In the Beginning was the Tao...

If you are shocked by the title of this post, you are probably experiencing the same shock I felt when I read John 1:1 in Chinese one morning during my quiet time.

In the Chinese translation of John 1, the Greek word logos (λόγος), which is translated the "Word" in English, is translated "道" (dào in pinyin, or the anglicised "Tao") in Chinese.

Thus, John 1:1 reads:

太初有道，道与神同在，道就是神 。

In the beginning was the Tao, and the Tao was with God, and the Tao was God.

The word "道" has multiple meanings in Chinese. It could refer to a way (such as a road or path or a method of doing things), or a doctrine or principle. Many would be familiar with the use of the term Tao in Taoism. 

Logos (λόγος), in Greek philosophy and theology, refers to the divine reason implicit in the cosmos, ordering it and giving it form and meaning. This is the term that John used to refer to Jesus Christ, as the logos.

The depth and complexity of the term Tao truly illuminates who Jesus Christ is. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." (“我就是道路、真理、生命。”) (John 14:6a)

Jesus is the 'Logos' or the 'Tao' of God. He is not just the overarching principle of the cosmos, but the way to live and the way to eternal life.

Why the "Jesus" of "Fight of Gods" is not the Jesus of the Bible

I was more than slightly amused when I saw the trailer of a video game titled "Fight of Gods" on YouTube, my attention having been drawn to it by a recent report on Channel NewsAsia ("Malaysia blocks 'Fight of Gods' video game for threatening religious, racial harmony" (9 September 2017)).

 

Published by PQube Games, the game is described as follows on the Steam store:

Your prayers have been answered! For the first time ever, gods, holy spirits and mythological characters from around the globe and throughout history will clash in an explosive 2D fighter where the entire world is at stake!

The characters in the video game include Moses, Zeus, Odin, Jesus and Buddha, engaging in one-on-one fights much like the Street Fighter series of games.

 

As can be seen from the trailer of the game, the "Jesus" character makes his entry by breaking free and coming down from the cross, and using the chunks of wood still nailed/strapped to his hands as weapons or shields in the fight. The trailer tells us that he is the "Son of God", and that "He's back, and he's cross." (pun certainly intended)

 

"Jesus" breaks free of the cross

(From the trailer of "Fight of Gods")

 

Communication and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak reportedly said that the game degraded religions and religious leaders and posed a huge threat to racial unity and harmony. Steam was initially blocked from access after being given a 24-hour ultimatum to disable downloads of the game by users in Malaysia. But after Steam disabled downloads this morning (9 September 2017), the block on the website was lifted.

 

All that aside, it is quite evident that the "Jesus" of "Fight of Gods" is not the Jesus of the Bible.

 

Firstly, Jesus did not (and would not) come down from the cross. The Gospel of Matthew records how Jesus was taunted at His crucifixion:

Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!"  

In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'"  

(Matthew 27:39-43) 

Despite the fact that Jesus could have easily called for "more than twelve legions of angels" to his aid (Matthew 26:53) and despite the taunts and the challenges to His identity, Jesus submitted to the Father's will to die a cruel death on the cross, so as to save the world.

 

Sam Allberry puts it well in his book, Lifted: Experiencing the Resurrection Life:

And yet there is a double irony at work here. For it transpires that he won't save himself because he is the Saviour. His crucifixion was to be the means by which he did save others. Had he chosen to save himself, he would have been no Saviour to anybody else.

 

Secondly, Jesus does not advance His kingdom through violence, but through the preaching of the Word. From the very beginning of His ministry, Jesus' message was "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." (Matthew 4:17) Before Pilate, He said, "My kingdom if not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews..." (John 18:36) Thus, when Peter sought to prevent Jesus' arrest by the Jews, Jesus rebuked him that "all who draw the sword will die by the sword." (Matthew 26:42)

 

Thirdly, when Jesus comes back, He will not be coming on a cross, but on a cloud (Acts 1:11). Paul writes about the second coming in 1 Thessalonians 4:16:

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

And the Book of Revelation shows us instead a picture of Jesus riding on a white horse, with justice to judge and make war (Revelation 19:11).

 

A final point to make is about the premise of the "Fight of Gods" game itself. The game is premised on the false idea that all these are gods who occupy the same universe and are in a battle against one another, and that Jesus is simply one of these gods. On this, the Bible is unequivocal that "there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men..." (1 Timothy 2:5)

 

Though there is a spiritual battle "against the forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12), Jesus had already disarmed, made a public spectacle and triumphed over the principalities and powers by the cross (Colossians 2:15). And when Jesus encountered demons and evil spirits, even a legion of demons found themselves begging Jesus for mercy (Mark 5:1-20).

 

Thus, the "Jesus" of "Fight of Gods" is not Jesus Christ at all. Such a "Jesus" who forsakes the cross and lives by the sword can save no one (perhaps not even himself), but will instead perish by the sword.

 

The real Jesus Christ was crucified, died and was buried, and rose again to life to reconcile all things to Himself, triumphing over the dominion of darkness, saving us from sin and the grave, and the world is much better for it.

"It's none of your business"

"When you and I as children of God are living in the light of honest confession - we're not trying to keep things under wraps, we're not trying to live a double life, we just want to honour Him in the best way that we can - your failures are not met with God's anger, they are met with God's advocacy."  

- Nik Godshall

 

The above quote was from a message by Nik Godshall titled "Why All the Rules", which he preached at Times Square Church on 6 August 2017.

 

To illustrate the point, he recounted the following story:

Just not too long ago, my son was playing with a bunch of other toddlers. And when toddlers engage in fellowship, dangerous things can happen, especially when my boy is there. Because my boy is a stereotypical boy. He is aggressive, as anything. I don't know what to do with him sometimes.

He likes to hit. He breaks things and everything. He's a lot of fun; don't get me wrong. I love him so much, he's the joy of my heart. I mean, he's excited, he hits. He's happy to see me, he hits. He gets angry, he hits. And he hit a child, which he knows that's wrong. Well, he hit them twice.

And so I had to make good on my previous threat, and so we needed to go deal with the situation. We left the room, and we dealt with it, and it was a very tearful dealing; for him, not for me. And we came back, and I was going to let him resume playtime. And he didn't want to. He just wanted me to hold him.

So I'm holding him on my lap and I'm just comforting, telling, you know, "It's okay, buddy. Daddy loves you. That's why we don't hit. We have to be kind..."

All of a sudden one of the kids from the group came up. They were a little older, and they started asking me some questions about my son. And, they were making me upset, and I had to keep telling myself, "This is an underdeveloped human. This is an underdeveloped human. This is an underdeveloped human. Children are not rational." Just everything.

They had this smirk on their face. They knew what just happened, and they said, "Why is he crying? When you took him in the other room, what happened? Why is he crying?"

And in that moment, I'm thinking, "This is so perverse. What's wrong with you, child?" You know...

And I remembered a line from a book that I had read to my son only a few nights before. We want to make him a bookworm, so we're feeding into that now. We go to the library; we bring home like a dozen books and we just read one every night. We read a Bible story; he gets to pick a storybook.

That night, we had read a book by Max Lucado; it was a collection of children's stories that he had written. And the first one, a really beautiful... basically a poem from a Daddy to his daughter. And I remember one of the lines. He is telling her about what it means to be her Daddy and what she can expect from him. And one of the lines made me stop. I'm reading to him and it made me stop and think, that is amazing. It is where he tells her, "I will always be on your side." And I thought, wow, what a line about parenthood.

My son is only two, and he's got a whole life of rebellion and folly ahead of him. And sometimes I think, what's he going to get into? What am I going to have to deal with someday? And just thinking about that in terms of that line "I will always be on your side."

I remembered that. I'm holding my little boy. I just had to punish him because he disobeyed me. He hurt another person. I had to deal with him because I want him to grow up to be a good person. I want him to be a good man. I want him to be a better man than his Daddy when he grows up. So I've got to be consistent. I've got to do that.

And then this innocent accuser, if you will, comes. And in that moment I remembered that line, I'm always on his side.

I made intense eye contact with this child. And I said, "It's none of your business."

And they walked away.

Stock photo

 

Certainly, human experiences of fatherhood pale in comparison to the love of the Heavenly Father. Yet, even in our imperfection and despite the evil within us, Jesus recognised and affirmed the natural human instinct of fathers to give "good gifts" to their children (Matthew 7:11). 

 

And this account remains a beautiful illustration of God's discipline as well as protection over His children.

 

The Bible shows us that all children of God are under God's discipline. God as a loving Father disciplines us for our good so that we may share in His holiness, even though such discipline may be quite unpleasant and painful for the time being (Hebrews 12:11).

 

However, in the face of the accuser, God is our advocate and defender. We have an advocate in Jesus Christ who speaks to the Father in our defence (1 John 2:1). And in Romans 8:33-34, Paul writes:

Who will bring any charges against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 

If God declares us righteous, who can condemn us?

 

All our sins have been paid at the cross, and there is no charge that anyone in heaven or on earth or from the pits of hell can bring against the children of God.

 

So, even as the evil one may come and bring accusations against the children of God, God as a loving Father stands as our protector, looks him plainly in the eye, and tells him, "It's none of your business."