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The DeGRAFF FREE
State Route 235/
Phone: (937) 585-4463
James R. Roby, Pastor
(from
Freedom Ministries)
Today there are many who break the third Commandment: "Thou shalt not
take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.... "(Deuteronomy 5:11). One may
be excused for thinking that those who would do such a thing would be unsaved,
and know nothing of the saving and keeping power of the Lord Jesus Christ. This
however is not always the case. One has only to look at CARMAN'S video "Live.
. . Radically Saved" to see that he too not only makes fun of the Lord
Jesus Christ, but also belittles some of the greatest saints who ever lived,
and makes light of the great events which led to the redemption of the Children
of God.
In a sketch before the song "Are You the One?" Carman
portrays the Lord Jesus Christ and John the Baptist as two dim-witted cousins,
scratching their heads and pondering their respective "ministries."
Although the Scriptures tell us very little about the childhood days of either Jesus or John, Carman sets out on a make-believe
journey to show how they may have acted.
Jesus is portrayed as a proud young man with His "Messiah-type
walk" which Carman demonstrates to his delighted, cheering audience.
Carman then goes on to describe the beginning of John's ministry;
" ... They grow up and go their separate ways, and one day John comes
back on the scene dressed in camel hair, eating bugs. You know, little locusts,
grasshoppers, y'know, cockroaches ..." (Carman
does a little dance step here, snickering, 'La Cucarocha,
La Cucarocha...")
Carman continues this tasteless mockery of a man the Lord had great respect
for (Matthew 11:11) by portraying John as a power hungry fool who wanted to
build a big church and name it after himself --
According to Carman, when John's disciples were seeking confirmation that
Jesus is indeed the Christ, they said, " ...
You know. your CRAZY COUSIN, John the jailbird, you
know that eats bugs and stuff".
No matter how sincere Carman is in his lyrics and in what he says he wants
to do for the Lord, no excuse can be given for the above-mentioned sketch. Laughing
at ourselves and enjoying one another's fellowship is one thing, but to poke
fun at the very God of Glory and John the Baptist to get your laughs is nothing
short of BLASPHEMY!!
Carman ends the video by reducing the wonderful act of redemption of all the
saints of God to the level of a boxing match. With "Rocky" type music
playing in the background and God the Father as referee, Jesus and Satan battle
it out to see who will be the "Champion". Such a charade only serves
to belittle the sufferings of the Lord Jesus on the Cross to save His people
from their sins.
Carman takes this belittlement of Christ's wonderful plan of Salvation one
stage further in the video "Revival in the Land". In the song "Resurrection
Rap" Jesus is portrayed as a gang leader who is "crucified"
on a pole and then stabbed with a knife. His lifeless body is then thrown into
a garbage can which blazes with light as Jesus is resurrected three
days later!
It is sad that someone who writes the lyrics to such a
song as "No Way, We Are Not Ashamed"
would put his Lord and Saviour to an open shame by
portraying Him in such an irreverent manner, Though he has been challenged
about these matters, Carman has remained unrepentant of his actions and has
decided to continue on his perilous way (II Tim 3:1,2 & 9).
Webster's Dictionary defines BLASPHEMY
as:
1. the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God.
3. irreverence toward something considered
sacred.
If Carman's mocking and poking fun at the Lord Jesus Christ is not
"lack of reverence for God" --- NOTHING IS!
Christian, you must now decide whether the Lord Jesus Christ who died for
you on
The Lord Jesus Christ and His Name should not be taken in vain by anyone,
especially those in the
