The Practical Parson

  Many Christians in the United States will undoubtedly be aware of a new(er) TV series, which purports to dramatize the life of Christ and his followers.  What most people, even some clergy, do not realize; is the subtle, underlying heresy that this series teaches against the Christian Faith itself.   T he show seems to be focusing not on the nature of the people they are supposed to be portraying; but the laws of physical attraction, in the manner in which they both dress the actors, as well as the focus in cinematography on the eyes and faces of the characters.  This introduces the first heretical idea of the show- depicting Christ as purely human, and as such subject to the attractions and desires of human flesh.   That may be simply reading too much into the way in which they film the series, but when one repeatedly hears comments on the series about "how sexy Jesus is", one must ask if the intent was NOT to depict him thus.  The manner of co...

  Those of us who have been involved in the ministry for any great length of time can all agree that one of the most difficult aspects of what we do is to try to convince people to come to church.   It seems easy enough on the surface: just go invite them!  The unfortunate truth of the matter is that the vast majority of people we encounter seem to not be able to care any less about the Church or Christ in general.  Oh they claim to be spiritual, many even claim they have that so-called "personal relationship with Jesus" that televangelists are wanton to sell: But ask them to take 5 minutes out of their day to pay a visit to Jesus in the sacrament or even just to stop into his house for a brief prayer of gratitude, and it's too much for them to bear.   I have been a mission priest for over 10 years now, and trying to build up a small congregation is always increasingly difficult.  Yet in spite of seemingly insurmountable difficulty given the way o...