What Napoleon Had to Say About Jesus Christ

Napoleon Bonaparte was one of the greatest military geniuses of all time. He came from a modest background, but elevated himself through vision and hard work to become the emperor of the French. Born on the island of Corsica, his native language was not French, but Italian. Still over time Napoleon became more French than the French. He nearly united Europe by war, placing members of his family on several thrones in Europe. He was a man who believed in himself and saw himself as inheriting the mantles of Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. But what did he think about Jesus Christ, this man who had a rather large ego and was very sure of himself and his abilities especially in the area of warfare?

Well then, I will tell you. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I myself have founded great empires; but upon what did these creations of our genius depend? Upon force.

Jesus alone founded His empire upon love, and to this very day millions will die for Him.... I think I understand something of human nature; and I tell you, all these were men, and I am a man: none else is like Him; Jesus Christ was more than man.... I have inspired multitudes with such an enthusiastic devotion that they would have died for me.... but to do this it was necessary that I should be visibly present with the electric influence of my looks, my words, of my voice. When I saw men and spoke to them, I lighted up the flame of self-devotion in their hearts....

Christ alone has succeeded in so raising the mind of man toward the unseen, that it becomes insensible to the barriers of time and space. Across a chasm of eighteen hundred years, Jesus Christ makes a demand which is beyond all others to satisfy; He asks for that which a philosopher may seek in vain at the hands of his friends, or a father of his children, or a bride of her spouse, or a man of his brother. He asks for the human heart; He will have it entirely to Himself. He demands it unconditionally; and forthwith His demand is granted. Wonderful!

In defiance of time and space, the soul of man, with all its powers and faculties, becomes an annexation to the empire of Christ. All who sincerely believe in Him, experience that remarkable, supernatural love toward Him. This phenomenon is accountable; it is altogether beyond the scope of man's creative powers.

Time, the great destroyer, is powerless to extinguish this sacred flame; time can neither exhaust its strength nor put a limit to its range.

This is it, which strikes me most; I have often thought of it. This is which proves to me quite convincingly the Divinity of Jesus Christ.

In his lifetime some saw Napoleon as the Anti-Christ because of the widespread devastation and suffering his wars of conquest brought to Europe. Napoleon's words show that even he was able to grasp the truth about Jesus Christ, something which some people who profess to be Christians are ill equipped to.

I Haven't Abandoned This Blog

I would say, it has been a combination of laziness and unease on my part why I have not been writing here regularly. A Christian blog may be one of the most difficult to have because from the beginning for some such a blog is controversial. Doing one was a little contentious even for me because I did not know how well I could pull such a blog off. I did not want a Christian blog that was business as usual the way such blogs can be. I wanted to do something unique and with broad Christian and religious subject matter, but I also wanted what I wrote to be inspiring and accurate. Doctrine is a dirty word for some, but correct Christian doctrine is essential. I know I can have a Christian blog and do it well. There is actually a lot to be written about and shared in my walk as a Christian, and there is also much in the news concerning Christians. There are myriad lessons to be learned and people to be enlightened.

I have another blog which is secular in nature. It has a theme, but I write about a broad range of subjects there, and my secular blog is easier to write without me having the nagging thought, "I hope I don't make mistakes here." In the weeks to come, I hope I can get my enthusiasm up and wrote more about what God is putting on my heart especially about the church in America which is losing more and more members and which has in some cases strayed into apostasy with teachings such as the Gospel of Prosperity which is not the Gospel according to Jesus. I hope to get this blog up and rolling again consistently:)

Unchurched Americans

On Tuesday I discovered The Christian Post newspaper online. I was totally unfamiliar with it until then. Then yesterday I ran across the article "How Do Unchurched Americans View Christianity?. The article immediately got me thinking about my dad who is unchurched and Biblically illiterate. He spends hours and hours watching TV preachers who preach prosperity in many cases. Dad is anti-social, and believes that you don't have to go to church or read the Bible to be a Christian. He can relate to a Christianity that is pseudo-psychology, but he cannot deal with a faith which speaks about loving God, the importance of the Cross, loving people, sacrifice, and suffering. So I do not know about my dad... Mom and I have prayed and prayed, but he has chosen to stagnant in his walk towards Christianity. Ignorance, like many things, is a choice.

The article mentioned I above begins:

In a portrait of the "unchurched" in America, a new study found that most are willing to hear what people have to say about Christianity but a majority also sees the church as a place full of hypocrites.

"A full 72 percent of the people interviewed said they think the church ‘is full of hypocrites,’" said LifeWay Research director Ed Stetzer. "At the... Read the rest here.

Not only is there the crisis of the unchurched in America, but there is the Biblically illiterate. They are not only those who do not set foot in the church, but many who enter the church doors regularly, including some of the ministers, who are also not fully versed in The Bible. This is a crisis that all knowing Christians need to be aware of and try to remedy.

Remember This

In this life so many of us try to get revenge in various ways for hurts and injuries. It is very difficult not to return hurt for hurt or wrong for wrong, but we are expected as Christians to allow God to do His work.

The dialogue below is from the 1959 Academy Award winning movie Ben Hur which I wrote about in an earlier post.

Judah Ben-Hur: I must deal with Messala in my own way.
Balthasar: And your way is to kill him. [pause, Judah looks at Balthasar]
Balthasar: I see this terrible thing in your eyes, Judah Ben-Hur, but no matter what this man has done to you, you have no right to take his life. He will be punished inevitably.
Judah Ben-Hur: I don't believe in miracles.
Balthasar: Your whole life is a miracle! Why will you not accept God's judgement?

Vengeance is God's work and he will deal with those who commit wrongs and injustices. Read about God's revenge on the link Desiring God.