give him up to judgement, to torture, to mocking, to scourging, to Jewish curses and a Roman cross. He had to give up his own Son to the worst punishment, the worst execution the world has ever known, that of crucifixion. Scholars tell us that this was the most horrible, painful, and prolonged death, with great agony and torment. And finally, with separation from the Father, unthinkable though that may seem for One who said, I and the Father are one, and again, who said, The Lord you God is one Lord.

Separation from God

One as they were, they were torn apart, when a world’s sinfulness and sins were poured out onto Jesus, and the Father’s wrath engulfed him. Jesus, who had known nothing but the Father’s smile all the days of his life, was shamed and disgraced in the sight of his people, outside the City of David, his great ancestor. Even his disciples fled from him, with only faithful John remaining.

Victory over Death

But it was our separation that Jesus endured, it was our sins that he carried on the cross. Holy Jesus had no sin; he was burdened by our burden, and died our death, and, having died our death, he was raised in Life. This is why death no longer rules over us, since when we believe in Jesus, we receive his life in place of our death, a life free from sin and death, a life raised to Eternity. By his love, his life has conquered our death, so when the Father gives us faith to believe, we are taken out of death and carried into his eternal life of love. And just as death is a constant companion to those born of Adam, so life and love are the constant companions to those born from above by the Spirit of God, and by water. And those in whom God’s life and love are constantly kept, those so blessed are made to be God’s sons, and Jesus’ brothers and sisters. It is no shame for Jesus to be called our brother, because we share in the same Spirit and in the same Blood, the Spirit of Holiness, the Blood of God made man.

I am the Way

So Jesus came to make the Way, to be the Way for those who will walk in it from earth to heaven, from curse to blessing, from death to Life: himself the Way of God.

So let us walk in that Way, the Way of Eternity, and let us let God perfect his Life in us, and we shall become whole in the Love of his Son: fully and completely human, made in God’s image and likeness, conformed to the Likeness of the Son of God. And we shall change, from people called by the world’s insult-name, identified with a curse, to people called by a new name, forever blest, called by the Name of the Son of God.

Jesus Came To Make Christians..?


for Sean and Jonathan


There is a saying that I have heard: “Jesus came not to make people into Christians, but to make Christians into people”. What can this mean?


Well, firstly, let’s remember that the word Christian was invented by outsiders, in Antioch (Acts 11:26). To go by Paul, we called ourselves ‘brother’ and ‘sister’, as many of us still do, to this day. And the faith was known not as Christianity, but as ‘the Way’ - as it is still known, by some, to this day. ‘Christian’ is therefore a world’s-word, and as such, is well suited to carry all the bad connotations that the world would burden us with, all the muck and filth that the world smears the people of God with, because we stand in the place of Jesus, whom they hate, because he loves them – thus is their lethal confusion, poor souls. They hate, because he loves? How mad is that! This is why Jesus came all the way from heaven to earth, to save us, because we were confused, and muddled, and we didn’t know which way was up, let alone the way from earth to heaven, from curse to blessing, from death to Life. He had to come to show us. And to open the Way to the Father, and to his Eternity. And, finally, to take us there, himself the Way of God.


No longer belonging


We can say that we live in a post-society society, where people exist not in groups with common purpose, will and belief, but as fractured, shattered individuals; no longer belonging, but alone, apart, isolated. Needing each other, but no longer knowing how to touch each other with the love that truly joins.


Needing peace


The word for ‘peace’ in Greek is eirēnē, which scholars think derives from a word ‘to join’, as in people joining together. People joining together, as in marriage for example, both presupposes peace, and creates it; peace is the natural human context for human life. So when Eve took the fruit, and ate, and gave to Adam to eat, and he ate, peace died, and great was the loss of the peace of God.


Jesus gives us his peace


So Jesus says, today, “My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give”. Jesus gives us his peace, which is different from our peace; and even his giving is different from our giving. He gives without asking for anything in return; and he gives for us to keep, not as a loan, without condition, never threatening to take it back.


He gives us his grace


In Greek the word grace derives from the word rejoice. God’s giving is an expression of his delighting in us. His giving is as free as his loving, and rejoicing; it is entirely independent of anything we do or don’t do.


We belong to God


We are not our own, writes Paul; we were bought, at a price. To buy us back to life, God had to pay a terrible price: he had to give up his own Son, his only, his beloved Son, Jesus of Nazareth. He had to give him up to a terrible death, but not only death; he had to give him up to judgement, to torture, to mocking, to scourging, to Jewish curses and a Roman cross. He had to give up his own Son to the worst punishment, the worst execution the world has ever known, that of crucifixion. Scholars tell us that this was the most horrible, painful, and prolonged death, with great agony and torment. And finally, with separation from the Father, unthinkable though that may seem for One who said, I and the Father are one, and again, who said, The Lord your God is one Lord.


Separation from God


One as they were, they were torn apart, when a world’s sinfulness and sins were poured out onto Jesus, and the Father’s wrath engulfed him. Jesus, who had known nothing but the Father’s smile all the days of his life, was shamed and disgraced in the sight of his people, outside the City of David, his great ancestor. Even his disciples fled from him, with only faithful John remaining.


Victory over Death


But it was our separation that Jesus endured, it was our sins that he carried on the cross. Holy Jesus had no sin; he was burdened by our burden, and died our death, and, having died our death, he was raised in Life. This is why death no longer rules over us, since when we believe in Jesus, we receive his life in place of our death, a life free from sin and death, a life raised to Eternity. By his love, his life has conquered our death, so when the Father gives us faith to believe, we are taken out of death and carried into his eternal life of love. And just as death is a constant companion to those born of Adam, so life and love are the constant companions to those born from above by water, and by the Spirit of God. And those in whom God’s life and love are constantly kept, those so blessed are made to be God’s sons, and Jesus’ brothers and sisters. It is no shame for Jesus to be called our brother, because we share in the same Spirit and in the same Blood, the Spirit of Holiness, the Blood of God made man.


I am the Way


So Jesus came to make the Way, to be the Way for those who will walk in it from earth to heaven, from curse to blessing, from death to Life: himself the Way of God.


So let us walk in that Way, the Way of Eternity, and let us let God perfect his Life in us, and we shall become whole in the Love of his Son: fully and completely human, once made in God’s image and likeness, now conformed even to the Likeness of the Son. And we shall change, from people called by the world’s insult-name, identified with a curse, to people called by a new name, forever blest, called by the Name none dare utter, the ineffable Name of the Son of God, the Word of God made flesh.

I'm moderately pleased with the term "post-society society".

Went to P&P with Sethu. Going to a tailor tomorrow. Going to take a bunch of cloth and ask them to make suits identical to the one I shall show them, in brown, purple and black. I am also to make one for ****, who is 1.85m tall, and a 34" waist.

I am considerably oppressed by the appearance of someone who - oh, never mind.

I realise now quite why the Father wants me alone. It's because I need it.

Having said that, I miss the gentle, caring presence of Honeybadger, enwrapping her unearthly beautiful body, and her smile, and her lixivating honeytouch. If ***** can't find or keep a boyfriend, why must I suffer?

Right. We couldn't go to the tailor today so I'm going tomorrow first thing. My suits will need lining.

I'll go to the man at the first place we went to.

I'm so tired. I've got a young person here needing my help. So I've got to step up.

OK, tomorrow, tailor, then garage door, then tax, then possibly Ilitha Park for Sethu's clothes, although her taxi friend can do that, I don't have to do everything, after all, she's using my pad as a bolt hole, so I don't owe her anything, I hate you, get over it.

Haircut some time.

After Israel, perhaps Jo'burg to find a house. But if I get work.

Bollocks, I want a proper night's sleep tonight, and Caroline is insisting I hit the sack, but I don't want to, I feel paranoid now.

I've bolted the front door, apparently - well anyway.