[www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTc_FoELt8s]
Imitations are rarely funny.
Sam’s Choice Cola vs. Coca Cola – not funny.
Great Value chocolate cookies vs. Oreos – not funny
Dollar store soldiers vs. GI Joes – not funny
Splenda sweet tea vs. sugar sweet tea – seriously not funny
Yesterday the TV was left on while Bethany and I were jostling around the house doing some chores. When I returned to the living room Dogma was on. It was the scene where they have decided to replace the crucifix with a friendlier icon. They then reveal buddy Jesus.
Buddy Jesus vs. crucified and risen Jesus – intolerably not funny.
Does this sound similar to flannel graph Jesus?
The gospel is not a thing, it is a He. So if we manipulate the gospel in order to make it more palatable we tell Jesus, “Sorry ‘buddy’, you needed a makeover. That image went out two millennia ago. The blood, the cross, the shame – not ‘cool’.”
To change the gospel you must change a GOD who says he is immutable (doesn’t change). How crazy is it when the creature tells the creator what image is now “in’ for deity, and that if He could match that image He really would sell better to the masses?
Some imitations are simply not funny.
Others are intolerable.
This one is intolerable. Any perversion of the gospel is not a matter of taste or opinion. It is a matter of the glory of God. Settle for no substitutes.
No Other Boast 
Oh flannel graph Jesus. What have we done to you??
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this is from my amazing friend who thinks much like david crowder.Hey man,Well I read your blog about “imitation’s” the other day and I’ve been reading Blue Like Jazz also, 2 more chapters’ whoo hoo!!Had a couple of random thoughts since then…..First I can’t help but feel that the “faith” that has been passed down to me is nothing but a cheap imitation of the real thing. I’m not upset with my parent’s by no means, I’m very thankful for their influence in my life and the way they have lived their faith out in front of me. I’m just saying that somehow through the years Christianity as a whole has become a shell of what it once was. It’s confusing and frustrating to read the scriptures and see how alive the church was then, and to look around today and see how “inward” everything to do with church is…….Got me to thinking about why we settle for less than we are entitled to having…..Actually I started to think about BBQ. I’ve always loved some bbq. Every year I used to go to the Trail Ride at the VFD, not to ride horses, but to eat the BBQ. It was the greatest of days back then. Then I grew up and got in the world for my own, I still loved bbq and ate it whenever I could. Sometimes I would buy that crap from wal-mart, the stuff that says BBQ on the cover but tastes like chewy red stuff…gross. Anyways, then I found Bob’s BBQ with you, now that was a glorious day. No other BBQ would do after that day. But then I moved away from Bob’s and started settling for crap bbq again. Not because I couldn’t get the good stuff anymore, I could … its only 20 minutes away, I’m just too lazy to put out the effort. Seems now I’ve forgotten what perfect BBQ taste’s like, I’ll just settle for some more white BBQ or store bought slop.Somehow that explains what I’m trying to say about settling for less than we are entitled to.How about this for a book title. “Hy-Top Christians” about settling for the imitation, just because the original cost’s us more.Alright, I’m out brotherLove yaJacob
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