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Time for the Party Pooper!

Would he want me to use public transportation?"

I was glad that an idiot like the "Rev" Jim Ball asked this question because it shows the fallacy of the whole WWJD program.

"It was huge with the under 25s, the kind of people who would go to ordinary rock festivals as well as Christian rock festivals."

Anyone under 25 without proper teaching are not fully capable of knowing what Christ did let alone what He would do. Hence you have these WWJD braclet wearers blaspheming Jesus by not only convincing themselves, but teaching others that Jesus would go to a rock concert. What happens is that they strap on WWJD jewlery and then go about with legalism du jour, morality based on what they want, and all along they tell everyone that Jesus would engage in sin.

The Boardgame. ("Challenge yourself as you put yourself in Jesus's shoes and explore 600 thought-provoking questions.")

Situation Ethics redressed.

But then again, the American Religion has very little to do with traditional Christianity. The only thing in common is that believers have with your garden variety WWJD devotee is a character named "Jesus" in the religion.

...but teaching others that Jesus would go to a rock concert...

Jesus would go to a rock concert. Why wouldn't he? He went to a lot of places that the "righteous" wouldn't go, as in, say, to a tax collector's house. Remember? It's not the healthy who need a doctor...

But then again, it's not a sin to go to a rock concert, although there are a lot of people who go to rock concerts who have problems. But I'm sure there are lots of people in lots of different places who need Jesus.

Besides, WWJD is at least enough to get people to even think about Jesus, which is more than many people do nowadays.

You also don't need to be over 25 and have "proper teaching" to know what Jesus did.

Oh for crying out loud. The only reason I can think of that Jesus wouldn't go to a rock concert is that he wanted to TALK to people where ever he went, and you can't talk at those things. You can't even HEAR for an hour after you leave (or more). What would be the point?

Even if he did, it wouldn't be 'blasphemy'. Good grief! Jesus hung out with the untouchables, the riff raff, the people everyone else was 'too good' for. He didn't do it simply because "that's where they were", he did it because they were the ones who wanted to hear him!

The religious bigots, control-freaks, and upper-crust types couldn't STAND his choice of company, or his lifestyle, or his statements, or his choice of disciples. Jesus went where hearts were hungry and fertile, not where they were paved over with concrete and private drives.

Even today, there are 'Christians' snootily despising everyone who isn't doing everything EXACTLY as THEY would, who isn't quite as RELIGIOUS as they are, as CONCERNED about holiness, yada yada yada. These folks remind me of the people having Bible studies in hell in C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce.

All of the rules and regs and anal-retentive blabbing can be very impressive but it's all 'sound and fury, signifying nothing' if it's too good for some people and reserved only for those who can spar properly during uppity little theological discussions. Jesus is NOT impressed.

If you can't imagine Jesus hanging out downtown where the street kids are or outside of a rock concert or in Harlem or at the mall or where ever certain people would be shocked to see him go, you have been away from the four Gospels for WAY to long. Get back into the Gospels. Refresh your mind and your heart. Get radical. Get stirred up again. Get your perspective blown away, it's suffering from cerebral constipation. Let all things 'become new' again.

Jesus sees it so differently than we all do. As soon as you think you've got it figured out, you're tying yourself in knots. Maybe the silly WWJD thing actually helped a few people, who knows?

"God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence." I Cor 1:27-29

In other words, he keeps us guessing, he won't be figured out. Personally I like him that way. Means he's a lot bigger than we are. So WWJD all day long if that's what rolls your socks up. If it doesn't, pass it by, don't worry about it. In the end, God has all of US figured out.

Okay, soap box gone. Flame away. I have my marshmallows ready.