The Unworthy Saint

To those that would say they’re intolerant of people degrading what Christ did on the cross, please examine the cross. Religious leaders were offended by the teachings of Christ so they martyred Him on the cross, mocking Him as they did the deed. God redeemed the very thing that was meant to be the ultimate humiliation and in the process set the stage for the rest of time.

We as Christians tend to crucify, through words, boycotts, and even physical actions, people who “mock” the cross of Christ. The funny thing is that the picture we paint through those reactions is surprisingly similar to what really happened on the cross. What these secular artists are doing to Christ today by producing “anti-Christ” artwork, their mockery and satire, is nothing compared to what the religious leaders did to Christ in His day.

In some sense, the closer to the reality an artist gets, the more offensive the art will seem to appear (even if it isn’t their intention). We have to realize the cross was brutal. All crucifixes fall short of this reality, some more than others. The more bloody, gory, mocking, humiliating, the more offensive, the closer to the actual event, the actual crucifixion we come… and the more Christ’s pain and suffering can be communicated.

I have a painting that I haven’t shown many people. I made it shortly after God broke me down in 2004. The painting is a silhouette (black on a red background) of me crucified, legs running off the bottom of the page, arms out to my sides, but slightly tilted toward the sky, head tilted down. Essentially, my arms and my body follow the same lines of a woman’s body… the lines where her legs and her body meet just below her waist.

Now, many people would be extremely offended that I involved the crucifix in something so overtly sexual. And I suppose, in part, that’s why I haven’t shown many people. That and it’s an extremely personal painting for me. But this is the intent, this is the reason why my painting is probably my favorite crucifix:

My addiction to pornography, to the abuse of women and their bodies, the suffering, the pain, the humiliation, my own mockery of Christ’s death through my sin – all of these things are built into this simple picture. For those reasons, this crucifix picture is my favorite. It’s the most vivid, most accurate account of what really happened when Christ died of me, for my life. It’s what I can relate to because of my own personal experiences, my own sin.

On a similar note, one of my friends would say his favorite crucifix is the painting on the front of Marilyn Manson’s “Holy Wood” cd. Another of my friends would say his favorite crucifix is “Piss Christ” by Andres Serrano. The Manson crucifix and the Serrano crucifix are both works that have traditionally been quite offensive to modern-day Christians. But if you look at the works, if you really dig into them, if you look for the truth in them, you’ll see why they like these images so much.

My friend who likes the Mason art – He just feels like the work does a good job of showing the suffering and pain, the harshness of the cross. And my friend who like’s the Andres Serrano photo feels that Christ on the cross, being submerged in the artist’s piss (and possibly blood) communicates well the submersion of Christ in our sin and humanity.

This is where the tension between art and religion lies – how far is too far? Is submerging the crucifix in piss and blood too far? Is it too far for me to contrast a woman’s sexuality with the broken body of Christ? Or are these pictures that show an overwhelming truth?

I think we are called to recognize and hold on to truth no matter where it is, who says it, who produces it – if for no other reason than to better communicate the gospel for our current generation. This is much like Paul reading and referencing the Creation prophets (Titus 1:12) or walking through Athens, looking at their idols, then telling the people that he knows their “unknown” God (Acts 17:23+). Paul is referencing things that are by no means Christian, but is pulling truth from them in an effort to relate to the people of that land.

In the same way, it can be helpful if I can talk with an artist about why I think “Piss Christ” is so right… Or if I can show a literary connoisseur the gospel through “de Profundis” by Oscar Wilde… Or if I can pull down a Marilyn Manson cd and say to a music lover “Look at this, he got this part right, but here’s how he’s wrong. Let me tell you how God really is.”

The main point is this: I think it is better, if you can handle it, to look for truth in the world so that you can communicate to people in a way they understand. And if you can do this, you can find inspiration and you can find Christ most anywhere you look – which should be extremely refreshing.

Note 1:

More than any other book I have read, “My Name Is Asher Lev” by Chaim Potok communicates not only what it’s like to be an artist, but what it’s like to deal with the tension of art and religion. If you’re not an artist who want’s to understand what it’s like to be one, or if you are an artist who wrestles with the tension between art and religion, I would urge you to read his book. This is my favorite work of fiction.

Note 2:

You can find 3 of the works mentioned my writing here:
Marilyn Manson’s “Holy Wood”: http://www.philiplikens.com/myspace/holywood.jpg
Andres Serrano’s “Piss Christ”: http://www.philiplikens.com/myspace/pisschrist.jpg
de Profundis: http://www.philiplikens.com/myspace/deprofundis.doc

Melting a boy’s heart quickly doesn’t involve microwaves, ovens or stoves… no amount of heat (or cooking) can melt a boy’s heart faster, nothing is hotter, than a girl’s head-first, full-on pursuit of God.

Oh, the power of perspective.

The word-picture of the cube only goes so far – but i’ll continue to use it until it breaks down: Someone once said looking at God is much like looking at a cube – you might be able to see one, two or even three sides, but you’ll never see all the sides at once. That is to say, with limited vision you see the attributes of God.

Each and every one of us has some perspective, some view of God. Just like fingerprints, no two individual’s perspectives are the same (though any perspective, any insight should align with what the bible teaches, otherwise it isn’t true). Each of us has some knowledge of truth, each of us has received some revelation, as Christians, on the attributes and character of God. Our individual insight is based on revelation by the Holy Spirit through reading the bible, prayer, thoughts, life experiences – and through communication. Therein lies the power of perspective.

Imagine holding your cube up in a room full of mirrors, imagine being surrounded by mirrors. By looking in the mirrors, by gaining new perspectives, you can basically see all sides of the cube. And that’s not to say that we will ever be able to see all of God (that’s the point where this word-picture breaks down), but that is to say that other’s perspectives can show you parts of God you wouldn’t normally see.

And really, this is the power in testimony. A personal testimony says “This is where I was, this is how God pulled me out, and this is what I see in all of it. For me, God’s mercy looks like this, His grace looks like that, and His beauty looks like this other thing…”

I say all of this to encourage you to share your perspective, to tell your story, to communicate what God is doing in your life, the attributes of Himself that He has revealed to you. By sharing our perspectives, we share visions of the glory of God. Through our sharing God reveals Himself, His nature, and inspires us to keep running after Him. If you have a story, tell it. If you have a revelation, share it. We need all the perspectives we can get.

We love pain and suffering. We love to see it, hear about it and experience it. We feel better if we have something to talk about, to complain about – pain and suffering brings us some small, perverse comfort.

Look around – the news, the television, the newspaper, the movies. All these forms of media are heavy on the pain and suffering side. This is what the Tool song “Vicarious” is talking about:

“I need to watch things die?From a good safe distance?Vicariously, I?Live while the whole world dies?You all feel the same so?Why can’t we just admit it?”

In some way we do want to just sit back and live vicariously through other people’s experiences, but I think we also like to experience pain and suffering for ourselves. If we have something to complain about, we have something to talk about. Pain eases social discomfort, provides an easy connection.

Another aspect is martyr card that says “Look at me, I’m suffering for another person – aren’t I great?” I think this is probably my personal favorite. It’s a pride thing in me, personally. I think I can hold my head high if I lay myself down for someone else.

Ok, so maybe no one would outright say “I love suffering” or “I love pain” but I think there’s something inside each of us that feels at home with it, find some comfort in it, or the bragging rights we take from it.

Let me explain why sexual abstinence is so important to marriage and how it is related to the process of bonding. To do so, I will quote from my earlier book, Love Must Be Tough, in which I discussed the research findings of Dr. Desmond Morris. These insights were conveyed to me through the writings of my good friend, Dr. Donald Joy, and I am grateful to him for bringing them to my attention. I consider the concept of marital bonding to be one of the most vital understandings ever offered on the subject of long-term marriage. Read carefully, please.

Bonding refers to the emotional covenant that links a man and woman together for life and makes them intensely valuable to one another. It is the specialness that sets those two lovers apart from every other person on the face of the earth. It is God’s gift of companionship to those who have experienced it.

But how does this bonding occur and why is it missing in so many relationships? According to Drs. Joy and Morris, bonding is most likely to develop among those who have moved systematically and slowly through twelve steps during their courtship and early marriage. These stages, described below, represent a progression of physical intimacy from which a permanent commitment often evolves.

1. Eye to Body. A glance reveals much about a person — sex, size, shape, age, personality, and status. The importance people place on these criteria determines whether or not they will be attracted to each other.

2. Eye to Eye. When the man and woman who are strangers to each other exchange glances, their most natural reaction is to look away, usually with embarrassment. If their eyes meet again, they may smile, which signals that they might like to become better acquainted.

3. Voice to Voice. Their initial conversations are trivial and include questions like “What is your name?” or “What do you do for a living?” During this long stage the two people learn much about each other’s opinions, pastimes, activities, habits, hobbies, likes and dislikes. If they’re compatible, they become friends.

4. Hand to Hand. The first instance of physical contact between the couple is usually a non-romantic occasion such as when the man helps the woman descend a high step or aids her across an obstacle. At this point either of the individuals can withdraw from the relationship without rejecting the other. However, if continued, hand-to-hand contact will eventually become an evidence of the couple’s romantic attachment to each other.

5. Hand to Shoulder. This affectionate embrace is still noncommittal. It is a “buddy” type position in which the man and woman are side by side. They are more concerned with the world in front of them than they are with each other. The hand-to-shoulder contact reveals a relationship that is more than a close friendship, but probably not real love.

6. Hand to Waist. Because this is something two people of the same sex would not ordinarily do, it is clearly romantic. They are close enough to be sharing secrets or intimate language with each other. Yet, as they walk side by side with hand to waist, they are still facing forward.

7. Face to Face. This level of contact involves gazing into one another’s eyes, hugging and kissing. If none of the previous steps were skipped, the man and woman will have developed a special code from experience that enables them to engage in deep communication with very few words. At this point, sexual desire becomes an important factor in the relationship.

8. Hand to Head. This is an extension of the previous stage. The man and woman tend to cradle or stroke each other’s head while kissing or talking. Rarely do individuals in our culture touch the head of another person unless they are either romantically involved or are family members. It is a designation of emotional closeness.

9-12. The Final Steps. The last four levels of involvement are distinctly sexual and private. They are:

(9) Hand to Body,
(10) Mouth to Breast,
(11) Touching Below the Waist, and
(12) Intercourse.

Obviously, the final acts of physical contact should be reserved for the marital relationship, since they are progressively sexual and intensely personal.

What Joy and Morris are saying is that intimacy must proceed slowly if a male-female relationship is to achieve its full potential. When two people love each other deeply and are committed for life, they have usually developed a great volume of understandings between them that would be considered insignificant to anyone else. They share countless private memories unknown to the rest of the world. That is in large measure where their sense of specialness to one another originates. Furthermore, the critical factor is that they have taken these steps in sequence. When later stages are reached prematurely, such as when couples kiss passionately on the first date or have sexual intercourse before marriage, something precious is lost from the relationship. Instead, their courtship should be nurtured through leisurely walks and talks and “Lover’s Secrets” that lay the foundation for mutual intimacy. Now we can see how the present environment of sexual permissiveness and lust serves to weaken the institution of marriage and undermine the stability of the family.

– From Love For A Lifetime, by Dr. James Dobson, pp. 32-34

I don’t think I’m supposed to be dating anyone right now. I think it’s planned. And it’s not that I don’t want to date anyone. I wouldn’t mind it. I just don’t think that’s the plan. I think the plan is that I’m single when I go to Asia. I think the plan is that I have a clear head when I go look at the country – that I not be tied to the states. I think the plan is that I really see if I could go live over there for a couple years. I think that’s the plan. I think that’s God’s plan. I wonder what else is His plan.

Jetta girls have a good sense of style, but are kinda plain. T-shirt and jeans kind of girls. Low-maintence. Subtle. Nice. Classic beauty. Nonchalant. Laid back. Quiet. Conservative. A little playful. “Good.”

I’ve wanted a Jetta girl for years. I mean, I’ve wanted a girl who drives a Jetta, who’s kinda plain, but beautiful. Laid back. Subtle. Quiet. Nice. Conservative.

Then they changed the Jetta’s design this past year and made them look crappy with their high-maintenance chrome on the front. So the Jetta girl is out…

Now I want a Civic girl. Have you seen the new Civics? They’re beautiful…

My bed tore clean in two last night. It’s kind of disconcerting… I just woke up and there it was, split in two halves – my head and shoulders on one half, my waist and legs on the other.

I’m not even kidding either.

As you all know, or could know (per my “testimony of a porn addict”), I have a problem with lust. Because of this problem, I suppose, I have come to a most interesting revelation – but one that makes complete sense. Pride and Prejudice, the recent movie with Keira Knightley, actually helps with my lust problems. Let me explain:

If lust is the ill treatment of women and thus pornography, some advertising, movies, music further this mental abuse… wouldn’t it make sense that the right treatment of women, or a picture of such, would help correct this ill treatment?

I am finding that I greatly enjoy pictures of right relationships, of chivalry. I am finding these pictures, these metaphors God has put into my world, help me right my head. Just as junk food will kill you but good food will keep you fit and healthy, doesn’t it make sense that what we feed our mind matters? That if you put crap into your mind, it has nothing good to work with, but if you feed your mind everything good, it couldn’t help but produce some good things? Now that’s not to say that only inputing good will make you sinless and perfect – we are still sinful beings at the core – but perhaps it will help in our journey to look more like Christ.

Today is my half birthday. And my day off. And 8 days til Asia. And I had lunch with a friend. And I’m sure the rest of the day will be most wonderful as welll…