When Christians Build Idols: Holy Land Experience In Need Of ‘Jesus Actors’

By LaVrai, 1 July, 2009, 2 Comments

holylandjesus Thanks to a tweet from PhilCooke, I came across this awful classified ad apparently from the folks who manage the Holy Land Experience in Orlando, Fla. As we read in the ad, found on Craigslist.org, the folks at the Holy Land are “DESPERATELY seeking 3 actors to play Jesus NOW.” The ad then goes on to list the requirement for physically portraying our LORD and SAVIOR: “It would be good to have the general look of Jesus – beard – grow one or wear one, long hair or get extensions, taller – to create the look once hired.”

This Holy Land Experience ad brings up an issue that has always bothered me — how does anyone know what Jesus the Christ looks like? Has someone gone to Heaven and taken HIS photo or done a sketch? I’m really curious. Is there a description of HIS so-called beard, long hair and height in the Holy Bible that I cannot see? Who came up with this idea that Jesus Christ was some tall, strapping fellow with fair skin, beautiful long hair and a beard? The book of Isaiah actually makes the LORD sound like a pretty plain-looking man (source).

I assume the Jewish men of those times may have worn beards (as some sects of Judaism call for today) — but other than that, how can anyone dare apply such physical traits to Messiah Jesus as this Holy Land ad does when HIS biographers gave no physical description (as found in the Gospels)?

Here we have a popular icon that has become an idol in the mainstream. People actually fight and destroy relationships over what Jesus “looks” like — the stereotypical blond-hair, blue-eyed white male. I have a pretty good idea where this imagery comes from… why are folks still clinging to it?

Would the Holy Land Experience hire a black, Asian or a Middle Eastern man to portray Jesus Christ to the masses? I don’t necessarily agree with the Holy Land (and I have never visited), but was no one conflicted when they sat down and decided what Jesus the Christ should look like?

Here’s a previous related article on what Jesus actually looks like – ‘Do You Look Like Jesus?’

Photos: Jewish Parents Let Kids Smoke Cigarettes On Purim

By LaVrai, 27 June, 2009, No Comment

I was surprised to just learn that this is a common way to celebrate Purim in this Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Israel.

These little boys sure look like they’re having a good time… I wonder if they sneak a smoke when it’s not Purim. Notice the little one on the left with several cigarettes in his hand.

: An ultra-Orthodox Jewish youth lights a friend’s cigarette during celebrations for the Jewish holiday of Purim in Jerusalem’s Mea Shearim neighbourhood March 11, 2009. (Reuters)

: (Reuters)

Purim is a celebration of the Jews’ salvation from genocide in ancient Persia, as recounted in the Book of Esther.

Photos: Day Life

Photos: People Gather To Lift Their Hands And Praise…Michael Jackson

By LaVrai, 26 June, 2009, 7 Comments

When I saw this first photo here, I was like, hmm, folks having church at the Apollo in NYC? Then I noticed the young lady holding on to the Michael Jackson album. (Click on images to see them larger)

: People gather to remember Michael Jackson at the Apollo Theater on June 26, 2009 in New York City. (Getty Images)

: A woman holds up a radio as a crowd sings Michael Jackson songs after hearing of the death of the pop star June 25, 2009, in front of the Apollo Theater in the Harlem section of New York City. (Getty Images)

: After hearing of the death of pop star Michael Jackson, people gather and sing June 25, 2009, in front of the Apollo Theater in the Harlem section of New York City. (Getty Images)

Photo source: Day Life

Homosexuality Was Not Sodom’s Only Sin, But It Was Most Definitely The Tipping Point

By LaVrai, 20 June, 2009, 5 Comments

I came across (another) post today declaring that homosexuality was not why Sodom was destroyed (although the blogger concedes that it was most definitely one of the many sins that contributed to their destruction). Let me say off the bat — any and all sin will lead to destruction, that’s the way of the LORD. HE IS Holy and those that seek HIM must also live holy. But let’s keep it real, Sodom was ultimately destroyed because of their sexual sin and perversion — that was the tipping point.

In Ezekiel 16 we read:

49Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.

We’ve just read that the people of Sodom practiced numerous sins, including “abomination” and what is this abomination? Based on supporting passages, we know that this “abomination” was sexual sin. Out of all the sexual sins GOD gives to Moses in Leviticus, homosexuality is the only one the LORD calls an abomination. And it is the only explicit example given of Sodom’s wickedness in the Holy Bible. What else are we to believe if the very last thing that happens before Sodom’s destruction is the men of the whole city attempting to get their hands on Lot’s angelic visitors (who are male)?

GOD didn’t have Moses record examples of their pride, gluttony, prosperous ease, lack of love for the poor and needy nor their haughtiness. For some reason, GOD thought it best to have Moses record what happened in that city just before they were destroyed — which was wishing to fulfill their sexual desires by violence on members of HIS angelic hosts.

Video: Women Of ‘The View’ Correctly Identify So-Called ‘Pregnant Man’ As A Woman

By LaVrai, 11 June, 2009, No Comment

I am not a fan of “The View,” but I was pleasantly surprised to turn on my TV yesterday and learn that not everyone in the media has drunk the cool-aid. Thomas Beattie came out a couple years ago, claiming to be a man, and was pregnant — Beattie is actually a gay woman who has had a double-mastectomy and is taking hormones. She became pregnant not long ago (and recently again) and the media has dubbed her the “pregnant man” — although men are incapable of conceiving and giving birth — GOD just didn’t make them that way. Everyone I suppose was so concerned about being politically correct, they failed to make note that Beattie has a uterus and therefore a vagina — the basic requirement for child birth.

Here is Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd explaining biology 101, refusing to at least exchange this very basic truth for a lie.

Video Courtesy: NewsBusters. You can watch a longer excerpt of the discussion at “The View” Web site.