The Other 2%

I was sitting here eating my lunch and cruising through the world news trying to do my part to be a culturally relevant preacher. I came across this article on Fox News and decided to read it. Partly because I never hear anything about Will Smith in the news but mostly because I saw the word "Scientology."

The source is http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,316808,00.html if you want to check out the whole article. But it was the quote that I have pasted below that made me laugh and also wonder about the 2%.

"In this latest scenario, Smith seems somewhat won over after Pinkett already had taken the lead. Smith continues to defend Cruise and Scientology. Smith reiterated on "Access Hollywood" this week a similar idea he presented in a men’s mag this month: that Scientology and the Bible are pretty much the same.

He told "Access": "I was introduced [to] it by Tom and I’m a student of world religion. I was raised in a Baptist household, I went to a Catholic school, but the ideas of the Bible are 98 percent the same ideas of Scientology, 98 percent the same ideas of Hinduism and Buddhism."

My stock for Will Smith just hit the depression of 1929. I never really put stock in Hollywood or its counterparts but I have always had a fondness for Will Smith; his family values and ability to keep his wife and kids protected from the front page of the pitiful star magazine types. As far as his "Student of world religion" statement, he must be reading that children's bible that I read to my kids at night. Actually, that children's Bible is even more informative than Mr. Smith's comments seem to be.

Let's be honest no where does Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, or Christianity teach about aliens taking over our bodies. If my Scientology is a little off I apologize but I am not too concerned with studying the deep details of it because on the surface it has no validity and to waste time on something that does not have "The Ring of Truth" is time not well spent. However the version goes, aliens are somehow involved and the essential truth about Jesus is left out.

Buddhism and Hinduism are both based on works salvation very different from Judaism and Christianity and Judaism is waiting for a Messiah that has already come. There are hundreds of prophecies in the writings of the Jewish historians and prophets that attest to the truth that Jesus is that Messiah.

Will did say 98%. So, if we concede the numbers we could say that there is room for the 2% factor. I don't think we could fit Jesus, space aliens, and work salvation into 2% but say we could. That 2% is enough to kill you.

The root of this problem lies in the exclusive factor of Jesus Christ. It is not popular to confess that Jesus Christ is the way, the only way, to the Father. People would much rather focus our attention on their own merit. I am sure that Scientology does wonderful things for kids and education at some level, but as far as salvation goes, there is no donation large enough that can buy that. Christians were bought at a price and that price is the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

That's the contention and I am not going to speak about my faith as though I have it all figured out, but the Bible does tell us that there will come a time when people will not listen to what is reasonable and will only hear what their itching hears want to. I believe the truth is not that hard to find and those wanting for it to be something of their own liking pass it as they wave to Jesus flying by in search of the mother ship.