Doug Heffernan & the Trinity

I love sitcoms. Just the good ones though! I usually watch them when I am relaxing on the couch, slowly turning into a vegetable. My Amazing Girlfriend Gabe has got me hooked on King of Queens. I came across a great conversation between Doug and a Rabbi in an episode. It’s about religion.

The three most popular religions are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. These three religions all have something in common. They all claim to have roots to Abraham. Abraham is a guy that we first meet in Genesis (it's the first book in the Bible). Generally speaking Jews and Christians both agree on who Abraham was and why he was important. Abraham was on a mission from God and the mission was continued through his son Isaac. This is where the Muslims disagree. They say that the mission was continued through his other son, Ishmael. Now, to the average Joe this argument seems pointless. Who cares!? Don’t these religions all worship the same God? Why can’t we just overlook the differences and simplify things a bit? Why not just admit that we all worship the same God? Is it true that right now we have three separate religions that all worship the same God and just disagree about a few details? The answer for this is a swift, simple, answer... I won't tell you the answer but the word starts with an "N" and ends with an "O".

The Details

Well some people don’t think that these three religions worship the same God. I think that there are many Jews, Christians and Muslims that think we all worship the same God. But each religion thinks that it is the one that God favors. You can be a Christian no matter what, As long as you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died for your sins, He rose again three days later and is now in Heaven. We also need to believe that there is no possible way for us to get to heaven except for having a personal relationship with Jesus. But I'm a good person! I give money to poor people..... good works can't get you into heaven, it is only by believing in Jesus and having Him in your life. You can be a Jew and become a Christian and Muslims can become Christians, everyone can be. I think instead of worrying about what "title" we put over our door, we need to worry about our personal relationship with God and His Son Jesus.

Surprisingly, Doug (the not-so-bright star of King of Queens) understands the distinction between Christianity and its rivals. Why don’t you take a look at the script and then I’ll explain the important distinction.

Transcript from an episode

Setting: In a car on the way to Arthur’s wedding. Deacon is driving. Doug and a Rabbi are in the back seat.

Doug – I can’t believe you aren’t the one getting divorced.

Deacon – Hey stop talking about divorce will you, you guys are gonna be fine. You always work these things out. She screams, you cry, two pizzas later you’re back to normal.

Doug – This is different Deac, Okay? We had a commitment about our future and she just didn’t hold up her end. That’s not right, is it?

Rabbi Feldman– Well I certainly understand why you’re upset, but I also know that God believes in forgiveness.

Doug – Yeah. Is that just your God, or any God?

Rabbi Feldman– Do you think you and I have different Gods?

Doug – No! No, no, no, no… oh, I mean, yeah. Only cause my God is… Jesus. But, uh. But from what I understand my God is the Son of your God. So, I’m sure they’re on very good terms. They probably see each other all the time. You know holidays, family functions.

Car screeches to a halt and Doug rams into the seat in front of him.

Doug – Hey! What the (blank) was that for?

Deacon – To shut you up.

The Difference Doug Makes

This bit between Doug and Rabbi Feldman is supposed to be funny. Those of you who are familiar with King of Queens probably read it with the appropriate tone of voice. Even though it’s funny it is also true. As Christians, we worship God and we believe in the Trinity (cool word). The Trinity is amazing, it's God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit... so God + Jesus + the Holy Spirit = God :) 1 + 1 + 1 = 1

Doug mentions that Jesus is the Son of God. This is true. Jesus made it clear to his fellow Jews (yes that’s right, Jesus was a Jew) that if they did not follow Him then they were rejecting the Father. Well, let’s let Jesus speak for himself.

“he who rejects Me rejects Him Who sent Me.” Luke 10:16

Jesus says, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you really knew Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.”" John 14:5-7

So we need to know Who we believe in, why we believe and then we need to tell others about it. In my sunday school class our key verse for last week was found in Mark 16:15 “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature".. so hear it, believe it, and do it.

So I encourage you to do that, if you don't know Jesus as your personal Lord, it's easy, if you would like to talk about getting to know Him or anything else that is on your mind and you just need an ear, gimme a shout. My email is igtmatt@gmail.com.



---Pastor Matt













Original concept from matcoke