A Brief Biblical Principle from our lesson on John 7:35-51:
John 7:45-47 tells us…
45 Then the officers returned to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why didn’t you bring him back with you?” 46 The officers replied, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 Then the Pharisees answered, “You haven’t been deceived too, have you?
Previously, the religious leaders had sent the Temple police to go and arrest Jesus. Above, you can see how that went.
What I want to draw your attention to here is the condescending, judgmental, pompous treatment of the Temple police by the religious leaders. They are saying, in essence, “Are you that stupid? Has this psychopath fooled you too? You’re an uneducated dimwit!”
Culture changes, but people never do. This type of bullying is just as present today as it was then. Just try expressing your conservative opinion on social media. See how that goes for you.
But, Jesus didn’t shrink back from the bullies. When the truth is on your side there is nothing – and no one – to fear.
Mark Twain once said,
All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure. – Mark Twain –
Use big words, sound academic, attack their character, insinuate they are stupid, use intimidation tactics, and, by all means, don’t lower yourself to having intelligent, civil discourse with someone with whom you disagree. (You might actually learn something.) This is defined as “confident ignorance.” This is called bullying.
Richard Dawkins, the brilliant biologist, atheist and author of the best-selling, The God Delusion, opined,
“Religion is a fairy-tale dreamt up by people afraid of the dark.”
In response, the brilliant scientist and Oxford professor, John Lennox, countered,
Atheism is a fairy-tale dreamt up by people afraid of the light.”
Boldly proclaim the truth, Nick