Sharing the Gospel of Jesus – Page 6

Reconnect Episode 4: Jesus vs. Zeus

Avengers meme that confuses God and god. There is a difference.

Jay Clair has been a very active member on my Contradict – They Can’t All Be True Facebook page.

I discovered that he had a blog called Blue Eyed Shy Guy. The blog stood out to me because I am a fan of Mario 2 for the NES, and to my knowledge it was the only Mario game that featured the Shy Guy characters. Jay explains the name of his blog at the start of the podcast. For this show we discuss one of his blog posts that really stood out to me: “What is Meant by God?”.

The blog post originated as a reply to an Avengers meme that his brother sent him. Many people compare belief in Jesus to belief in Zeus, basically saying, they’re both mythological gods. Yet, Jay responds with a break down of the difference between God with a capital G and god with a lower case g. Doing such shows that belief in Jesus is nowhere near the same as belief in Zeus. His work also shows that there isn’t as many proposed Gods to consider if someone is evaluating the world’s religions for truth.

Click here to listen to Episode 4: Jesus vs. Zeus (Right click to download).

Click here to listen on iTunes.

Please consider subscribing to Reconnect on iTunes to help push the show into the New and Noteworthy category during it’s first two months of publication. This should generate many more listeners if Reconnect can make that category. Reviews, subscribers, and downloads on iTunes will make that happen.

Click here for Joyous Wolf, the band that has provided the intro and outro music for Reconnect.

April 14, 2015April 22, 2015

Andy Wrasman2 Comments

Many Different Contradict Stickers – Which is the best?

Contradict Movement was born through weekly evangelism outings at University California Irvine (UCI). Our method of engaging in conversation was to setup a folding table with a few camping chairs at UCI’s Freedom of Speech Zone. We’d have some Starbuck coffee in a “traveler” with creams, sugar, cups, and stir sticks. We would then use various signs and posters laying on the table or taped to the front of the table that were designed to spark conversation that would allow us to introduce the Gospel. One night, Adam Stetson, suggested creating a poster that spelled Contradict using religious symbols. That idea profoundly struck me as the best idea I had ever heard. It’s a perfect conversation starter: “All religions can’t be true because they contradict each other in their teachings. Logically, they could all be false, but how would we know that?” We then could spring into why we believe Christianity to be true!

Upon returning home, I instantly searched for Contradict bumper sticker online. The following are the two images that I found online:

Image #1: This Contradict image doesn’t strictly use religious symbols and it has no tagline of explanation.

Image #2: This Contradict image was also online at the time and being sold by someone who clearly wasn’t Christian. The tagline really makes no sense! I think the sticker is calling for us to go against all religions because all religions are just forms of social slavery.

Contradict Sticker — The other Contradict image that I found online around 2009-10 for use in evangelism. I believe I did print this one for evangelism, but I had to cut out the tagline.

After using these two as small printed pages on the top of the table, Adam had a friend paint an original Contradict design on a poster to tape to the front of the table. Once we had that poster, Contradict became are constant (only) go to sign for kickstarting evangelism conversations.

After a couple of year at UCI, I wanted to write a book laying out the Contradict message I would share with someone from start to finish, if they gave me five hours of their time. I also I wanted the book to serve as a tool to help spur others onto college campus and public spaces with a similar approach to evangelism. To help raise awareness for the book, I wanted to create bumper stickers and a website. If I was to sell bumper stickers and sell a Contradict design on the front cover a book, I’d need to own the copyright of the image, those I sat down and made a list of religious symbols I would use to spell Contradict and I hired a friend, Danny Martinez, to put it together for me. I own the copyright and now I also own the trademark to the Contradict Movement logo:

Image #3: The Contradict Movement version of Contradict!

At the time I launched Contradict Movement as a website, I saw that another Contradict image had emerged:

Image #4: That I could tell the person who made this image was Christian and had a Facebook page named Contradict, but no stickers of this image were being sold. Later, Cross Examined, started to sell this image with the same tagline with their website url on it. I don’t think Cross Examined sells this image anymore.

I don't like this tagline as well as mine, but I do really like the design. I still prefer my design though, because all the letters in this one are not religious symbols. — I don’t like this tagline as well as mine, but I do really like the design. I still prefer my design though, because all the letters in this one are not religious symbols.

Recently, I checked online and I have seen that numerous other Contradict designs have been created and they are now being sold online as bumper stickers! Here they are:

Image # 5: This was the first obviously Christian Contradict image I saw being sold online (besides the Cross Examined one I mentioned above that is now no longer being sold at the Cross Examined store, Impact Apologetics). This one is being sold on Zazzle.

I really like this design! The tagline is good too. It's a shout out to John 14:6, the same verse that I simply cited. — I really like this design! The tagline is good too. It’s a shout out to John 14:6, the same verse that I simply cited.

Image # 6: Here’s a variation of the one above that is also being sold on Zazzle.

I prefer the one with the bubble letters behind the symbols.

Image #7: This is the current Cross Examined Contradict image being sold through their Impact Apologetics online store.

I really like this design. I think the R with Kokopelli is very creative.

I suspect that the clearly Christian Contradict images created after I launched Contradict Movement were working off my Contradict image. I suggest this because the common theme is the Shinto torri gate for the letter N, but I could be wrong! They might not have seen my image first.

Two questions:

1. Which Contradict tagline do you think is the best?

“They Can’t All Be True – John 14:6”
“Only 1 is Truth, Life eternal, and the Way”
“Don’t be a Contradiction. There can only be ONE Truth.”

2. Which sticker do you think would be the one best suited to go platinum, “Coexist status”, and why?

If you think it should be mine, please, share http://www.contradictmovement.org with all your friends and family. Order extra stickers and help distribute them.

Here’s why I think my sticker is best situated for sharing the Gospel! It has the url to my website, big and clear for people to visit. The home page has a video that details the message of Contradict by sharing the importance of Coexistence and Tolerance, while also sharing that Tolerance can’t be taken to mean that all religions are true. I then share examples of religious contradictions and close by sharing the Gospel and why we can trust that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. From a stand alone point of view, the one with the tagline, “Only 1 is Truth, Life Eternal, and the Way” clearly shows a Christian message. The Cross Examined tagline, “Don’t be a Contradiction, There can only be ONE Truth”, does not clearly demonstrate that it is a Christian bumper sticker, however, the name of their website’s url does indicate this. When visiting their website though, you are not instantly greeted with the message of their Contradict sticker. With my tagline, “They Can’t All Be True – John 14:6”, interested parties could be forced to go to a Bible and look up John 14:6 to know why all religions can’t be true. If interested parties go to Contradict Movement, they will only find links to my blog, the Contradict Facebook page, my Youtube channel, and my book. All of these sites are very much Contradict themed!

Every sticker I sell comes with a Contradict folding tract as well as a printed page of explanation. The goal is that if anyone is interested in knowing more about the message of Contradict when seeing a person’s sticker, the Christian has something to hand interested parties on the spot. It has been my experience that when people are caught starting at your Contradict sticker, they usually don’t want to talk long in the parking lot.

If you do appreciate my work with Contradict Movement, help share my image online and through print. Right now, images to my page do not always display as prominently as these others, so people may not find my page. Cross Examined is way more known and popular than Contradict Movement, my blog, or my book. If their sticker takes off and becomes the one everyone sees and knows, that’s great, because they certainly proclaim the Gospel and do a great job defending it, but if you think the Contradict Movement platform is better due to more specialized focus, again, share Contradict Movement with everyone you know by selecting some key blog articles, Youtube videos, or Facebook posts that you find helpful for sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Thanks so much!

Peace in Christ,
Andy Wrasman

January 7, 2015

Andy Wrasman6 Comments

Seeing Christ in Your Christmas

There are many simple ways to see Christ in Christmas. One way to accomplish this goal is by drawing Biblical parallels with the traditional Christmas tree décor. As long as Christians are not glorifying pagan beliefs and practices, or bowing at the altar of gluttonous consumerism through our American Christmas tree traditions, then there is freedom in Christ to take what has become a hallmark of the secular world at the time we celebrate the birth of our Lord, and point it all back to Jesus being the reason for the season. With no plea to reject Black Friday shopping as the day to get your Christmas season started off on the right foot, and with no “Bah Humbug” towards the secular spirit of Christmas, here’s a list to check twice to see Christ this Christmas.

The Christmas tree is an evergreen tree, because it doesn’t lose its needles through the winter. Using this type of tree points to the eternal life that Jesus Christ offers to the world. Jesus is the one who was, and is, and is to come! (Revelation 4:8). The Christmas tree also harkens us back to the tree upon which Christ was slain, the tree by which eternal life has been given to the world. (Galatians 3:13)
The traditional tree toppers – a bow, an angel, or a star – all point to the Christmas tree representing Jesus. Bows adorn gifts, and the coming of Christ into the world is a reminder that the Father gave Jesus as a gift out of his great love for us. (John 3:16) At Jesus’ birth, Luke records a great multitude of angels proclaiming the Good News of his arrival to shepherds who watched over their flock at night. (Luke 2:8-18) Matthew tells of wise men travelling from the east, following a star to the birth place of the awaited Messiah (Hebrew for Christ). (Micah 5:2, Matthew 2:1-12)

The wise men from the east, who followed the star of Christ, brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, valuable gifts that were common to give to a king. If the Christmas tree is seen to represent Christ, the gifts at the foot of the tree draw us back to the gifts the wise men laid before baby Jesus as they worshipped him. (Matthew 2:11) Our gift giving at Christmas should serve to remind us that as we give to others who are in need, we are giving to Jesus. (Matthew 25:34-40) And if the gifts at the tree are seen to have come from Santa Claus, an all-knowing, all-loving, apparently all-powerful, and never dying father-figure who cares for children, it should point us to the true gift-giver, God our heavenly Father. (James 1:17)

The lights that are held up by being draped across the Christmas tree’s branches are a final touch that point back to Christians, the Church. John begins his Gospel biography of Christ by saying that in Jesus “was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4, ESV). The light of Jesus shines in the darkness of this sin cursed world. (John 1:5) The light of Jesus enlightens men as to who God is. (John 1:9) Later in his Gospel, John directly quotes Jesus as having said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). As Christians know the Lord through Jesus, and possess eternal life and the light of Christ, we become just what Jesus calls us in his Sermon on the Mount, “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14).

When we look at the Christmas tree, we are reminded that Jesus became flesh and dwelt among us. The Light of the World has revealed himself, lighting the path to eternal life. As Christians are connected to Christ, we shine the light of Christ into a fallen world. The Church that is spread out across the world, and is still growing, shines as many dispersed beacons of hope in a fallen and depraved world. Jesus came, died for our sins, rose for our salvation, and is patiently waiting for more to come to know of his love and grace.

This Christmas, remember that Jesus came once with angels and with a star as the ultimate gift of God to this world, and Jesus will come again; this time with the entire heavenly host with the falling of all the stars as he returns for his chosen and holy people. Let’s help the world see Christ this December, as we hold out the Good News of Jesus Christ in all that we say and all that we do in our Christmas celebration.

December 20, 2014

Andy WrasmanLeave a comment

Why is Contradict a movement?

Dan Palmere at FSU — Dan Palmere at Florida State University, sharing the Gospel using a Contradict poster. He is a member of the campus’ Ratio Christi club.

When I decided to begin sharing Contradict with a broader audience than tabletop evangelism, I chose to start a Web site with the name Contradict Movement. Calling trends, fads, and new tendencies “movements” seems to be a popular development of its own lately. I think that what I’d like to see happen is for Contradict to spread, classifying as a movement in the tradition sense of organizing and rallying the troops behind a cause of action or expression. In a way I was jumping on the movement-branding bandwagon, but I have a dual meaning in mind.

I intend the term Contradict Movement to refer to the movement of the Holy Spirit as he leads Christians to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Jesus indicates this unpredictable movement of the Holy Spirit in his often-quoted discourse to Nicodemus in John chapter 3, saying, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (verse 8).

With this in mind, each Christian reading this book will likely be prompted to share the gospel with others in ways that I haven’t yet perceived. Maybe some readers will be moved to step directly into the manner in which I have shared Contradict, using a poster at a college campus. The objective of the Contradict Movement is to counter the spirit of this age that all religions are equally valid and true, that all roads and paths lead to God.

It is more specific than this, however. A conservative Muslim could easily stand alongside a conservative Christian and boldly proclaim, “We worship a different God.” Grounded in the Christian worldview, my goal is to move people not only to see that all religions can’t be true, but to point them to Jesus Christ as mankind’s one and only, all-sufficient Savior. Then I want to prayerfully and winsomely reason with them in the various marketplaces of life to which God has called each Christian to serve and be his witnesses.

To participate in this movement, a person is not required to use the Contradict logo I have made. Many people are likely participating in this movement already without having seen Contradict; in fact I think this movement goes all the way back to the beginning of humanity. God’s people have always stood in opposition to the patterns of this world which lure us to exchange the truth of God for a lie, enticing us to bow down to the things of God’s creation rather than worship and praise the Creator.

It is not surprising that the lies of pluralism have infiltrated the ranks of the visible church. Jesus indicated that this would happen with his parable of the wheat and the weeds (Matthew 13:24–30). Lies, the Enemy, and people who claim to be followers of Christ but are not will spring up within Christ’s church (Matthew 13:36–43).

You can see Satan’s sowing of lies within the church in the way that a large percentage of Christians in America have embraced certain New Age elements within their Christian beliefs and practices. With the lie swallowed and craved by society and even within the church, taking a stance in our pluralistic age will receive harsh criticism. This is what Jesus promised would happen. He said, “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved” (Mark 13:13).

Everyone in the church won’t stand firm. Jesus promised this too. He said that when persecution comes, “many will turn away from the faith and will betray many people” (Matthew 24:10). This is why those of us who are standing upon Christ, pointing to Jesus as the only way to salvation, must band together, meet with one another, and encourage each other as we see the signs of the day of the Lord approaching (Hebrews 10:25).

Click this image to get 25% of my book, Contradict - They Can't All Be True, for Free! — Click this image to get 25% of my book, Contradict – They Can’t All Be True, for Free!

November 18, 2014November 27, 2014

Andy Wrasman2 Comments

Bad Theology in Gospel Tracts

I saw a post on Facebook a couple of months ago that asked what would prompt a person to choose not to buy specific Gospel tracts, and I responded with “bad theology” and ‘mixing Law and Gospel”. This post will just address bad theology.

Walking through a dark Wal-Mart parking lot with my wife, a lady pops out between two SUVs approaching us quickly pleading for our attention for some reason or another. I was just concerned about getting in between the crazy lady and my wife. The lady thrusts out a pamphlet and says, “Jesus loves you.” I told her simply, “Thanks for sharing that message with us.”

My wife thinks the lady is what is completely wrong with Christians – popping out on people at night in middle of a parking lot, looking like a homeless lady and acting like you are on speed – guess really excited by the Holy Spirit. Even though approach was a little offsetting, I hoped to find a good read from the pamphlet.

NOPE!

Here’s an excerpt from the lady’s tract:

“Please here this. People don’t go to hell for their sins.”

WHAT??? Our sins do not deserve eternal damnation?

The tract continues:

“They go to hell for rejecting Jesus Christ as their Sin Bearer, their Substitute, and the One who died in their place for their sins.”

That’s true! But they also go to hell for all their other sins too. Apparently, there is a good number of people on line who argue that sins don’t send people to hell, just their rejection of Jesus. Do a search for it, more people think this than I had previously thought. Romans 5 comes to mind to say that people die because we all have sinned. Galatians 5 ends with a long list of all the works of the flesh, which are all damnable works, that are sin. Wages of sin- death – Gift of eternal life comes through Jesus. I think it’s pretty clear that all sin is damnable. James 2:10 for instance gives this implication. If we break one command, we are guilty of breaking them all. What’s this talk of not going to hell because of the sins we commit? Where does this originate and why?

Bad theology – Bad Gospel Tract.

Not to mention, it closes by asking a person to “pray with all your heart” a prayer that presumably makes you a Christian. What if you don’t pray with all your heart? It’s not a prayer that saves? Oh wait… is it my full dedication that makes me saved, my full heart in participation, or is it solely the work of Christ in me, my hope and glory upon which I am saved? See what I mean… bad theology. And this last example is mixing Law and Gospel, inserting your works into your salvation. So maybe I did hit on both topics with this one post.

Visit www.contradictmovement.org to find links to my Youtube page, Facebook page, and my book and evangelism conversation starting products. Peace in Christ. – Andy W.

October 28, 2014October 29, 2014

Andy Wrasman2 Comments