Ancient Christian Witness

Ras Kass's song is very vulgar and filled with explicit lyrics. But Cruz (Cdero) did a good job responding to what was said in the song.

http://cdero.wordpress.com/2008/07/30/the-miseducation-of-ras-kass/#comment-215

" The following video is explicit and is an inside look at what many Blacks around my neighborhood and in low income communities in general think about when it comes to Christianity.
My comments are below:

Allow me to address Ras’ assertion that the cross and the symbol of a fish are craven images prohibited by God’s laws. While Ras has all the right to judge Christians guilty of idolatry, he can certainly do that and name a number of things that Christians are guilty of, nevertheless his assertion that the cross and the symbol of the fish as graven images mentioned in Ex 20 and in Duet 5 is misleading. First, lets look at scripture itself.
Exodus 20:4-6
You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me,but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Leviticus 26:1-2

You shall make for yourselves no idols and erect no carved images or pillars, and you shall not place figured stones in your land, to worship at them; for I am the Lord your God. You shall keep my sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.

Leviticus 19:4
Do not turn to idols or make cast images for yourselves: I am the Lord your God.

Other passages are Ex 20:22-26,Deut 4:15-24,11:16-17,27:15.

As you can see, these graven images were objects that were worshiped.

Secondly, the law does not prohibit engravings, or other works of art in general. For instance, the Priest’s garment had pictures of pomegranates (Ex. 28:33-34) and the mercy seat had two images of angels made out of gold (Ex 25:18-22). All of these things had a religious function to it. The Law does not forbid religious use of ornaments or works of art but forbids worship of these things in place of God.

That being said, the symbol of a cross or a fish are not idols for Christians but symbols.

This brings me to my third point, the symbols of the cross and the fish direct worship to the true God. The cross symbolizes Jesus’ sacrificial love for us while the symbol of the fish has its roots within the first three centuries of the Church. It symbolized what Jesus said in Mark 1:17, “And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” In other words, the disciples were used to extend Jesus’ ministry.

Concerning the manuscripts, yes, there are no originals but we do have thousands of copies with minor variants that do not at all change the nature and message of the literature in the New Testament. The manuscripts are one of the biggest evidences of the validity of the New Testament.

Lastly, concerning the assertion that humans can be gods. They surely can since there are humans in this world that are worshiped. But Ras Kass perplexes me given that he condemns Christians for idolatry and then promotes idolatry by referring to himself as a god. Perhaps he is confused with the Bible’s various use of the Hebrew term Eloheem. He quotes, Psalm 82:6,”I say, “You are gods children of the Most High, all of you…” but what he does not reveal is that a) these “gods” were Judges over Israel and since they were judges they were refered to as gods since they were given the authority to judge and b) these “gods” were being diciplined for injustice acts and thus God reminded them who they really were, “mortal men (Ps 82:7). Ras forgot to quote the next verse.

As you see the video, please keep in mind that that kind of thinking is common among many Blacks in American Inner cities who have a vendetta against the Church and take up serious issues with us, some warranted while other unwarranted. Pray for Ras Kass that God would remove the bitterness from his heart and have him submit in willingness to the true God of the Church."

Cdero's blog:
http://cdero.wordpress.com/2008/07/30/the-miseducation-of-ras-kass/#comment-215



HCR is trying to put a group of rappers together to respond to Ras Kass, but I think Cdero can single handedly take on what Ras Kass said. But HCR banned him from their Forum.



JNORM888