That's Not a Hickie

What's up with the vampire craze these days? It seems like everywhere I turn there is a poster or commercial or magazine article about the latest book, movie or tv series about these demons. Dark Shadows was a bit before my time, but I remember watching the occasional rerun of an old movie, reading the book during my high school years, and later, renting the Winona Ryder version. Which I wish I hadn't seen. Obviously sex is the major draw to the story of Dracula, but this attempt to portray him as an historical figure with a tragic past that moves him to defeat death in order to find his lost love again, is ludicrous. As if that excuses the atrocities he commits. As if his actions are in any way romantic or a portrayal of true love. As if allowing someone to feed off you like a leech can in any way be interpreted as noble. This attempt to remove the evil qualities from later vampire 'heros' is extremely disturbing. There are countless books and movies where the blood-sucking protagonist feeds only on animals, not humans - in fact, he protects them from other truly evil vampires. Not to digress too much, but this is another strong trend in recent years, to blatantly strip villians of their villany, and hold them up as pitiable, victims of a cruel world, and really not all that bad. Remember that movie about Hitler the artist? The play Wicked? How about Hellboy? Or the tv show that features a serial killer who helps the police? When we blur the lines between good and evil, we put ourselves at great risk. Remember, in Dracula (the book), the window has to be open in order for him to enter your room. Demons have no power over us beyond what we allow them to have. So...don't open the window. Understand that there is a critical difference between having compassion for your fellow man, and condemning truly evil acts. Don't allow someone to convince you that a story that clearly defines good vs. evil is really just all shades of grey. Remember the quote from The Usual Suspects: "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." Judging by today's entertainment industry and the fans who support it, he's been pretty successful.

Take Me to the River

Ok, so the baptism thing is one area that raises lots of eyebrows, and isn't understood very clearly. I had a Catholic baptism as an infant. When I started attending Bible classes at my current Christian church, they had a very different idea of what baptism means. Firstly, it is a very simple process. Acts chapter 2 explains how some people repented after Jesus was crucified, and believed that He was Christ, and asked the apostles what to do. Peter said (Acts 2:38-39) repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. That's it! Of course the point is that it must come from your heart and be genuine. Just going through the motions won't do you any good, neither will you be saved if you act solely out of fear. Like when a child is asked by their parent if they are sorry for doing something wrong, the child might say yes only hoping to avoid punishment. But that would be a lie - you have to truly repent in your heart. The next point about baptism is the actual process that takes place. Everyone agrees water is involved - but the arguement arises about the quantity. Colossians 2:12 uses the phrase 'buried with him in baptism'. How is something buried? It is completely covered with dirt, stones, etc. Or in this case, water. If you have a little bit of water dribbled on your head as a baby, have you been buried in baptism? Still not convinced? Matthew chapter 3 mentions how John the Baptist baptized people in the Jordan (river), and how after Jesus asked John to baptize Him, as an example to us, He 'went up straightway out of the water'. One other point is important as well - in infancy, are you able to make the choice to accept and follow Jesus Christ? So then really, how can that type of baptism carry any weight? My church believes that whenever a person is ready, they should be baptized. Not just on the first Sunday of the month. No need for it to be in front of an audience, or a big to-do. Just the three important pieces - accepting Jesus as Messiah, repenting of your sins, and getting dunked. ;-)