“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” – Matt. 7:1-5 ESV
No God nor King, Only . . . Mushrooms???
During the mid-1900s, the Dead Sea Scrolls were found hidden in the Qumran Caves along the Dead Sea. The findings contained fragments of all Old Testament scriptures with the exception of the book of Esther, as well as other deuterocanonical works. One of the scholars, John Marco Allegro, worked years translating the manuscripts. After publishing The Dead Sea Scrolls (1956), and The People of the Dead Sea Scrolls (1958), he published a fascinating piece:
The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross: A Study of the Nature and Origins of Christianity Within the Fertility Cults of the Ancient Near East
The book argues that the New Testament is a coded record of a clandestine cult that used hallucinogenic mushrooms to produce mystical visions: “Jesus” was a cult code word for “Semen which saves,” “Peter” meant “mushroom.” ” One critic declared the book “possibly the single most ludicrous book on Jesus scholarship by a qualified academic.1
Needless to say, the scholar was laughed out of academia.
Clip It (the joke)
Modern laymen in America, deeply entrenched within the echoey trenches of the ironclad social media bulwark, have once again circulated rumors. A soundbite clip, if you will. We found our understanding of the eternal God and the Christian Faith from a single verse. Sometimes we use two! An example you ask? Behold the bountiful fruition of the “belief” that the World believes that Christians believe.
“Judge not, that you be not judged.” – Matt. 7:1 ESV
Clearly, we are not to judge! T. Russell Hunter, you sinner! Let us add our historical hero Fowell Buxton to the list. Did he not condemn others when he declared, “That the State of Slavery is repugnant to the principles of the British constitution, and of the Christian religion.”2 What other hero of the faith should we put on trial? Oh, the irony, as this simple accusation would make our Lord Jesus out to be a sinner! Did not the Son of Man pronounce judgement on the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, the Pharisees, and the very people He preached to, children of the Devil?3 For the wicked heart of man that twists the Scriptures is shown to our Lord when we distort His commands; “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”4
I’m not a Biologist, (nor a Philosopher), but . . .
Let me propose a hypothetical scenario, a logic puzzle if you will. Two countries each have two different masses of hydrocarbons, each to be used in a combustion reaction to produce water and carbon dioxide. In the first country, a large tangle of briars and thorns brought from another land is overtaking farms. The country methodically sprays the hydrocarbons with chemicals, and burns the remains in the fire. Now, the second country has an organic mass named “Jews”, also from a distant land, and taking over the Earth as well. The country methodically sprays the hydrocarbons with chemicals, and burns the remains in the fire.
Now now, don’t judge. Let both countries live their truth. We mustn’t judge Nazis.
Exhortation, Encouragement, and the Explanation (or, “How to Dissect the Frog”)
Reader, Jesus’ words in Matthew 7 are speaking on hypocritical judgment, not determining righteousness from unrighteousness. After the log is removed from one’s eye, then they are instructed to take the speck out from the brother’s eye! To reiterate, identifying the speck is not the sin, but the attempt of removal while afflicted by the log is. For a practical, modern day example: when the next “prolife” politician vetoes a bill abolishing abortion, the standard that they pronounce judgment against the pro choice group is the very same standard by which they will be judged by. Or, if one condemns people for believing Jesus was a mushroom, one shouldn’t believe He was mescaline. Christian, judge with righteous judgment, with no hypocrisy nor partiality, weighing all against the Word of God. Bring matters to brothers and sisters, seek council with church elders, pray faithfully, and learn from Christian history and church fathers.
Christians, we believe in tota scriptura. Not the piecemeal pantheon of gods we make in our own image utilizing His very own word. We are to be wise in our witness to the world.
“You then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” – Rom. 3:21-24 ESV
Now for some encouragement: God laughs. More specifically, God laughs at people.5 When the World gathers together to rebel against our God, He laughs at them! Is our God not in the heavens, doing all that He pleases, to the glory of His name?6 So next time a coworker declares the absurd jokes of the World, whether the mythical mushroom “messiah”, or the “all accepting nature” of our Lord Jesus, it’s ok to laugh at the joke.
Psalm 2 ESV
Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,“Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”
He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
“As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”
I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
- Jenkins, Philip (2002). “Hidden Gospels”. Oxford University Press, p. 180, ISBN 0195156315. ↩︎
- ABOLITION OF SLAVERY.*
HC Deb 15 May 1823 vol 9 cc257-360 https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1823/may/15/abolition-of-slavery ↩︎ - Luke 10:13-15; Matt. 23; John 8:42-44 ESV ↩︎
- John 7:24 ESV ↩︎
- Psalm 2:4 ESV ↩︎
- Psalm 115:1-3 ESV ↩︎
