Charles Colson
The Invasion of God
Christmas controversies have become as seasonal as candy canes and eggnog. Last year's flap over Wal-Mart forbidding its employees to wish customers "Merry Christmas" reveals how absurd the battles have become.
Christian legal societies stay busy each holiday season, holding the line. But in focusing on the public battles, we may miss a less visible danger in our own ranks.
What image does the mention of Christmas typically conjure up? For most of us, it's a babe lying in a manger while Mary and Joseph, angels and assorted beasts, look on. It's a heartwarming picture—Jesus in swaddling clothes. But Christmas is about much more than a child's birth—even the Savior's birth. It is about the Incarnation: God himself, Creator of heaven and earth, the ultimate reality, becoming flesh.
This is a staggering thought. The Jews believed the Messiah would arrive as a king on a stallion with a flashing sword. But God, who delights in confounding worldly wisdom, dealt with Satan's cruel reign with a quiet invasion of planet Earth. Instead of sending a mighty army, he chose an unknown, teenage virgin.
Thirty years after his humble birth, Jesus increased the Jews' befuddlement when he told his followers, "The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news" (Mark 1:15).
Then he read from the book of Isaiah: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor … to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden. …" Then Jesus closed the book and announced: "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:21).
In effect, the carpenter's son had just announced that he was the king—an ...
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Charles Colson
Charles Colson
Charles Colson was the founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries, an outreach to convicts, victims of crime, and justice officers. Colson, who converted to Christianity before he was indicted on Watergate-related charges, became one of evangelicalism's most influential voices. His books included Born Again and How Now Shall We Live? A Christianity Today columnist since 1985, Colson died in 2012.
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Qaton Chozeh
Colson hasn't the slightest idea of what he is talking about. He must just recite words he has heard. He promotes false and evil worship. The Christmass, and all its heathen, unbiblical distractions, is evil. All these so-called christians are corrupted, doing what's right in their own eyes (Dut 12.8), not observing what they were commanded (Mat 28.20), observing what they were commanded not to (Dut 12.2-4), creating their own rituals (Mrk 7.1-9), turning to the left and right (Dut 5.32), learning the heathen ways, bringing curses upon themselves (Dut 7.26), going whoring with their own inventions (Ps 106.39), and walking in the imagination of their own heart (Jer 23.17) thinking all is good. They are as Nadab and Abihu offering strange fire, as Uzzah, and as Saul offering to God what God didn't want and commanded against. Oh but they all had good, sweet intentions - which they were condemned for. Like the false prophets. Repent! Blind guides and their followers.
Rev. Austin Miles
I would like for Mr. Colson to explain to me why, when I broke the story about Islam being taught 7th graders in the public school system, that his 'news service, Breakpoint,' personally attacked me in four stories in CT Direct, saying I had lied about this (it proved to be totally factual) and tried to discourage the mainstream media from picking it up...in other words, trying to silence that America's school children were being indoctrinated into Islamic thought and beliefs. At the same time, Colson was attacking me, he was trying to raise a million dollars to supposedly stop Islamic recruitment in the prisons. Ironically, the name used as the writer for these attacks released by Breakpoint and eagerly published by CT Direct, was, Alberto Rivera....which is the name of a character in the Chic Publications anti-catholic cartoon tracts. Please explain this Mr. Colson.
Ron Boto
Once again Charles hits the nail on the head.