Ok forgive me if this is not better edited. I am writing this from my phone while this thought crosses my mind. I watch this show on the History channel called VIKING. Really good show about Vikings and how they lived. I don't know how much of it is true depiction but nonetheless the thing that seems to stick out most about them in this show is their attitude towards sex, drinking, killing, sailing, and religion.
This show is definitely not for the squeamish nor for children. In the show these Vikings sail west to England where they happen to come upon a bunch of monks and a Catholic church. After raiding the church and killing almost all the monks; they enslave a few and take them back to their homeland. One monk in particular is housed with the lead Viking in the show. The monk is constantly surrounded by these Vikings who act out their daily lives in front of them. They begin to start taking about, and praying to, their gods odin and thor directly in front of the priest to get a ride out of him.
Now mind you this monk who is a slave is trying to keep his faith through prayer and reading the book of John, by which he managed to save from being burned; all while he's being tempted with group sex, alcohol, and even drugs. The constant talk about their gods doesn't help him out any better either. So the monk does what any good Christian should do; he does as Jesus commanded us to do, and that is spread the gospel. Surprisingly the one who has captured him is the one who wants tto know his God the most. What the monk fails to realize is that satan is cunning and ever so subtle in his attacks on Christians. you never know what is going on in the mind of someone you are witnessing to.
The Viking, after listening to the monk, states that the monks God and their god seem quite similar. Right then the monk is confronted by a thought he has already considered himself, during his stay with them, but has not prepared himself against. Let me explain. The enemy uses various tactics against believers to snare us in traps we are not prepared for. The Viking has just introduced to the monk a religion widely celebrated today called universalism. It is a belief that uses various faiths and doctrines to explain why we are here and who is God. And how we can know him. Famous people such as Oprah Winfrey believe in this type of faith. It sounds pleasant and acceptable, but really its just tolerance as to say; you worship who you want, whether I believe it to be a false god or not, and ill worship who I believe because we are all getting to god in one way or another. This is a lie; and it is a trap to all believers in Jesus Christ. it sounds good and "fair" but it still belittles jesus christ and the scriptures. Because of that one statement the Viking made ; the monks belief is now called into question and he has no defense. He is now on shaky foundation because he let the fear of being captured and the fear of being a slave cause him to lose hope in Christ.
Now I understand this is a fictional show but the threat is very real. If we as Christians don't have a rock solid faith; then as the bible says "we shall we tossed to and fro like the wind". The Bible makes no false claims of a stress free, struggle free Christian life. Always remember that the enemy is ever so subtle in his attacks against us and he does take a personal interest in us. But greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world.
The apostle Paul says something in 2timothy 2:24-26 that would of, I think, helped the monk as well as help us in our day to day struggles against the forces of evil.
...the lords servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of truth and they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
Our hope is that 1. God will grant them mercy and allow them to repent; 2. They will awaken from their deception and escape the devil. The thing we need to realize is that anything that has to do with the actual work of saving the enemy is done not by our hands at all. All we can do is teach, be patient and correct inaccuracies with love. Patiently enduring evil is not being tolerate its trusting in God. The text says we are to still correct inaccuracies when needed. It did not say sit idly by and let untruth be spoken without rebuttal. Had the monk done what the Scripture says he would be firmly planted on God's word. He also would escape the snares of the devil; the very same snares that have entrapped the very one he was witnessing to.
We cannot afford to be soft in our belief in God. Otherwise the enemy will have taken out two instead of just one.
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