Jesus in Houston????

So...I am watching TV last night...as usual...and I see a Primetime special on a man who claims to be the second coming of Christ. That is right...he claims to be the second incarnation of Christ.

There are many problems with this. First of all, he states that the same spirit that was in Jesus is now in him. I smell heresy all over the place. He smokes and drinks. He drives a BMW and wears a diamond encrusted wristwatch. He has been divorced and filed for divorce from his second wife. He claims that there is no sin, there is no devil, and there is no hell. He calls the children the "supreme race" and they salute him...much like with Hitler.

He says that it is okay to drink but never to get drunk...for him anyway...I mean come on...he is Christ (obviously I am not serious here). However, he said that he became the second incarnation while he was in jail for theft in 1973. (Oh yeah...he used to be addicted to heroine). I believe the show found that he was arrested and convicted of a DWI or DUI somewhere between 1997 to 2000. Looks like he lied about not getting drunk.

So...according to this so-called Christ...Christ is a lying, stealing, person who serves no real function because there is no such thing as sin, the devil, or hell. So...why do we even need him?

Unfortunately, people do follow him. They give him money and gifts. One young couple, who were millionaires, gave him millions and now live in a small apartment because of it. It feels and sounds much like a cult. It is frightening. Oh yeah...devote followers get a tattoo. The tattoo is "666". Are you kidding me!!!!! It is basically a slap in the face to Christianity and because this guy also calls himself the anti-christ. If you want all the facts about this guy...just google "de jesus" and you are sure to find something.

Here is the problem I have...well one of many in this case. Why are people following him? I will tell you why. They follow him because they are hungry for truth! Although this guy is not speaking truth...he sells it that way. He is charismatic and wins people over. Sure...there are some who are just...well...crazy, but I am sure some follow him because it artificially fills the void in their hearts where Jesus belongs. Some day they will realize that this man is not the real deal. Hopefully they will find the real Christ and realize what it really feels like to have the void filled...I mean really, truly filled.

Maybe...just maybe...he succeeded where the Church failed. Maybe the Church fell short with a lot of these people. Maybe we didn't care enough about them to help them see the light. Maybe he shows them something that the Church has not done.

There are a lot of dynamics involved here...but the point is...they need Jesus. We know they need Jesus...and Jesus knows that they need Jesus. They even know they need Jesus. They are just confused on who Jesus is. I think it is times like this that the Church needs to step back and consider whether we are doing enough in teaching who Jesus is and what Jesus is all about...because this guys is contrary to who Jesus is...and they follow him. They have no ides.l