Memes & Mockery

[Garland-Green]

Beloved brothers and sisters, do not be ashamed when they mock you.
What do you have to be ashamed for? You have a saving faith. You have experienced Jesus in your life. The new creation in you! The promises are true. Rejoice when they mock you, because the world only knows its own! When they mock you, they show you are not one of their own.

Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

Mark 15:19
Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him.

Mark 15:17-18
They dressed Him up in purple, and after twisting a crown of thorns, they put it on Him; and they began to acclaim Him, "Hail, King of the Jews!"

Is it so remarkable that the world mocks us, when it mocked the Lord?
We are not better than our Master. Why do we expect a better treatment?

Mark 15:29-31
Those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads, and saying, "Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!" In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were mocking Him among themselves and saying, "He saved others; He cannot save Himself.

What is the purpose of mocking someone? To mock someone you are showing your contempt and disgust for that person. You are showing how little you regard that person. That is why we Christians are a joke to the world. They have no regard for us, like they had no regard for The Lord. They mocked Jesus, because they did not understand what he was saying. They did not recognize him for who he was.

You have all probably come across a meme or two that takes a jab at the Christian faith, at the nature of God, or the Trinity. We can with certainty,
as Christians say they do not know any better, but it still stings sometimes, and we don't know quite how to respond. I have made this thread to make a few comments on some of the more mean spirited memes to show you how you can approach it in your mind when you come across one.
You don't necessarily have to give an answer to the person posting the meme, since they are often posted to bring about negative reactions, but you can have an answer for your own peace of mind. To make the mockery more easy to bear. For those who do not know, a meme is as defined by Wikipedia; an idea, style or action which spreads, often as mimicry, from person to person via the Internet. They are often an image macro; an image with a funny text.  

[Garland-Green]

I am going to start by going back to a believer in the early church to draw you a piture that it is certainly not unusual or something new for people to make images to mock those who are Christians. This Christian was called Alexamenos, and he worshiped a God who became man.



Historians date Alexamenos’ graffiti to approximately 200 A.D., making it the earliest surviving depiction of Jesus upon the cross. Yet this is not a religious icon meant to elicit awe or worship. (you see the picture of it above, and below)



This graffiti, carved into plaster, was discovered in 1857 during archeological excavations and was soon dubbed Alexamenos graffito. It is old and faded and the original design is difficult to discern, yet a careful tracing reveals two roughly-drawn figures and a string of Greek characters. To the left is a man raising his hand in adoration, in worship or prayer. To his side, rising above him, is a second man suspended from a cross. Crucifixions were commonplace in ancient Rome and this man looks like we would expect: his arms are outstretched, pinned to a crossbar, his feet are planted upon a platform, he is wearing some kind of a garment that covers his lower body. What distinguishes him from any other crucified criminal is that while he has the body of a man, he has the head of a donkey. The inscription says, “Alexamenos sebetai theon,” “Alexamenos worships his God.”  

[Garland-Green]

This meme is called 'Advice God'. Advice God is an advice animal image macro series featuring a portrait of an old man with grey hair and a long flowing beard. The images are typically captioned with text that denounces religion (often christianity) by pointing out "apparent" biblical contradictions and attributing mischievous behaviors to God.

Origin
The image of the old man comes from Michelangelo’s artistic rendition of the Christian God in The Creation of the Sun and Moon, one of the many paintings made between 1508 and 1512 that adorn the walls in the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican City, Italy.

Comment:
First, Christians really do not hold to the idea that God is some old man with a beard. It also irks us (it should at least irk us) when people make a painting of Him, or drawing that is supposed to represent Him, since no one has ever laid eyes on Him, and since we are also forbidden to make images of Him.

Exodus 20:4
4"You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.

Secondly, no where in the Bible does it say that he need the rib to make woman. It is a gross misrepresentation of the text when the maker of this author inserted his idea that God needed to have a rib from Adam to make Eve. The verse reads as;

Genesis 2:21-22
So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man

No where in there do you find any hint that it was impossible for Him to create Eve any other way. It is simply the way God chose to do it.  

[Garland-Green]

Comment:
Assumes God is malevolent, and uncaring, not providing man with enough evidence for the religion he has revealed himself through that man should be left in confusion as to what to chose. His Spirit also works in the wold, with those who are not believers to convince them. We have a caring, and present God never far from any of us.

John 16:7-8
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:

Acts 17:27
that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us:  

[Garland-Green]

Comment:
Childlike is not perfect. A childlike creature has room for growth,
and does not have the capacity in them to always chose what is right,
and what is wrong, meaning they are not all good. Remember that God looked on His creation, and saw that it was good. Not somewhat good, with room for improvement, but all good. As was the case with Adam. Adam was not created a baby, or a toddler and then let loose in the Garden. You don't put a toddler to take care of your house, nor do you hold him accountable when he doesn't know any better because you have not instructed him well enough, or when he doesn't have the capacity to understand.

Genesis 2:15
The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.  

[Garland-Green]

Quote from 'Know Your Meme'
Zombie Jesus is a joke that pokes fun at Christianity by mocking Jesus’ rising from the dead. According to this, this only way jesus could have possibly resurrected is if he was a zombie. The meme has gained much popularity over time and is well known throughout the country and other parts of the world.

Comment:
A zombie is a corps which through a virus (in pop culture), or similar has now the appearance of life. It is void of the person that used to inhabit the body. It has no similarities in behavior to the person it was before death. It has basic motor functions, gurgles and growls, can smell, see and eat, however the tissue is still decaying. It is basically a virus taking control of a dead body once the owner vacates, but it is unable to stop the cellular breakdown. That is certainly not the case with Jesus. He had all this mental faculties. Jesus walked around, talked to people, and even let people touch him, and His wounds so they could see he was not a ghost. His cells were no longer breaking down, but had come back to life. They had life, and were not decaying. Functioning better than they had before he was dead. The process of cellular death is no longer present in his body. His body will remain like this forever, and through eternity. A human body as it should have been. No pains, no aches, no aging, no cellular damage or disease. As perfect as Adam was before the Fall, and the expulsion from the Garden, perhaps even more so since it is our Lord and Creator.  

[Garland-Green]

Philosoraptor is an image macro series featuring a clip art of Velociraptor deeply immersed in metaphysical inquiries or unraveling quirky paradoxes. One of the more thoughtful (and successful) Advice Dog variations, Philosoraptor challenges the reader with his deep, existential, Paleolithic questions.

Origin
The original Philosoraptor was originally created as a T-shirt design on LonelyDinosaur by Sam Smith, who registered the copyright for his design on October 8th, 2008.


Comment:
We are taught in the Bible, that there are no other gods, but God, and that people substitute God, with their own gods. Gods that are not real; "That can't hear, see or taste." There are no other gods, so God is warning us against worshiping false gods, that are not gods at all, and if anything are demonic in origin. Meaning they are demons seeking to be worshiped like gods.

1 Corinthians 10:20
No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.  

[Garland-Green]

Comment:
If there are over 30 days of consecutive darkness in Alaska, does that mean there are no days?
Or is it that the original Hebrew words for day is best described as a 24 hour time period or a rotation of the earth, with or without a sun, written obviously after the creation of the earth by someone who knows the approximation of time for the events created by God as knowledge given to him by the creator.  

[911child]

Agreed, the world mocks us because deep down, they know God is real and they dont wish to accept themselves being wrong, and as a child they lash out at any who show them other wise.

Here are some of my favorite memes:
- I always found that sorta ironic. People are so quick to point out when we are being disrespectful yet are unable or unwilling to see that they too are being disrespectful.

- One image I found and that i agree with. Most Atheists, in my experience, seem to think they know all the answers based on what they made up. They lack to see that for our world, for us to exist, we need a being that has the knowledge and want to create us. If we were in a world of the Big Bang, we'd still be waiting for it.

- Atheists and other nonbelievers will always deny any evidence we show them when they do not want to see it.

- I just find this funny because this is basically what they believe.



- Though i wish for people to believe in what we believe, i understand that some dont. But its interesting to me that Atheists feel they have the right to bash everyone (christians mostly) and not expect some form of retaliation. But when it is done back to them they act like the biggest hypocrites.  

[Garland-Green]

911child

Agreed, the world mocks us because deep down, they know God is real and they dont wish to accept themselves being wrong, and as a child they lash out at any who show them other wise.

Here are some of my favorite memes:
- I always found that sorta ironic. People are so quick to point out when we are being disrespectful yet are unable or unwilling to see that they too are being disrespectful.

- One image I found and that i agree with. Most Atheists, in my experience, seem to think they know all the answers based on what they made up. They lack to see that for our world, for us to exist, we need a being that has the knowledge and want to create us. If we were in a world of the Big Bang, we'd still be waiting for it.

- Atheists and other nonbelievers will always deny any evidence we show them when they do not want to see it.

- I just find this funny because this is basically what they believe.



- Though i wish for people to believe in what we believe, i understand that some dont. But its interesting to me that Atheists feel they have the right to bash everyone (christians mostly) and not expect some form of retaliation. But when it is done back to them they act like the biggest hypocrites.

I think the best approach is the advice Jesus gives us; "offer them your other cheek." The world, the people of the world respond to mocking, by mocking, and repay evil, with more evil. There was a Hollywood movie a while back in which the protagonist of the movie was the savior of the universe, by being more evil than the evil that was threatening it. Actual quote; "In normal times, evil would be fought with good. But in times like these, well, it should be fought by another kind of evil." It is an absurd notion. You don't fight your rash, by attempting to contract the bubonic plague. lol

We as Christians should, I feel, not respond by making mocking image macros. Instead address the things they think they have us with, and leave it at that.  

[911child]

Garland-Green

911child

Agreed, the world mocks us because deep down, they know God is real and they dont wish to accept themselves being wrong, and as a child they lash out at any who show them other wise.

Here are some of my favorite memes:
- I always found that sorta ironic. People are so quick to point out when we are being disrespectful yet are unable or unwilling to see that they too are being disrespectful.

- One image I found and that i agree with. Most Atheists, in my experience, seem to think they know all the answers based on what they made up. They lack to see that for our world, for us to exist, we need a being that has the knowledge and want to create us. If we were in a world of the Big Bang, we'd still be waiting for it.

- Atheists and other nonbelievers will always deny any evidence we show them when they do not want to see it.

- I just find this funny because this is basically what they believe.



- Though i wish for people to believe in what we believe, i understand that some dont. But its interesting to me that Atheists feel they have the right to bash everyone (christians mostly) and not expect some form of retaliation. But when it is done back to them they act like the biggest hypocrites.

I think the best approach is the advice Jesus gives us; "offer them your other cheek." The world, the people of the world respond to mocking, by mocking, and repay evil, with more evil. There was a Hollywood movie a while back in which the protagonist of the movie was the savior of the universe, by being more evil than the evil that was threatening it. Actual quote; "In normal times, evil would be fought with good. But in times like these, well, it should be fought by another kind of evil." It is an absurd notion. You don't fight your rash, by attempting to contract the bubonic plague. lol

We as Christians should, I feel, not respond by making mocking image macros. Instead address the things they think they have us with, and leave it at that.

Agreed and I actually made one of these, the "We need to love and tolerate all religion' except christianity" Because my atheist friend really got on my case so i showed her the injustice people like her do to us when we are denied something that everyone thinks they deserve. And the movie you are thinking of is The Chronicles of Riddick. But, yes, i totally agree with you.  

[Nenanah]

Surprised that there isn't one of those stupid "raptor Jesus" pictures in here.
Gaia even made an item for that meme sadly.  

[Garland-Green]

Gaia even had a forum dedicated to the event, perhaps in connection with Harold Camping and his failed predictions, I am not sure. Don't expect much from Gaia. Don't expect them to be any better than the people that frequent this site. You will be less disappointed.

Per request:



Origin
Raptor Jesus is a 4chan meme that mainly consists of a raptors head photo-shopped on to a picture of Jesus Christ. While others consist of Jesus Christ interacting with a Velociraptor. According to Google Insights, the first search for Raptor Jesus occurred on September 11, 2005.

Quote from Urban Dictionary:
"Nowhere in the bible does it say that Jesus isn't a raptor."

Comment:
There is not really much to say about this meme. It is intentionally offensive, but without any real thought behind it, and so you just kind of shrug it off as being too ridiculous to give more thought, or spend any energy on. The Bible clearly states over, and over that Jesus is the Son of Man (Luke 5:24, Mark 8:31, Luke 9:22, Acts 7:56, Matthew 26:64, Hebrews 2:6-9). He is man. The meme is childish, and crude, much like the Alexamenos graffiti.  

[Garland-Green]

Good Guy Lucifer is an advice animal image macro series that features an image of a man wearing a suit, drinking a martini with angel wings on his back who is meant to represent the Biblical character Lucifer. The captioned text typically references stories from the Bible where Lucifer performs actions that may seem altruistic.

Origin
The first image macro was submitted to the r/atheism subreddit on October 23rd, 2011. The original image comes from the cover of the 16th issue of the DC Comics series “Lucifer” written by Mike Carey. The cover illustration depicts the character Lucifer and was drawn by artist Christopher Moeller.

Comment:
This one is more dangerous, because it twists Bible doctrine,
and give the evil one the appearance of being the good guy.
The Bible teaches us that Lucifer was an angel at one point that because of vanity wanted God's throne, and was cast out of heaven in a battle between the angles of God, and Lucifer's angels. He, when thrown out became God's opponent, and became Satan, while his angels became demons. Whereas all things good emanate from God, all things evil emanate from Satan. He made human nature corrupt by tempting the first man to sin against God, and inspires people presently also to chose evil over good, and prevents man from seeing the truth of the gospel so that he can be saved and be reunited with God. The Devil, or Satan hates (can't find a strong enough word to describe his feelings towards mankind) mankind, because of the special attention it has received from The Creator and the plans God has for it, and for being created in God's image.  

[Garland-Green]

Comment:
Deceives the whole world (Revelation 12:9). Bad guy, and now you are unwittingly (hopefully) part of his PR campaign. Does not punish anyone in the afterlife, but is punished himself in the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:10
And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.