Gotham

The Inspiration

            Recently I watched the Batman series, and it was awesome. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that there are some serious parallels between Gotham and America and Christianity. So here we go.

Gotham

            Recently as I’ve look around at the state of Christianity in America, I’ve been saddened. Everywhere you look, Jesus and His authority (the Bible) is being assaulted and forsaken.

            On the one hand, you have the fake preachers spreading the gospel of prosperity. I don’t care to mention names, but these deceivers speak about how God will give you an easy life. He will give you money. He will give you health. You will never have any problems because your faith is your ticket to whatever you want.

            Oh really?

            On the other side, you have sincere, godly Christian leaders who compromise on the clear teachings found in the Bible. They tell us that scientists are the true theologians; only they are able to properly interpret God’s Word.

            Okay.

            On the third side, you have Christian leaders failing morally. Now, we all fail, I understand that. But some mistakes are graver than others. I just came from an association of churches that mishandled some situations, leading to controversies and churches breaking off from the group. Recently a leader of a sect of Christianity had an affair. Then a very popular para-church organization’s president had an affair. And our Catholic brothers and sisters have had to deal with some of the downfalls of their own leaders.

            Ouch.

            And to round out the group, you have the day-to-day people who claim they are Christians and annihilate Jesus’ credibility. I’m not even talking about the Sunday warriors (nominal Christians), but those who, by their detrimental behavior, make a mockery of the word “Christian”. 

            Ladies and gentlemen, Christianity is dying in America. Research shows that around a third of the next generation of church goers (church kids now) will leave the church. That is serious decline.

            This gives a heavier meaning to Jesus’ words in Luke 18:8b when He said, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” Ever since Europe fell in the late 1800s, America has been the bastion of Christianity. And now it is following its relative.

We Need Heroes

            Like Skillet in their song “Hero” (not big into Skillet, but I love that song), we need heroes to rise up. We need those who do not care about ridicule and mockery, humiliation and disgrace.

            Now, by heroes, I don’t necessarily mean billionaire playboys or mustache-wearing cops or head-strong rookies. I mean you and me.

            Will you and I be strong enough to stay committed in marriage? To obey authority? To love those less unfortunate than us? To fight for the unborn? To fight against the crowd? To be hated for our Savior? How much does Jesus mean to us?

We Need Leaders

            But while having everyday Christians actually living like Christians would be amazing, who will inspire them? Who will wake up this nation and bring God back to the forefront? Who will lead us?

            When Jesus ascended, He didn’t leave the Church leaderless. The Apostles dispersed around the known world, and Christianity was kick-started. Then God raised the church fathers after they died. Then, when institutionalized Christianity strayed, God brought about the Reformation.

            But now our destruction is coming from both inside and out. We have those in the church preaching the prosperity gospel and telling us secular scientists are the true theologians. On the outside, atheism, Islam, and New Age are knocking on the door, waiting to replace us.

            We are being destroyed from the inside and out. Joker and Harvey Dent. Who will fight them? Who will fight for us?

Sharpening Our Weapons

            But while we wait on God, we have things to do. The first thing we need to do is establish our faith by growing closer to God individually. After that, we need to pray for this nation. Jesus says in Matthew 18:20, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

            Oh really? That’s great. What would happen if the billion plus Christians around the world prayed for this nation? God will move in earth-shaking ways.

            After that, we need to take our faith to the streets. To our homes. To our workplaces. To the courtroom. We have to fight for our faith. We are the lights of the world.

            Let’s shine.