Christian

Eternal Life

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By: A.B. Timothy

What is life? Is life just the universe experiencing itself? Is it star-dust bumping into stardust? Or is it something more? For all of Time, humans have known of something more. Humans have collectively decided every single time they come together and form communities that there is some kind of force or power beyond themselves. You will never hear of an atheistic tribe discovered in the deep rainforests of the Amazon.n

This ubiquity of the divine gives credence to its existence. It’s a good thing, then, that this Divine saw fit to give us an instruction manual on how to receive eternal life and be with it forever.

Jesus Christ, who is God, tells us in John 3:15&16 that, “that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave us his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Eternal life, that being life beyond this deteriorating mortal coil, is a free gift offered to everyone from God out of Heaven. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Basically, everything we do that is not good is a sin, and the payment we deserve for those sins is death, that is, separation from the Divine. This is from the greatest to the smallest of wrong things. From murder to telling a little white lie, all are sins and all separate us from God. That’s when the second half of the passage states that the gift of God is Eternal Life. This life is not something we can earn, as all of our works are paid by death.

The Philippian Jailer asks Paul and Silas how he can be saved in Acts 16:30

All you must do to receive this free gift is to accept it. A Jailer in the city of Philippi once threw himself before two of his prisoners and asked them, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They didn’t say, “Well, you can start by letting us out of here,” or, “Well, you need to get baptized, bro.” No. They said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” Acceptance of God’s gift and belief in the sacrifice of His Son is all that is required to be saved.

Back in John 3:15&16, God didn’t just give His Son to the world so His Son could live a perfect life and show us how it’s done. Rather, He gave us His Son to be sacrificed on a Roman Cross and be raised from the dead three days later. Christ defeated death, so we no longer have to receive that payment for our works, and we can choose to receive his free gift instead.

If you are interested in knowing how you can personally receive Christ as your Savior, send me an email at AlfredoTBenedito@gmail.com. I would love to chat with you and show you how you can know for sure that you are going to heaven one day when you die.

“Die? I thought you said it was Eternal Life?” I hear you say. It is! The Bible says, “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” Thus, when death (remember: death just means separation) comes for us, all it can do is separate our souls from our bodies and send us to God, if we have accepted His gift. We will close our eyes on Earth one last time and open them in Heaven, where we will live forever with our Savior.

Christian Fantasy in History

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By: A.B. Timothy

Have you ever thought about what real Christian Fantasy would look like? Did you immediately imagine King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table? Well, what about everything else?

The Smiting of the Assyrians

The first place we can look for Christian Fantasy is no further than the Bible and all the epic battles of the Old Testament.

One comes to mind that was very fantastical. In 2 Kings 19, the Assyrian army was gathered to war with Jerusalem, and all hope seemed lost, until the angel of the Lord swept down with one mighty strike and slew 185,000 Assyrians.

The Heroism of Christ

Moving forward in history, we can look to the heroism of Christ. All stories throughout time converge on Christ. Time itself is split in two by his coming. B.C. “Before Christ” and A.D. “Anno Domini” (which is, being interpreted, “Year of our Lord”).

His heroism in laying His life down for the sins of the World, paying a debt He did not owe, for unworthy people, laid the foundation for every heroic sacrifice since and was the fulfilment of every heroic sacrifice before.

Constantine the Great

Moving forward in time again, another example of Real Christian Fantasy is Emperor Constantine. This man was the first Christian Emperor of Rome and oversaw the Council of Nicea, but how he got there from paganism is something straight out of a Fantasy Novel.

Before the Battle of Milvian Bridge, in 312 A.D., it is said that Emperor Constantine the Great received a vision from heaven of a cross and the words “In Hoc Signo Vinces,” which means, “In this sign you shall conquer.” He did just that, going on to win the battle and become known as a Great Roman Emperor.

The Salvation of Vienna

Forward again we march through time, this time landing on a legendary battlefield, one that likely inspired the charge of the Rohirrim at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields in “The Return of the King.”

In 1683, the Christian city of Vienna was under siege from the Ottoman Empire, and all hope had been lost. In spite of their hopeless state, the men of Vienna fought on for nearly two months. Until, at last, on September 12, Vienna was freed by a decisive charge by the Polish-Lithuanian Winged Hussars. Who rode with power in their lances and Christ in their hearts.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Christian Fantasy has a unique bend to it, in that it is a subgenre of fantasy with a supreme wealth of historical backing and amazing references to draw from. Time fails me to mention the heroic pursuits of the Crusades, the exploits of the Spanish Conquistadors, or the Christian miracle of even modern wars like the First and Second World Wars. Perhaps this blog will need a sequel at some point.

What is your favorite moment from Christian History that could read like it’s from an Epic Fantasy series but is real!

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Love in Literature: Agape

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According to Wikipedia, there are 6 words for love in the Greek language. Each of them deserves to be looked at as we, that being western authors, often find our perceptions of love colored by the different categories outlined by these six words.

Part 1: Agape

Agape is the ultimate love of the West; it is selfless and cares not for itself but for others. The word is described by St. Thomas Aquinas as “to will the good of another.” God is the epitome of this love. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, down to live a perfect life and die a perfect death for us. But death did not win that day. Nor will death ever win again unless a person allows it to win.

John 3:16 says: “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” The word “loved” here is translated from the Greek word “ēgapēsen,” which finds its roots in Agape.

This love is not just a religious concept; however, this is the same love that Boromir had for the Hobbits in Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings he did not want anything from them, he knew they were, in all reality a burden on the fellowship, but still he fought to the death in an effort to save “the little ones” from the orcs. His bravery, sacrifice, and devotion are part of what inspired the fellowship to turn away from the road to Mordor and pursue the captured hobbits.

In case you haven’t seen it in a while, here is that heroic sacrifice on YouTube.

What character in your world exemplifies Agape? I want to hear about them. There is no greater love than this: that a man might lay his life down for his friends. The masculine pronouns aside, has a character sacrificed themselves? Has someone stood their ground and allowed others to escape or died trying to prevent a capture?