MAN: Good afternoon Professor Knowledge. Let me cut to the chase. I am interested in a name whereby salvation can be found. I came to you because you were highly recommended and I need your help desperately. I have been led to believe that salvation is predicated on the schools I have attended and the academic credentials that follow behind my name. Well, I have several degrees and so now I want to know if you have a name that will help me. Do you have a name I can call out to when I get to the chilly banks of Jordan? Please, check out your libraries; your dictionaries, encyclopedias, references, concordances and anything else you have available to you, to see if you can find me a name that will help me when I'm being tossed and driven on the restless sea of time. Look among your Who's Who and see if you have a name whereby my salvation can be found. In other words professor, do you have a name that will save me?
KNOWLEDGE: I'm sorry. I have names that will help you understand the universe. I have names will help you comprehend theories and behaviors. I even have names that will help you grasp all aspects of technology and science. But in all my books, I cannot find a name that you can call on for salvation.
MAN: Good afternoon Mr Power. You count a great deal among your sons, Hitler, Napoleon, Mussolini, Hussein, Arafat and all the demigods that we read about. Mr Power, with your nuclear bombs and your inter-continental ballistic missiles, and your lasers, surely you can help me. I need a name I can call on when I must lay down my sword and shield and study war no more. Do you have a name that will save me?
POWER: No, I'm sorry, but I cannot help you. I can help you fight wars with countries. I can even help you gain control over people's minds. I can promise you a position on top of the world for as long as you live. But when it comes down to pressing a dying pillow, I can't help you. I am strong and mighty but I can only go so far. I do not have a name for you.
MAN: Well, can you help me Doctor. I am familiar with your progress and I know that you specialize in fixing up these old bodies. I know that you take the Hippocratic Oath seriously and that you do all that is humanly possible to try and keep up alive. I am looking for a name that will help me when my clay house must return to the dust from which it came. I need a name that I can call on to reassure me when I must lay down on my bed to rise no more. Tell me Doctor, do you have a name that will give me eternal life.
DOCTOR: I'm sorry. I can give you all kinds of surgeries to make you look better and feel better. I can prescribe all sorts of mediations to take away all your aches and pains. I can prolong this life, but I do not have a name that can save you from eternal death.
MAN: Riches, do you have a name for me? I have heard about Bill Gates, Li Ka-shing, the Waltons and Albrecht. I know all about what money can do. But all I want to know is do you have a name for me? Is there any way money can go with me when I have to walk through the valley of the shadow of death? Is there any way for money to go with me when I've reached the end of my journey and the last chaper of my book of life is done? Can riches buy me salvation?
RICHES: I'm sorry. I can help you obtain all the material things you desire. I can even buy you friends and influence. But, I cannot help you with salvation because the last time I got news through the grapevine, it was free. So if you are looking for a name that will save you, I'm sorry, I cannot help you. I have looked among all my possessions but in all my wealth, I cannot come up with a name for you.
MAN: Mother Earth, can you help me?
MOTHER EARTH: I'm sorry. I can't help you. I do not have much time to talk because I'm on my way around the sun. I'm due every 24 hours. Salvation cannot be found in nature.
MAN: Apostle Peter, can you help me? You are my last hope. I need a name whereby salvation can be found. Because you see, every now and then I find my back against the wall; hemmed in and hedged in. Do you have a name that regards my helpless estate? Peter, do you have a name that will save me?
PETER: Yes. It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth? Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Acts 12:10b-12 (NIV).
Rev. Saundra L. Washington, D.D., is an ordained clergywoman, veteran social worker, and Founder of AMEN Ministries. http://www.clergyservices4u.org. She is also the author of two coffee table books: Room Beneath the Snow: Poems that Preach and Negative Disturbances: Homilies that Teach. Her new book, Out of Deep Waters: My Grief Management Workbook, will be available in July.
It is interesting that everyone is so hung-up on the... Read More
Christian books and supplies can be found at places that... Read More
DANTE: - Dante Alighieri is the tour guide of Hell.... Read More
Where is God? This is the question most often heard... Read More
If the Church is raptured off the face of the... Read More
Cut off your Hand!Arguably the most bizarre command of Christ... Read More
During the debate in the Episcopal Church over whether or... Read More
The Bible says that an unholy trinity will arise in... Read More
The Path Is Winding:Ever wonder why things that happen in... Read More
Amos was a shepherd who lived in the region of... Read More
The western church is seen by the world as anything... Read More
Pop singer Madonna came this week to Tel Aviv to... Read More
So often I am asked, "How do you know that... Read More
1 Corinthians 9:19-9:23From The Heart A Look at Christianity from... Read More
Should we be tempted to believe that our system of... Read More
Once upon a time, Americans traveled the highways searching for... Read More
2 Kings 9:30-9:36. How many her today believe in the... Read More
The ark must have been much larger than the dimensions... Read More
Prv:18:2 A Fool Receiveth Not The Words Of Prudence: Unless... Read More
We have been learning to think Biblically and speak Scripturally... Read More
2 Thessalonians 1:3-1:4Is Christianity Losing America? The apostasy of the... Read More
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.... Read More
Divine power is so great, Paul an apostle of Christ... Read More
Can you imagine Biblical "End-Times" prophecies happening in your lifetime?... Read More
As I am sure you all can tell by now,... Read More
As you will see in the Scripture verses listed below,... Read More
Are we doing what the word of God say to... Read More
Without question, the greatest story in the Bible of someone... Read More
Real nobility feeds on its own intrinsic value, as a... Read More
Some people look at the biblical book of Revelation as... Read More
Church retreats are an excellent way to involve the church... Read More
Today, sitting in my pink armchair, reading about how a... Read More
As an ancient African-American gospel song laments, life is filled... Read More
A friend of mine had asked my thoughts on how... Read More
Most of know how Jesus was crucified. Do we ever... Read More
Murders are so frequent in our country that a single... Read More
If the Church is raptured off the face of the... Read More
Every great human movement toward freedom, whether commercial, political or... Read More
True freedom of religion must include an individuals right to... Read More
Many Mexican and Latin Catholics are dismayed that the Cardinals... Read More
2 Thessalonians 1:3-1:4Is Christianity Losing America? The apostasy of the... Read More
Planetary Alignment is said to have magical powers. Some believe... Read More
Their high achievement comes as they spend half the money... Read More
Christians with chronic illness need to know there is a... Read More
Do you sometimes wonder how did Jesus make a Public... Read More
In classrooms throughout the country, Judeo-Christian beliefs are often cast... Read More
This article was inspired by a book by E. W.... Read More
Heaven is a bribe and hell is a punishment. Be... Read More
Now, let's recall again the text: "Let her be covered."... Read More
Religion is so many things. From what we can see... Read More
Who said religion has to last a lifetime?When I was... Read More
1 Corinthians 9:19-9:23From The Heart A Look at Christianity from... Read More
America is dividing again. Jewish Americans are finding it hard... Read More
One day on the listserve for my support group it... Read More
RESPONSE TO PAULINE CHRISTIANITY: - The whole of Christendom is... Read More
Jesus spoke as much about Heaven as He did about... Read More
As the clock ticks down to the fateful day of... Read More
The devil's agenda for tricking Adam and Eve into eating... Read More
Recently a question was posted on a Christian forum asking... Read More
The ark must have been much larger than the dimensions... Read More
More and more today people are showing an obsession about... Read More
I remember hearing a minister years ago as he quoted... Read More
Sainthood?that title given by the Catholic Church that seems to... Read More
L. Ron Hubbard, Jr. Blows the WhistleWhen L. Ron Hubbard... Read More
The prisoners of Sing Sing, one of the most repressive,... Read More
In the pursuit of his Christian ministry, the Apostle Paul... Read More
Religion |