The Name Above All Names

I have said before, the most hated name in the world isn’t Osama Ben Laden, Hitler, or Judas Iscariot. None of those names are internationally used as a cuss word. By far the winner of despised names award is the name of Jesus Christ. He is an all-time Hollywood favorite. His name is used as a cuss word in books, magazines, on radio, TV, all over the Internet, and in everyday speech. Jesus predicted that the world would hate Him because He testified of their deeds, that they are evil (see John 7:7). The world hates Jesus for the same reason devious criminals hate the police.

Using His name as a cuss word isn’t the only way to deal with this problem of Jesus of Nazareth. There are other ways to wash your hands of Him. You can do what the Mormons did. Make up your own “Jesus.” Make him the brother of Lucifer. Nice. Or you can do what Islam did. Create a Jesus that didn’t die on the cross.

Or you could try and change the historical revelation of Jesus. In Amsterdam, "Basic Instinct" director Paul Verhoeven has written a book that contradicts biblical teaching by suggesting that Jesus might have been fathered by a Roman soldier who raped Mary. Apparently, Verhoeven, who is 69, has dreamed of even making a movie about Jesus' life for decades. He had better hurry. At 69, it won’t be long until he faces Him.

The Book of Acts tells us that a number of times the religious leaders forbad preaching “in His name.” They hated His name. Two thousand years later, nothing has changed. The 2008 Honorary Chairman of the National Day of Prayer is apparently refusing to pray in the name of Jesus. A receptionist with the NDP in Colorado Springs stated that the Honorary Chairman's prayer does not include the name of Jesus so as not to offend the Jewish participants in the event. It seems that they presume that Jews hate Him; one of their own. I’m Jewish, and I don’t hate it. I love it.

I can’t help but wonder how those who are offended by His name would react if I prayed and finished with " . . . In the Name of the perfect Son of God, who was born of a virgin, suffered and died for the sin of the world, rose again on the third day for our justification and is coming in flaming fire to bring vengeance on those who don't know God and refuse to obey the gospel of salvation. Hallelujah! Praise His glorious name. Oh how I love Him. Amen."