Bread for the belly, flesh for the soul: How the gift God gave Elijah points to an even greater gift



After Elijah slaughtered the prophets of Baal, Jezebel threatened to do likewise to him, prompting the prophet of the one true God to flee. Elijah left his servant in Beersheba, then departed by his lonesome into the wilderness, where he asked for death beneath a juniper tree: "It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers."

It appears that even one of the greatest prophets fell victim to the desperation many might feel today when struck by a feeling of isolation, confronted more broadly with signs of demoralization and desacralization, or even when met with the basic hardships life inevitably throws our way.

In Elijah's case, the children of Israel had forsaken God's covenant, thrown down his altars, and slain his prophets.

"I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away," Elijah gloomily told the Lord at the foot of tree.

Fortunately, God did not oblige his prophet.

Instead, an angel of the Lord furnished Elijah with cake and water, twice instructing him to "arise and eat," indicating that otherwise, the "journey is too much for you."

Whereas Elijah's nourishment would last him 40 days, Christ will sustain us forever.

As it says in Psalm 34, "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them."

The psalm says further, "The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all."

Elijah was given food to sustain him for 40 days and 40 nights — the apparent length of his journey to Horeb, where at the mount of the Lord, he learned why he couldn’t previously throw in the towel and give up the ghost.

God sent an angel to provide his despairing prophet with cake and water. God has sent us his only son, Jesus Christ — to provide us sinners with his flesh and blood.

Whereas Elijah's nourishment would last him 40 days, Christ will sustain us forever.

In John 6, Christ tells us, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."

"Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life," Christ said. "I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

Different denominations may interpret the bread of life discourse differently. Catholics, for instance, understand Christ is speaking not only of faith in him but of him in the Eucharist.

It should be clear across the board, however, that our shared faith in Christ and relationship with him will fuel us for our respective journeys.

In Horeb, Elijah received his marching orders. In the twofold commandment, we have ours. In Ephesians 4-5, St. Paul provides some additional instruction on how we, so nourished by Christ, should comport ourselves along the way.

Ultimately, Paul indicates we must "follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

Our nourishment was made possible through Christ’s sacrifice for us. It appears only fitting that we remain full on our journeys by sacrificing for one another.

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French police arrest several Christians for protesting attacks on Christians



In the wake of the 2024 Olympics opening ceremony mocking the Last Supper, members of a conservative advocacy group headed to Paris to protest such routinized attacks on Christianity. They were promptly arrested and left to conclude that the underlying problem is perhaps worse than first imagined.

The watchdog group Open Doors revealed in its latest annual report that one in seven Christians worldwide — over 365 million Christians — faces "high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith."

Blaze News previously reported that the 10 worst countries for Christians are North Korea, Somalia, Libya, Eritrea, Yemen, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Iran, and Afghanistan. Christians stand a good chance of being tortured, imprisoned, raped, and murdered for their faith in these third-world nations as well as in countries far higher up the list, such as China.

Attacks on Christians and on their churches are not limited, however, to Africa, the Middle East, or the Orient.

Arielle Del Turco, director of the Center for Religious Liberty at the FRC, revealed in a report earlier this year that between 2018 and 2023, there were at least 915 acts of hostility against American churches. Canada, too, has seen hundreds of churches razed by radicals since 2021.

Against this backdrop of anti-Christian persecution and hatred, the French — who have seen their fair share of anti-Christian attacks — kicked off the 2024 Olympics with a ceremony mocking Christianity.

The opening ceremony contained a scene intended to resemble Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper." However, instead of depicting Christ and his disciples, the ceremony's designer, Thomas Jolly, instead had several transvestites strike poses on either sides of a morbidly obese lesbian named Barbara Butch.

Jolly then had a virtually naked man painted blue — intended to represent Dionysus, Greek god of wine-making — set upon the table as a substitute meal.

The ceremony generated significant controversy and elicited denunciations from various Christian institutions around the world, including the Vatican.

The Madrid-based conservative advocacy group CitizenGo started a petition demanding an apology and an explanation from all members of the International Olympic Committee.

"Enough is enough! This grotesque spectacle was an affront to everything we hold sacred, and it cannot go unchallenged," said the petition, which had over 392,500 signatures at the time of publication.

"All too often, we stand by and do nothing while they step on us and mock our Christian faith. But after today, I’ve seriously had enough! What happens if we stay silent? Our faith, our Christian symbols, will become a permanent parody promoted by queer, LGBTI, and trans lobbies, backed by our globalist leaders and the international left."

CitizenGo sent a bus into the heart of Paris Monday with "Stop attacks on Christians!" written on the side.

The bus was also emblazoned on one side with images of both Da Vinci's "The Last Supper" as well as a photograph of the Olympic ceremony mocking the religious imagery, striking a damning contrast.

Catholic activist Caroline Farrow alleged that despite having no issues early in the day, the bus was ultimately stopped "at gunpoint" by French police who surrounded the vehicle and claimed they were "conducting a 'public demonstration without the government's permission.'"

'They are tyrannical, anti-Christian bullies.'

A lawyer for the group claimed, "It appears impossible to constitute the crime of failing to communicate a protest because there is no protest in the presence of one unique vehicle. The prosecutor pushed the law to its limits to stop the bus and limit their free speech."

According to Farrow, six members of her team — including two from the U.K. — were arrested, then taken to the police station "where they were put in handcuffs and transferred to a second secure facility."

"They are tyrannical, anti-Christian bullies. It's absurd," the group said on X.

"Fearing the campaign's impact and the stain on France's image to the world, the political elites viciously censored CitizenGO in a manner akin to an authoritarian regime," continued Farrow. "The French police, under political orders from high-level political authorities, arrested six campaigners and the bus driver. All of their belongings were confiscated, they were stripped and searched, and they were illegally denied to call their personal lawyers. [S]ome were even not allowed to call their family members and were held on non-existent charges."

Farrow suggested further that the effort to shut up the protesters backfired, granted their bus, which was "clearly offensive to the French police and authorities, [was] still parked at the Police Station in District 16th, 3 blocks from the Arc de Triumph in front of everyone in the middle of downtown Paris."

The conservative group indicated that French police escorted their bus out of the city the next day.

Ignacio Arsuaga, president of CitizenGo, tweeted, "Our lawyer tells us there is no case, and that the prosecutor ordered the gendarmerie to arrest the campaigners even though there was no case."

"We are now going to file a lawsuit against Macron, the Attorney General, and the gendarmerie. Woke governments are becoming increasingly totalitarian," added Arsuaga.

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'The Last Supper' or not, the Olympic ceremony was an abomination



If there were an event for smarmy condescension, our insufferable fourth estate would win the gold, silver, and bronze.

This year's bizarre Summer Olympics opening ceremony, with its tableau of gyrating drag queens, was close enough to da Vinci's famous "The Last Supper" that even the least religious noticed.

If anything, the fact that 'The Last Supper' is still so widely recognized — that blasphemy is still even possible — shows how far we have yet to fall.

Media outlets like MSNBC were happy to admit it — if only to mock the “moral panic” of any Christians wondering what the spectacle of half-naked “fat positivity” types had to do with honoring the spirit of amateur athletic excellence.

Once that ran its course, they embraced a new take with equal smugness: "Ackshully, the ceremony clearly evoked Greco-Roman mythology's 'The Feast of the Gods,' a wild Dionysian revel among the immortals on Mount Olympus. That's what the blue smurf demon was all about. Silly Christians!"

Let’s just assume "The Last Supper" connotations are completely accidental. The performance was still an abomination.

Dionysus is a terrible figure, like most mythological deities. The god of fertility, wine, theater, pleasure, insanity, and social contagion, Dionysus demanded ritual sacrifices as worship. In one account, when the people of Argos ignored him, he possessed mothers with an insanity that turned them into cannibals and led them to kill their children.

One can't help but be reminded of the frenzied mothers of today, possessed by the god of “affirmation” and goaded into mutilating their children's bodies. It's a grim coincidence that just days before these leering gender goblins gyrated onto the global stage, Kamala Harris chose “RuPaul’s Drag Race” as the platform on which to launch her campaign.

After years of “drag story hours” and drag shows in public squares in the middle of the day, it’s hard to accept their claim to innocence. Drag queens are inherently sexual. That’s the whole point — or one of them.

And let’s not pretend that there isn't an organized bunch of drag queens who intentionally mock Christianity at sporting events without any repercussions because they’re worshipped by the activist class that occupies the media.

With a sprinkle of propaganda, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are framed as a charity movement that stands up to the evils of Christianity — ironically, there would be no charity without centuries of Christian devotion to victims.

This is perfectly in line with the fashionable habit among academics and activists to hiss at any mention of God. Picture a snake, a predator that feigns inferiority to gain power.

NBC blamed conservatives, Forbes blamed Rob Schneider, and a slew of other supposedly reputable outlets demonized Christians and deified drag queens. NBC balked that “while some fans loved this unabashed display of French camp and kitsch, others — particularly those who espouse conservative or Christian beliefs — were not happy with it.”

Ah, so that's what it was. Harmless “camp.” This gleefully profane celebration of paganism in a country whose history is so intertwined with the rise of Christianity that it's often called the eldest daughter of the Church. A country, like most in Europe, barely clinging to the Christian heritage at the heart of its national identity.

If anything, the fact that "The Last Supper" is still so widely recognized — that blasphemy is still even possible — shows how far we have yet to fall.

None of this should overshadow the athletes who've come to Paris from around the world to compete. As always, this summer's Olympic Games are a testament to the brave men and women pushing their God-given bodies and spirits to the limit.

The dark, ancient forces to which these games were dedicated, however, should serve as a sobering reminder of the battle that will rage on long after the medals have been counted.

Even When Blaspheming At The Olympics, Queer Activists Reinforce Christianity

In their attempts to slime what they see as their enemies, queer activists reinforce the realities they're trying to destroy.

Burger King in Spain uses Christ's words at Last Supper — 'Take all of you and eat of it' — for Holy Week ad campaign; apologizes after Catholic uproar



Burger King in Spain used Christ's words at the Last Supper in a Holy Week ad campaign for vegetarian menu items, and then apologized after uproar from Catholics in the country, Fox News reported.

What are the details?

"Take all of you and eat of it," one ad stated in a pitch for the Big King Vegetable sandwich, the cable network said.

Another ad said, "Flesh of my flesh" with the word "flesh" twice crossed out and replaced with vegetable, Fox News said.

Si esta ha sido la publicidad, las disculpas est\u00e1n bien. No hay motivo por el cual tomar a un texto, sagrado para muchos, y utilizarlo para vender productos. Se llama sentido com\u00fan y al parecer su agencia de marketing no lo tiene. Se respeta.pic.twitter.com/Qb1NU43rvH
— La Milanesa (@La Milanesa) 1650214722

The ad campaign angered Catholics in Spain, where 60% of the population is Catholic, the cable network said.

"Apparently, the loss of culinary taste and the lack of respect for religious sentiments go hand in hand," Bishop José Ignacio Munilla of Orihuela-Alicante tweeted along with a photo of the "Take all of you and eat of it" ad:

Por lo visto, la perdida del gusto culinario y la falta de respeto a los sentimientos religiosos van de la mano...\n#SabadoSantopic.twitter.com/XSQCIFmfof
— Jose Ignacio Munilla (@Jose Ignacio Munilla) 1650131441

An online petition called for a Burger King boycott.

What does the petition say?

"I am indignant!" the Google translated petition states. "I just saw the Burger King ad where they use the Gospel to promote a veggie burger! They mock the Eucharist and the death of Christ in the most sacred time for Christians. They take advantage of Holy Week to launch an offensive campaign against the millions of believers in order to get publicity and money. It's time to respond with a boycott of Burger King."

It adds, "Sign and tell the CEO of Burger King that if the general director of Spain and Portugal, Jorge Carvalho, is not dismissed for taking out this ad, you will never set foot in any of his restaurants with your family."

What did Burger King have to say?

Burger King told Fox News in a statement that campaign's intention was "never to offend."

"At Burger King, we value diversity and inclusion," the statement reads, according to the cable network. "The intention of this campaign, executed by our partner in Spain, was never to offend. However, we are aware that it did, and as a result the ads were quickly taken down. We apologize for any offense."