"HAPPY NICE PEOPLE"

     Movies are not about the village of the happy nice people,

one Of a new Generation of Joshua's writter high lighted up.

 And while it may be news to many people, the Bible is not about

 the village of the happy nice people either.

     The book of Genesis opens with two chapters about God's 

glorious creation. We are told that it is good. But in chapter 3, 

conflict occurs on a cosmic level. Adam and Eve sin and bring 

a out the fall of mankind. In screenwriting terms, that is the 

inciting Incident. If it doesn't happen, the rest of the Bible doesn't 

need to be written; Adam and Eve enjoy paradise and live happily 

ever after.

     Resolving that conflict is what the drama of redemption is all 

about. It's the story of people who live and breathe and sin boldly.

Adam and Eve's son  Cain kills  his brother Abel, setting the 

standard for the first dysfunctional family. By Genesis 7, things are 

so bad God create a flood to destroy every living being except 

those on Noah's ark.

     You'd think that the human race would be off to a rosting start

the second time around. But in Genesis 11, people are so 

impressed with themselves they decide to make a name for 

themselves by building the first skycraper. God is so impressed

with their pride that He confuses the language among the. 

And scatters them over the face of the earth.

    Through all this and what follows, we find a rogues' gallery

of characters caught up in controversies befitting daytime

television. Noah gets drunk, abraham lies, and jacob deceives.

Slavery, slander, jealousy, homosexuality, idolatry, incest, 

famines, and adultery are other scenes that round out the book 

of Genesis.

    But why stop there? There sre 65 more books in the Bible. 

the list of horribles events only grows. The slaughter of the 

Hebrew children in Egypt, rape, witchcraft, wars, plagues, and 

evil leaders. This is the Bible? Where are all those inspirational 

stories that I learned in school?

    Do yuo mean the one where shadrach, Meshach, and abed-

nego are put in the fire? The one where Daniel is put in the 

lion den? Or where Goliath tells david, "come to me, and i will 

give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beast of the field!'""? 

These are not fun little stories. They are account of men looking 

to God as they face horrible. Immediate doom.

    We do a disservice to the scriptures, God, ourselves, and our 

children when we try to soften the blow of thes powerful stories. 

Knowing scriptures means reading these stories not to be 

entertained but to know the God of our salvaion, the god who 

has made a covenant with His people. We look for the day when 

we will be with Him in paradise.

Photo taken December 24th christmas Eve Celebration