Find Head Open Hole @ Amazon.com
|
Tattoos and body piercings seem to be ubiquitous these days. Youth in aboriginal chic are came across everywhere, including the Church. Some would say that this type of body art is not one thing more than an outward indication of a juvenile psyche desperately seeking to express it is individuality and independence (why doing the same thing as everyone else is considered an expression of individuality escapes me). Others might suggest that self mutilation is a sign that a spirit of paganism is abroad in our land. In the old days, America’s youth displayed their rebellious nature in other less permanent ways. Long hair and short skirts are much dissimilar than tattoos and piercings. On the one hand rebellious displays (or shows of individuality if you insist), may be remedied by a trip to the barber or by way of a jaunt to the mall. In the latter case, there is not one thing that may be done to erase the trappings of youthful foolishness and defiance once Johnny has come to his senses. However, the problem runs deeper than permanent disfigurement. In Leviticus 19:28 we read, “You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord” (cf. 21:5, Deut. 14:1). The exercises prohibited here are self inflicted wounds and, literally, “writing of imprintment marks in ones skin.”1 as a sign of mourning for the dead. Ritual cutting of the flesh was believed to concede a man to enter the realm of the dead. In so doing he was cheating death while supplying an emphatic farewell to the deceased. Ritual mutilation was a declaration that the realm of the dead was open to man; thence the man who learns to manipulate the supernatural has power over life and death. Life and death are no longer the sole prerogative of God. As with all pagan rites, it was an act of defiance. The habit of self mutilation was widely practiced in the ancient near east in imitation of “El, the supreme god of the Ugaritic pantheon” who mourned the death of Baal by leaving his throne, sitting on the ground and lacerating himself, “making cuts on his face, his arms, his chest and his back.”2 Cutting of one’s own flesh was likewise carried out in order to strength divine beings to act on behalf of the ritualist (1 Kings 18:28). Yahweh’s prohibition of ceremonial cutting and tattooing was designed to maintain the separateness of His people. It was akin to God’s laws versus witchcraft and other occult activity; the blessed life is not realized through the manipulation of supernatural forces, but through obeisance and submission to the one true God. Pagan religions seek to harness the power of unwilling, unseen gods or demons for the gain of the worshiper. Since this only happens if one is careful to follow the prescribed form, the pagan life is lived in neverending fear. One untrue move, one misspoken incantation and your soul may be lost forever. Paganism looks to the earthy powers of flesh, blood, dirt and filth. It is animalistic and draws it is players into exercises which mimic the natural realm rather than the heavenly.3 On the other hand, the yoke of Jesus is easy and His burden is light. God’s law is without doubt or question specified and His forgiveness is freely given. The truth of the Gospel sets a man free from fear and bondage and lifts him up to the heavens in Christ (Eph. 1:3, 2:6). As a consequence the Christian seeks to make his life an expression of God’s love and forgiveness and he strives to make his each attitude and action a song of worship to his King. Although the tattooing and deafening practiced by America’s youth today is not (necessarily), performed in honor of the dead, it is affiliated to that exercise nonetheless. The essence of the ancient pagan exercise was rebellion versus God’s order (Paul says very without doubt or question that Mankind knows deep within Himself the truth concerning God because “what may be known of God is manifest in them for God has shown it to them. …although they knew God they did not glorify Him as God” [Rom. 1:19, 21]). Self mutilation as practiced today is an act of defiance as well. Rather than conform to the expected values of parents and other authority figures, children seek emancipation by flouting those expected values in a lot of visible way. But alas, as our culture proceeds it is slide into the abyss, expressions of youthful rebellion growingly take on the reputation of the demonic. There are a lot of pagan exercises that have gradually been sanctified through immersion in the culture of Christianity. We celebrate the Lord’s birth for the duration of a season with pagan significance and do so with the accruements of paganism. We even named the commemoration of his resurrection after a pagan goddess. Nevertheless these have been emptied of their pre-Christian significance because nowhere do we find in them an try to manipulate the supernatural to the gain of the natural. The tools of rebellion have been turned to the cause of the King; the rebellion has been broken and the rebels destroyed having taken up the cause of the victor as new creations in Christ. But self mutilation is always and everlastingly an try to change circumstances. Practiced in ancient days to disrupt the realm of the dead or curry a deity’s favor; today to catapult the participant into the realm of self-determination. It cannot be brought under the sway of Christ because it is not the tool but the thing itself. To suggest that self mutilation may be brought under the power of the Master is to suggest that we may reverence the goddess Eostre rather than unseat her and plunder her name for the use of the King. The child who rims his eyes with metal or covers his arms with tattoos may not be conscious of the pagan nature of his adornment – but he probably is and that is a big part of it is attraction. Body piercings and multiple tattoos were antecedently the uniform of the counter culture’s lowest form and were affiliated with the occult. To hug the paraphernalia of the darkest corner of the youth culture provides a sense of power that Johnny genuinely can not explain but which he veritably enjoys. They are marks of identification. Anyone who observes Johnny so costumed will without delay categorize him accordingly: juvenile delinquent, rebel, punk and so on. No one will look upon a metal and ink festooned youth and say “follower of Christ.” Yes an earthy spirit wanders the land, seeking whom he may devour. Christian youth, like Christians of any age, need to understand that their entire life is to be lived in worship of God. Worship doesn’t end once we walk out the church door on Sunday afternoon. Our Sunday service is supposed to equip us with the material of worship which we fashion into soaring peons of praise all around the week as we live a life in submission to the King. There is no area of life that is exempt. At all times we worship. We may make a mess of it and mislead observers as to the object of our worship. But life is a performance of praise to the Christ whether we care to confess it or not. Let us participate in that drama in such a way that there will never be any doubt for whom we dance. ____________________ 1. Geoffery W. Bromiley et al, eds., 4 vols., The International Standard Bible Encyclopidia, Revised, (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988), 4:739. 2. Bromiley, 1:841. 3. This is why pagan rituals closely always implicate perverted sexual practices. Ancient Canaanites steadily practiced incest, homosexuality and bestiality in the worship of their gods (and innovative homosexuals assert that their perversion is worthy of acceptance or satisfactory because it occurs in the animal kingdom). For instance, one peculiar annual celebration of the Canaanites prescribed sexual intercourse amid fathers and daughters on the initial day of the festivities. On day two of that feast, copulation amidst brothers and sisters was practiced. The Bible repeatedly condemns the sexual perversion of the Canaanites because participation in their sexual sin would place the children of Israel underneath the sway of the ruler of the world; the animal – the serpent – the devil himself. |
DO NOT PURCHASE THIS PRODUCT for PS3
T-10 for XBOX Similar Products To Head Open Hole
Silverhill T10 Torx Driver for Tamper Resistant Screws
Gemeinhardt 2SP Silver Plated Flute Outfit
CARL Products – CARL – 40-Sheet HC-340 Heavy-Duty Three-Hole Punch, 9/32" Holes, Silver – Sold As 1 Each – Precision-ground steel punch heads make quick, clean hole-punching easy. – Oversized handle allows a powerful open-handed grip. – Built-in paper guide for quick, accurate paper positioning. – Large-capacity, easy-to-empty chip tray. – Heavy-gauge steel with non-skid base.
Taurus Precision 625 Drumlok? Provides Heavy-Duty Security. Open-head Drumlok fits all open head drums, replaces the 5/8" bolt on the drum locking ring. Shackle of padlock fits into hole in drumlock and prevents removal or loosening of the device.
Dixie Poly RL55 Polyethylene Recycling Lid for 55 gallon open head drum. Aluminum cans and plastic drinking bottles easily fit through the center 3 1/2" diameter hole.
J. Erich Open Hole Flute W/ Silver Head Joint
Gemeinhardt 3S Solid Silver Head Joint & Body C Flute + Chromatic Tuner, Carrying Bag, Hard Case, Cleaning Rod, & Anti-Tarnish Strip
Pair of BLACK Headrest 7" LCD Car Monitors with Region Free DVD player USB SD Inc. Wireless Headhones and 32 Bit Games
The Great Brain Book: An Inside Look At The Inside Of Your Head
Gemeinhardt 3SHB Series Intermediate Flute Inline G, B Foot
