Christ of the Vampires is a Bible study that concerns parallels and differences between Vampirism and Christianity. It is my intention to prove that Jesus is the real Christ of the Vampires. The Bible study will probably shock both Christians and non-Christians alike. So read with an open mind.
Introduction
The Christ of the Vampires is kind of like a Bible study dealing with Vampirism and Christianity. It shows parallels and differences between the two. My intention of writing these articles is to make Christianity more appealing to the non-Christian community, mainly with teenagers.
I am in no way saying that Vampirism was taken from Christianity. So, please do not take the articles the wrong way.
The Christ of the Vampires will probably consist of atleast ten articles, if not more. It will just take me some time to write them. I already have many of the Scripture references picked out, and a list of topics, it is just taking me a while to put my ideas into articles. Drop me a line, if you want to talk more about this Christ of the Vampires.
I welcome any opinions and input that you might have. Everyone learns around here, especially me.
Well, enough for now...... Onto the first article.....
Dracula and the Church
The following article first appeared in a local 'zine called The Wardrobe, which contains music reviews, interviews, poetry, short stories, etc... To receive the latest copy of The Wardrobe, just send a donation to: The Wardrobe, P.O. Box 417, Owasso Ok. 74055-0417. He might even have copies left of the issues containing The Christ of the Vampires Part 1 & 2.
I have spent several years in dealing with those in the Occult and Satanism. Many times, I have been told that Christianity is the bloodiest religion in the world. They are right. I have studied vampires in fiction and fact, to some length. In my studies, I began to notice that the ideas associated with vampirism are usually opposites or parallels with ideas in Christianity. It is my intention to present Jesus to those gothics and vampires in an appealing new light, as well as to teenagers. It is my intention to present Christianity with all the blood and gore that goes along with it, the real Bloody Gospel.
We will start our study of vampirism with what I believe to be the most important part of vampire lore, taken from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It wasn’t until I saw Coppola’s version of the movie that I realized what Dracula was really about. The first 15 minutes are very interesting. Dracula comes back from killing thousands in battle for the Church. He finds that his lovely Elizabeth has committed suicide, after receiving a letter, and believing that her beloved Dracula had been killed in battle. The Romanian priest tells Dracula, "She has taken her own life, my son. Her soul cannot be saved. She is damned. It is God’s law..." After defending God’s church, this is his reward? Dracula makes the statement as many of those in the Occult have done, "I renounce God-and all you hypocrites who feed off him. If my beloved burns in hell-so shall I! I, Dracula, Voivode of Transylvania, will arise from my own death to avenge hers with all the powers of darkness." We see the cross above the altar. Dracula rushes to the cross and impales it with his sword. The chapel darkens and winds blow. He takes a sacramental communion goblet and rakes it through the bloody holy water, and raises it high, and makes the famous statement, "‘The blood is the life.’ And it shall be mine!" Little do most people know that this was taken from the Holy Bible.
In Deut. 12:23, we find "...be sure you do not eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat." Dracula, seemed to know the Bible, and seeked to desecrate God’s Word. "Blood is the life," is a foundational belief in Christianity, in a spiritual sense, which we will learn in a later article. Is Dracula really a monster as Hollywood has portrayed him? Or is Dracula a physical allegory of our inner selves? I am not going to discuss whether I believe the priest to be right in judging Elizabeth undoubtedly damned, because that is a whole other article. I want to look at how Dracula reacted to the situation. I, too, like Dracula, knew God and turned my back on Him and the Church. I, like many teens, understand Dracula’s hatred towards the Church. I didn’t make a physical act of defiance, as graphic as Dracula did, but I did tell God to get out of my life. Later on, I found my way back to God. For me, it was Jesus that cleansed me in the end. For Dracula, a stake through the heart was the only way to cleanse him, but we will talk about that in another article.
(Quotes taken from BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA: The film and the Legend by Coppola & Hart)
Christ, the Church, and Me
The following article first appeared in a local 'zine called The Wardrobe, which contains music reviews, interviews, poetry, short stories, etc... To receive the latest copy of The Wardrobe, just send a donation to: The Wardrobe, P.O. Box 417, Owasso Ok. 74055-0417. He might even have copies left of the issues containing The Christ of the Vampires Part 1 & 2.
After discussing Dracula’s attitude towards the Church, I think it would be quite fitting to discuss Jesus’ attitude toward the Church (Judaism) of his time, especially towards the religious leaders, that considered themselves to be men of God.
In reading the Gospels, we find that Jesus had great contempt for the religious leaders of his day, the Pharisee’s. In the end, it would be these same leaders that would ask him to be crucified. We don’t find Jesus going around condemning the "sinners" of his time, such as the prostitutes. Instead, we find Jesus loving and befriending those that didn’t claim to know God (Matt. 9:9-13). He even ate with tax collectors, and you know how low they are. *grin*
Instead, it is the Pharisee’s that Jesus rebuked quite a bit. Concerning the Pharisee’s Jesus said, "You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’" (Matt. 15:7-9) When the Pharisee’s accused Jesus of driving out a demon by the power of Beelzebub, he said, "You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." (Matt. 12:35) When Jesus talked about the Pharisee’s and the Seven Woes, he said, "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?" (Matt. 23:33) Again, Jesus made the comment, "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." (Matt. 12:1) Obviously, Jesus was just a little bit tired of the hypocrisy in the Jewish community of his time.
I, too, like Jesus, am frustrated with the hypocrisy in the Church. But the way the Church acts, does not affect who Jesus is. When evaluating Christianity, look at the real Jesus, the Christ even of the vampires. I have even had times that I was mad at God, but most of my anger is against the Church.
Like many youth today, the Church has let me down. When I left the Church in a big way, it was not a Christian that led me back. God had to send a high priestess of wicca (witch/pagan) to tell me to go back to church. I’ve always heard the cliche, "The Lord works in mysterious ways", but man! It really hurts me to know that God had to use an H.P. to get me back, instead of a Christian or the Church. I am thankful that I have many wiccan and pagan friends that accept me as I am, a Christian. I love them with all my heart, and they, in turn, love me. I am glad to have the opportunity to call them friends.
For the Christians out there, you don’t have to go to church to be a Christian, just accept Jesus as your Lord. It is also a good idea to atleast meet together with other believer’s for the purpose of fellowship, whether it be a Bible study, prayer group, or a church....
And to my other friends out there, whom I love very much, Jesus is the true Christ of the Vampires. He is the one that died and rose from the grave. But the difference for Him, is He has never returned to the grave. Jesus doesn’t care if you wear black. I do all the time. He doesn’t care, if you are different. He doesn’t care, if your nocturnal. He doesn’t care if you have long incisors. He doesn’t care, if you have problems with the church. He loves you just the way you are, and unlike most vampires, He doesn’t ask for your blood, instead he gave His...
I also want to add, that no matter what you could have done, Jesus won’t stop loving you. I don’t believe there is anything you could have done that is worse than what I’ve done to Christ. I often ask Him, how He can love some like me that has, at times, turned my back on him. But the how is not important, but He does… Christ loves you, and so do I.
Christians, Wipe the Blood from Your Lips
This is the latest of the Christ of the Vampire articles. It was published in the Oct/Nov. issue of Wardrobe. The file was lost on the hard drive, and I am just getting around to transcribing it onto the web page. I tried writing the third Vampire article for about three weeks, but was getting nowhere. I had tons of Scriptures and topics, and we decided on Communion, but I just couldn't put it on paper, and CSL had the rest of the Wardrobe ready to go. I was holding him up. I was really having a hard time those weeks. CSL came over several nights and we discussed the article. The last night, we got together at his house till the early hours of the morning, and I still wasn't being able to finish the article. I left that night, and went to bed. I was really upset that I couldn't find the words to write. CSL took what little I had written, incorporated the Scriptures that I had given him, and basically composed the article. CSL and I constantly talk about the Christ of the Vampires, so he knows what is going on. That day, he printed the mags, and brought me the first run, containing the finished article that I had not seen. He did great. I am constantly on CSL's case concerning the ministry, and sometimes he is on mine. So, despite what CSL says in the article, he really deserves the credit. It may have been my brains, but it was his writing. CSL often has to borrow my brains.... *grin* I mean with a name like that........and those clothes......oh, and that hair..... *grin*
This was the last article written in this issue. I just realized I have not mentioned my name a whole heap. My name is CultureShockLewis (Csl). And I write the Wardrobe, but the person who gets the real credit for this article is Pale Rider. He has written two articles in previous issues which are still available if you send me a buck per issue. Also, this was done in a rush. You will see advertisement for his webpage at the end of this article. Most of the following was written by Paley.
This issue, we will be discussing the drinking of blood. We have all seen the vampire movies, where the vampire drinks the blood of his victims, mostly by biting them on the neck. The biting on the neck is probably one of the most distinct characteristics concerning vampires that comes to the mind of the average person. There are a few different ways that a blood sucking vampire can go about things. 1) Go to a blood bank.
The idea behind drinking the blood for a vampire, is that it gives him life. It is that life-blood that allows the vampire to live forever. But to keep a vampire alive, it is through the sacrifice of someone else or something.
However, in Christianity, we find the exact opposite. For the Christ of the Vampires, instead of being selfish and taking life, he freely gives his. Therefore it is the Christians themselves who are like the Vampires and accept the blood of Christ's sacrifice as atonement for their sins "to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace," Eph. 1:6-7 NIV.
"I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever," John 6:53-58 NIV.
There are two ways to be turned into a vampire in vampire "myth"; 1) to be bitten by a vampire or 2) to drink the blood of a vampire. It is one of these two ways that a person can be initiated into the earthly immortal life of a vampire. The person then dies to the mortal life and is resurrected as a member of the un-dead.
One becomes a Christian by accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as the Savior of the Universe. This initiation is shown symbolically in Communion. One then dies to their old, sinful ways and becomes a new creation in Christ. In this way, one will have eternal life in Heaven.
Communion, also called "The Lord's Supper" was first done by Jesus on the night he was to be betrayed, as found in Matt. 26:26-30, Mark 14:22-24, and Luke 22:17-20. We find out in the writings of the Apostle Paul, somewhere around A.D. 57, that Communion became a sacred rite in the church. Paul writes, "The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is a new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.' For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes," 1 Cor. 11:23-26 NIV. This then shows symbolically the acceptance of Christ. "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God," 1 Peter 1:23.
Synopsis/Credits: The Bloody Gospel is a small collection of articles that detail similarities and differences between Vampirism and Christianity. An interesting study meant to prove that Jesus is the true "Christ of the Vampires." Originally housed on Pale Rider's website (now offline), these articles were rescued from archives and now have a home here. All rights remain with Pale Rider and CultureShockLewis (CSL).