Christian Narcissism

Тhe myth of Narcissus is an old and varied tale, one story depicts Narcissus gazing at his own reflection (becoming transfixed by his beauty). A painting created by Italian Baroque master Caravaggio, painted circa 1597-1599 conveys a bit of the concept: the figure of Narcissus is enamored with his own reflection, surrounded by darkness, so that he sees nothing of the world around him. However, to be clear the nacissist is an individual who is described as being excessively preoccupied with issues of personal adequacy, power, prestige and vanity.

So has narcissism crept into evangelical christianity? My non-religious friends are quick to point out spiritual insincerity and narcissitic thinking in my own thinking. In fact, I wonder if my even having a blog is a narcissit activity? I don't know. In any case, I am grateful for the feedback from wherever it comes really. It is important to listen to critics of the faith and to be challenged in our thinking.


Normally, we think of TV preachers as "narcissist" when all they are interested in is money. This encampasses a number of organizations and generally include the distribution of various books and video tapes that promote personal benefit in exchange for giving a large gift. One minisistry in the 1980s was a husband and wife televangelist team Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. They promised donors a lavish hotel room for a week if they gave at a certain dollar level.

But, is a spriritual narcissism popularity surfacing in christianity? Is it affecting the church? Is it blinding our leaders? Is it paralyzing our call to service? 

Sometimes narcissim invades my own thinking. I come to church and sit there thinking, why doesn't the pastor shake my hand after the service? Or,  I critique the music or the sermon and wonder why it didn't fit my needs. Why do I have to sit next to this loud child, isn't he disturbing my worship experience?

So, I've discovered that even in evangelical Christianity, it is invading us subconciously. OK, I know we need to have self-esteem and self-control. Those are biblical concepts.  And... we do need to personalize the gospel and have a personal identity for what the cross means. But, sometimes it goes too far.

Consider how it has crept into the contemporary christian music industry with lyrics from the music group FFH:

One of these days I'm gonna see the hands
That took the nails for me
One of these days I'm gonna hold the keys
To the mansion built for me
One of these days I'm gonna walk the streets of gold
That were paved for me

I guess this song is catchy and indeed I enjoy the melody. In fact, I've even purchased this group's music and CDs and do believe the total message of this group is a positive one of Christianity. But,  is it indeed true that paradise was only created for me? Isn't that what some proponents of Islam also teach....  that in paradise one will die and be surrounded 72 virgins?  

A quick view of the new testament reveals some interesting contradictions to what we've come to accept in Evangelical circles. Didn't Jesus say.. “I did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many;” “Whoever wants to be first must become last;” “Whoever wants to be great among must become the slave of all;” and then bowed in submission to the Father and said, “Not my will, but yours.”

What do you think? Are Christians becoming absorbed in the culture of narcissism?

Knowing Him in Secret

Nicodemus knew Jesus was some sort of prophet, or at least a catalyst for morality. He was perplexed by what to do with this information so he followed his teaching secretly. To acknowledge any impact of his theology publicly would be embarrassing.

Nicodemus was a skeptic of sorts, not willing to take action on this new instruction from this young country preacher, but at least willing to go and see what he has to say.

There is a reason for a night time consultation. A clandestine meeting would not be seen by the others in the Sanhedrin (the ruling council in the synagogue), so Nicodemus isn't taking much of a risk.

A low impact encounter, that was all he wanted. To warm himself by the fire, watch the flames in the night air, and sip a cup of hot cocoa with Jesus. Isn't that what we all want? A comfy little religion, an unchallengeable sermon in the third row from the back, a private audience with a few sleeping disciples scattered around?

He has reached the conclusion, in his private thoughts, that Jesus would certainly agree that a little chat with him would benefit both of them. To Nicodemus, a quick little visit was all he needed. Maybe he could come once a week, discuss the latest teaching for 30 minutes or so, go back home. The little sessions would be fun! He could write a homily for Saturday worship with the inspiration of his young friend.

After all, Nicodemus was an old man. He was entering the senior years of his career and everyone respected him. Tenure in academia has it rewards, one of which is to embrace brave, revolutionary commentary.

As an elder rabbi, he is shocked to see that Jesus is excited by his visit!

Jesus' face lights up as he approaches. "Why Nicodemus, you came my old friend. All along, I've wanted you to come. Even if you are ashamed to meet me in daylight. It is OK, you came."

Nicodemus is saddened by his motives, Jesus saw right through him.. He feels the pull of his words, his compassion. All his life he loved people, but never had he been so welcoming to another person. So why was Jesus so anxious for him to come?

"Only you can even remotely understand what I am about to say, the others will get it after class. Since you want a little one on one, here it is."

The wrinkled rabbi trembles.

"This whole thing about why I came, Nicodemus, why you are here tonight. It is about a new, everlasting life. You don't think that, but it is true. In fact, it was probably lurking in your mind the entire time, you didn't know it, but it is there. To turn back the hands of time, to understand, means to start life over again, like a newborn."

His old mind is playing tricks on him. Did he say something about "we" and "our" just a minute ago? He isn't seeing double. There is only one young man sitting across from him.

"We bear witness to these things, so it is important to clear this up tonight. In order to receive insight into life, eternal life, to clearly understand why I am here, you need to gasp for air again like when the midwife slapped your bottom."

How can this be? The years flash before him. He spent decades reading and studying the scriptures, he worked hard to sit on the high council. A newborn, what?

Nicodemus ponders the premise, entertains the notion. He has an open mind, he prides himself in being willing to listen to others.

Not now though, this is to hard. In fact, it seems like foolishness really. But, maybe in another secret meeting. He'll find out more. He walks back home for now, stumbling along the path at night. How can he sleep after hearing these words?

King of The Dunghill

This is the time of year when we return from the holiday vacation and get back in the daily grind. In the last few days there's been some serious mistakes I've personally made, mostly in the area of ungratefulness to those around me and also in the area of my work at the University. The dunghill of academia.

Speaking of dunghills, I was reading about David this morning.  The "bible" David. He was a scrawny teenager at the time, the little "pouty brat" according to his brothers.

The bible "David" had brothers similar to me as I was the eldest in our family of six.  Today my brother (who is also David) are really close. It wasn't always that way. Back in the 60s we had to share a bedroom. We drew an imaginary line between our twin beds and I looked him straight in the eye one day, "don't you dare cross it, bro!"

As the story goes, the bible David was sent to the Israeli front lines to deliver a picnic lunch for his brothers.

David wasn't old enough to go to war or be a soldier. He was a shepherd. In the scheme of life, he was the lowest ranking shepherd. He probably stepped in sheep "poop" lots of times. It was a mundane task, "keep the sheep here" his dad would say. It was a boring job.

In my mind, David was sort of like the actor Michael J Fox in "Back to the Future."  He was looking for adventure!

So, as the story goes, one day a lion stops by for a lamb chop. God whispers in his ear. "Go after that lion, I'll protect you."

David reaches for a stone and places it in his slingshot. "Why not, what have I got to lose?"

Most teens wouldn't do what David did. I wasn't too excited as a teenager when dad asked me to wash the car, mow the lawn or take out the garbage.

Fast forward a few months.

David shows up with his sack of cheese burgers and fries for his brothers. There's this loud verbal exchange going on between the Philistines and the Hebrew soldiers.

"God doesn't exist, you peons! You are idiot chickens. Israel doesn't exist, you are not a nation and you crossed our borders.... scram ... I am warning you... we will send in terrorists to blow you up if you don't stop."

David hears this and wonders, why doesn't somebody do something about this? As the story goes, Goliath was a big man. Some scholars estimate his height about 9 feet. In those days, it seems there were some big people. Not obese people, BIG PEOPLE.

King Saul has offered a prize to anyone who would fight Goliath. Saul feels a tug on his robe. He looks down and sees David.

Can you imagine what does through Saul's mind? Here is the commander of all the Israeli military. The great general who doesn't know what to do. 

His brothers weigh in. "Send him home, our dad will be so ticked off and .. besides... these cheesburgers don't have pickles and onions on them. Where's the ketchup?"

Saul knows he doesn't have too many options. Maybe David could go in.  He could try and protect this kid if he's going to go out. The best armour on David is placed on him. He is a scrawny teen can barely walk around.

This whole situation calls for modern warfare, doesn't it? Ballastic missles or nuclear warheads!

David goes to the stream and collects 5 smooth stones.

Today, some bible scholars assign great theological meaning to these five stones. I don't see it that way. I think it was more practical. Goliath had 4 brothers and he knew they would be the first men to attack after their brother was slaughtered.

You know the rest of the story. If you don't ..... call up your childhood Sunday school teacher.

Anyway, I got to thinking. I need to appreciate the dunghill more and maybe I need to have excitement when I undertake the simple tasks in life. Make it an adventure! Is there some boring thing you do everyday? Stop and listen. Is there a small, quiet voice  whispering in your ear to go about it differently?

Mary, was it one of Herod's soldiers?

It really doesn't matter what your position is on the ancient Christmas story, ok? Over the years, I've learned the importance of this historical account isn't about me.  On the contrary, whatever your mental process is on this "story" be it skeptic, rationalist, agnostic or atheist, this account exists and stands firmly in the conviction of many people. I would venture to say the vast majority of anyone subscribing to a "religion" have a position on what happened 2000 years ago. Their perspectives may surprise you. Islam and Christianity are actually unified on the account, that this young girl, Mary, was a virgin. There is nothing else shared between Islam and Christianity, but I have a deep respect for the beliefs of my Muslim friends. The other major religion, Judaism, is of the opinion that the key character in our story was a Semite and somewhat of a deluded victim of extreme poverty. To many Jews, Mary was the mother of a misguided rabbi. Nevertheless, this "ancient superstition" stands.

We all know the story, most likely because we are influenced by it in some way. We may not admit it, but we are influenced by it. In fact,

Some time ago, I wrote a similar perspective on this topic entitled  "Was that Jewish Peasant Girl Lying? " and I wonder if you would be a patient reader and allow me to propose some other perspectives on my first narrative?

First of all, these traditions about the first Christmas could be entirely false or this could be a infallible account of actual events. Also, it could be an embellishment of a story. It doesn't matter that a prophet, hundreds of years earlier,  talked about a virgin birth of the Messiah (see Isaiah 7:14). Maybe Isaiah was mistaken though, probably that old text could be translated "young girl" and not a virgin. Or maybe it was translated and copied wrong, written after the account of these things (we should mention here the Isaiah papyrus known as the Dead Sea Scrolls).

Who was this teenage girl, Mary? Did she even exist?  Where did this story come up about being a virgin?

 

At the outset, as you come to this story there are angels. In our minds, there may or may not have been angelic visitations - most of us fall into one of those two camps. In our current culture we may dismiss these heavenly visitors, but in the text there were two such visitations. One to the father of the man who would later become "John The Baptist" (a rather extreme fundamentalist in the Baptist-sense) and this young teen girl.

On Zechariah, he was a Hebrew disbeliever. Now, if you are a disbeliever in Mary's account, please ponder Zechariah skepticism for a moment. It doesn't matter what the angel says to him, he doesn't believe it. A  very religious man and a priest going about this act of religiosity, he was interrupted in one of the most important duties assigned to ancient priests of his day - the annual rite of offering a sacrifice to atone for the sins of the people.  The angel is saying his "older wife - Elizabeth" will have a son.

For the record, the Qur'an references and Elizabeth, Zachariah and John the Baptist as exalted doers of good. In essence, Islam recognizes the angelic visitation to Zachariah.

Anyway, Zechariah chokes. He's never heard a voice in the sanctuary before. He is scared and maybe not thinking correctly. It is usually quiet in here, this is a sacred place.  All he says is, "how can this be?" Folks, my wife and I are similar in age, both in our mid-50s. We have been married 34 years, raised 3 daughters and now have 6 grandchildren. I could easily cut this guy a break, most likely I would have the same response. However, the angel rebuffs him. Zechariah is not to speak until the baby is born.

Now we have Mary. Same angel, but a more preposterous claim. I'd  be the first person to dismiss the possibility of a virgin birth. After all, how can a woman become pregnant when she has never had sexual intercourse? She plainly asks the angel this very question. An explanation is given.

At this point, the jury is out. What will Mary say to this angel?

I've wondered through the years, what ran threw her head at that precise moment in time.

She can hear her father going ballistic when she presents the urine strip test results to her family.

"Mary, was it one of Herod's soldiers?"

Or, he might be thinking "that Joseph.. he has ruined the reputation of our family."

 
She is a scared young girl, but replies to the angel "let it be done according to your word."

Let's be clear here, ok? Mary was not raped by a man or by a spiritual  being or a "Holy Spirit" or whatever else we can conjure up. What happened to her was by her consent.

Did she immediately tell her family or Joseph about this visitation? I don't know. It isn't clear. They did find out though, either by her explanation or by the obvious shape of her physical appearance. The bible text does say that she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth's house. This visit was purposeful. Elizabeth is obviously pregnant by this time. This woman also validates any doubts Mary would have about her own spiritual journey in this matter.

Now, for the record, I don't deify Mary. She was a person just like you and I. She is an example of faith in a faithless age, both then and now.

If you are interested in what I am writing about here, can I encourage you to read the original text account of these things?  Read Luke 1:1-45.

Virtual Reality

There are lots of a tech talk these days of a 3D virtual world where people occupy avatars and inhabit electronic environments via digital cameras and other technical interfaces. Players put on special gloves that allow them to feel and touch their virtual environment, one turns their head and it is like looking around inside the virtual world while sitting on the sofa.

Personally, I am a fan of some of these developments. From a therapeutic perspective, speaking as a clinician who has absolutely no competence in the area of psychiatry - so please excuse any claim of knowing what I am talking about - virtual reality has proven effective in treating some people with post-traumatic disorders. Combat veterans, for example, return to the battlefield and immerse themselves in war games that allow them to bridge reality with their emotional pain of a experience from the past.

Virtual reality also has a social significance. It allows people to be someone they are not. For example, there are 3D worlds where people can put on bodies and faces that in no way represent their true identity. They can meet people and appear to have a beauty about them when, in reality, they are a little overweight or have a mole on their chin.

I wonder sometimes if in the matter of spiritual things we also experience a type of virtual reality. We are shielded sometimes from knowing who we really are, our moral identity is inflated by attitudes of self-righteous behavior. Our actions and words shield us from the real world of pain, suffering, or just how depraved we really are. For example, we might not think anything is wrong by viewing pornography or meeting a sexual partner for our fantasy world.

Indeed, the picture of he sultry woman on the web page may not be all you think she is. Could she be a victim of child molestation? Was she forced into the world of prostitution to escape an abusive father? Is this the victim of drugs, the pornography being the only way to cope with the cost? Could she have been taken off the streets as a runaway and litterally have no place else to go but in front of a camera?


Is our viewing these pictures a type of "virtual reality" ?

I sometimes wonder, especially as we celebrate Christmas , if we think the whole "CHRISTMAS THING" is a virtual reality.

After all, this is really God we are talking about. Certainly God's own Son didn't leave paradise and enter the world born into a poor carpenter's family. Maybe electronically he "beamed" himself down under that north star, right?

So, was this "God" protected from the real-world experience?

While wealthy women today give birth in expensive hospitals with epidural anesthesia, 2000 years ago a Hebrew woman cries out in pain. This town of Bethlehem, foretold more than 500 years  before the selected date by the prophet Isaiah, could it be real? Is this really happening? Is God visiting man and his world?

Let's contine to ask the hard questions.

Why would God occupy the body of a frail Jewish infant and fall asleep in a cattle trough? Surely this child is insignificant, after all Herod would not send soldiers a few days later to slaughter hundreds of babies just to kill this one?

Jesus' appearance must be a myth or maybe the story is inflated a bit! Perhaps over the years many would embellish the story of this Christ child.

God really doesn't want to visit us, does he? Isn't God removed from the affairs of men? Why would we come into the world we inhabit?

Surely if God did come, he was shielded from the true experience of being human. Perhaps God put on some of the virtual electronic glove when he reached up and touched the hand of Mary!

In John 1, there's a different account from the virtual reality one.

Incarnate literally means embodied in flesh or taking on flesh. God took us "on," he wanted to know what it was like to experience lust, hunger, pain and suffering.

From the beginning he knew the ancient Hebrew law - not to commit adultery, not to steal, and not to even covet  - could not be fulfilled on our own. He also knew that there was a consequence for disobeying the law, a penalty to be paid. So why not just look the other way? Let man live his or her sinful life and just excuse it?

If you been wondering this year what sets Christianity apart from other religions or philosophical belief systems, consider this moment in Bethlehem  as the starting point in your inquiry.

OTHER VIEWPOINTS

Many of the world's religions respect this Jesus as a great teacher or a prophet, but not as equal to God. According to Islam, Jesus was born to a virgin. In fact, many Muslims count themselves more faithful to the teachings of Jesus than Christians! Indeed, I've met Muslim people more moral than I am! Indeed, if we are to be  saved by our religiosity than there would be many more Islamic friends that would enter paradise rather than me. I openly admit it, I have no power to save myself no matter how good I want to be.

So who is Jesus under Islamic teaching?

He is not God. God sent Jesus as a prophet maybe, but the great prophet would not accept this Jesus as God's son.  In Islam, it is possible that God allowed the prophet Jesus to go through a trial under Pilate. But, God would not allow people to spit on him or call him names. Many of my Muslim friends believe that God spared Jesus the prophet from death on a cross. He left his body, only a spiritless Jesus died on the cross.

Maybe you are of the Eastern religious viewpoint, to you Jesus is a great moral teacher. By his example we learn to love others and to love God. We may perceive him to have a more powerful "chakra" than other people. Indeed, there are six chakras and many believe this is the spiritual energy or the spiritual "portals" of a person. I do not say this in a mocking way, don't interpret what I am writing as silly. However, Jesus is not just had more energy than anyone else. This is not why he healed people. In any case, the chakra exists in Hindu and other Westernized forms and, for some, fits the modern definition of health science as we seek to manipulate energy fields through therapeutic touch to bring about healing.

VIRTUAL - NOT

This child , who was he? Chakra personified by healing or prophet defeated by crucifixion?

The bible says that Jesus represents all we need to know about God. Through Jesus, he knows all about our world.  Not a virtual reality world, but the real world. Read Luke 2:1-7 and discover for yourself the identity of Jesus. Ask the hard questions, did this really happen? Would a census have been taken? What is the historical context for his birth? Is the birth of Jesus a myth? Is it all imaginary, inflated by years of copying ancient text filled with errors? Are the main characters also imaginary - Caesar Augustus? Wise men? Why was it unorthodox for a Jewish man (Joseph) to attend a woman in labor? Why was there no room in the "hotels" of the day? What significance do these things have in understanding the identity of Jesus of Nazareth? Tell me what you think!

Best Father

There are lots of images of fathers in our minds from both our own experiences with our dads and also from television. Growing up in the 60s, one of my favorite dads was Ben Cartwright on Bonanza (played by Lorne Greene). The series ran from 1959-1973 and Ben had this neat ranch, affectionately named the Ponderosa, near Virgina City. He had 3 adult sons - Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe. Seems like only yesterday when our neighbors bought a color TV and we all were invited over the their house to watch the program in LIVING COLOR!

There was always a bad guy to wrestle with when you watched Bonanza. Hoss or Little Joe was most commonly involved, seems like in the later years Adam made only cameo appearances. In fact, Adam was hardly ever on the show after 1965. Anyway, can't tell you how much I loved cowboys when I was little. My grandmother bought us cowboy boots, cowboy shirts and cowboy hats whenever she could. Here's a pic (below) of my brother (left) and I (right) all dressed up in our outfits. When I was a little older, we got Hopalong Cassidy (another cowboy hero) watches and our TV interests expanded into "The Lone Ranger" and "Roy Rogers."

I wonder why I needed a cowboy hero? Why did I love to watch Ben Cartwright hand out advice to his sons and ultimately watch good would win out over bad? This image of the perfect father certainly doesn't exist today. The examples most of our kids watch on TV is Homer from the" Simpsons", the ultimate bumbling idiot. There is Al Bundy from "Married With Children" and the bad guy Tony Soprano.

My own dad wasn't a cowboy hero, but I still saw him as my hero. Just not the white-hat kind. I did love him and missed him when he was gone.

In 1959, he went to a remote missile base with the Air Force and was gone for a year. My mom was left with raising 2 boys by herself.  I was three years old and quit eating. My mother put me in the hospital for a condition we call "failure to thrive" today, it includes pronounced protein malnutrition and weight loss due to dehydration.

For some reason I have retained memories of that hospitalization, the needles plunged into my legs with IV fluids and a dark room with a hard, cold table when they took X-rays. They were just about ready to start tube feedings when my behavior changed. Mom had drove to the hospital after picking up the mail. She had just collected a letter from my father. Back at that time, air mail was completely different in appearance. Actually, there wasn't much junk mail in those days. If you got letters, it was a happy occasion. These were letters from people. In retrospect, I came to know the letters from my dad at this tender age. It had light blue had a flag-type logo around the edge.

Anyway, when she opened the letter to read it to me I guess my eyes lit up. She remembers them bringing in some jello and I ate it. No vomiting. The letters made a difference. After about 3 weeks in the hospital, they let me go home.

Growing up you would think my dad and I had a fantastic relationship. But, we didn't. My dad was around physically, but not always mentally.  In 1968-69 he went to Vietnam. When we got him back, he wasn't the same. Maybe I had changed too, I don't know. We grew apart and argued a great deal. He and mom didn't get along and ultimately they divorced after 22 years of marriage. When I went in the Air Force, he never came to visit. About 15 years ago he died in loneliness, after years of smoking and drinking.

Many of us live our lives longing for a father, the one we never knew. I have hurt feelings about my own dad, no doubt about it. But, I still try and remember those times when we were close. What amazes me though, is how could a letter from dad saved me from near certain death as a child. Why would that light blue airmail envelope have such a deep and lasting impact in my mind, even today?

Listen, maybe you are reading this thinking you had a great dad. Maybe you had a lousy dad. Maybe you were sexually, physically or emotionally abused by your father. If you were really blessed, maybe you have a Ben Cartwright father.

Why do we have this notion of God as a father? Your view of your father, without a doubt, influences your view of God. I didn't make that connection for many years, but it is true.


I guess the reason I am writing this is rather simple. You have a letter waiting. It doesn't matter how sick you are, even if you can't stand the idea of a loving God or even deny that he exists. A visitor has brought you a letter. If you are lying on a theological hospital bed wondering if there really is a father who loves you, at least open the envelope to find out if he is still there. These are love letters and the message is found in the bible. Hey, maybe you don't believe all the hype about "a bible" and think it is full of errors and misprinted information. It is OK, still check it out. You don't have to "buy" everything written there. Just start with God's letter to you. I recommend the book of John in the new testament. Also, check out Hebrews 12:9-10 if you had an abusive father. Let me know what you think.

Mad Men and Glad Men

Don Draper is a fictional character on AMC 's television series "Mad Men" as many American viewers know. This program is about the 1960's, and Don is an advertising executive on Madison Ave, hence we see a glimpse of sexism in the workplace about this time period. If you follow the TV show you know that "Don Draper" is an alias; his real name is Richard Whitman.

Why is Don hiding his past? For starters, his birth mother was prostitute who died giving birth to him and his biological father didn't want much to do this him as he was growing up. His father and stepmother regularly abused him and he was eager to join the Army during the Korean war. After combat fatigue set in, Richard (Don) had an opportunity to place his dog tags on a dead soldier (the real Don Draper) and return home with a new identity. Arriving back in the states, be began work as a used car salesman when he was tracked down by Anna Draper, the real Draper's widow. He subsequently felt an obligation to her and wanted this woman to keep his secret. As his income rose, he purchased her a home and took care of her throughout her life.


Don's business contacts took off and over the years concealing his identity mad business sense. You see, he was a high school drop out, son of a prostitute and a US Army deserter by taking the new name. As a highly paid business executive in the advertising firm Sterling Cooper, he married and lived the happy materialistic life of the 60s.

Keeping that secret about the past was only half of it though, Don Draper is also a womanizer. In fact, nearly every woman he meets gets an invite to a hotel. He has one golden rule though, that he doesn't "bed" his women colleagues, especially his mentee Peggy Olsen. Nevertheless, each episode of the TV is fascinating. On the one hand you really care about Don, he is obviously hurt and acting out with his promiscuity, and on the other had you see the deep pain he inflicts on his wife and children by living a lie.

 
Indeed, the fictional "Don Draper,"  lives an absolutely depressing life. Constantly trying to bury his guilt in alcohol, sex, money and influence, he very seldom opens up to anyone. One minute he is in bed with a strange woman and the next minute he walks into the living room and cuddles his children in front of the TV set sipping on a martini. He is a master at changing roles. His only gift is deceiving or telling people what they "want" rather than what they "need" as an advertising guru. No one really knows much about him, he doesn't talk up the past. He is ashamed of it and if any of his clients found out about his identity the firm could lose business.

This "covert" Don Draper is a lot like many people. Attractive on the outside, cunning, and even admirable in a business sense. But on the inside, conniving.   Maybe we don't open up to everyone and we try to live like someone else. It is really hard to reveal everything about our past when we have something we are ashamed of. We would like to "bury" that terrible thing and leave it behind on the Korean war front or at least wrap a dog tag around our neck of someone more successful, more educated or more charismatic than we are.  We  couldn't get a role on the TV show, but nevertheless we truly live the life of "Mad Men" in the way we hide part of ourselves from others.

There is one person though who might make us "come clean." He was there when we were hurt. He was a witness to all those times of pain in our lives. He didn't stand idly by, but knew something had to be done about all the evil we experienced and all the evil WE perpetuate (just like you were hurt from someone in your past, you deliver pain to someone in the present). It is an endless cycle. Maybe you are angry God never did anything right when it happened to you in the past, you don't think God can do anything now. God can't exist because he didn't do anything to stop the hurt you felt and anyone who believes in God, this God who didn't do anything when you were hurt, is like a child believing in Santa Claus. God is a fantasy, a big fat elf on a sleigh. 


What are we to do? Live our lives in despair? Hate God or deny that he exists? We think we are happy, just like Don, or do we go on living as "Mad Men" in our daily lives?

The bible says that we can become a new person if we acknowledge our creator and confess our wrongdoings. In fact, in so doing we can be healed from all the hurt in the past.

You see, Jesus of Nazareth, a son of a carpenter and the born into the least influential family in ancient Palestine was  God incarnate in the flesh. He had no formal education and wore homespun. He had no debate instruction, but argued with the most influential men of his time. He was God intervening in the history of man. He intervened in the past, and he can intervene in the present if you want him to do so.

Matt 4:23 says ... And Jesus went round the whole of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the glad tidings of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every bodily weakness among the people.

Before you close the book on Don Draper and slap the bible shut as a text full of fairy tales, try and take a few minutes to explore who this man "Jesus" really was and is. Leave all the baggage and preconceptions you have  about religion or church steeples, get to know the historical person of  Jesus Christ as recorded in the scriptures. Start with the gospel of John, it is easy to read. I would love to hear from you!