Saturday, September 28, 2013

"Believe ye that I am able to do this?" - Napoleon and Christianity


Tokyo Streets


Napoleon and Christianity

Napoleon humbled himself after he was driven into exile in St. Helena Island of the Atlantic Ocean in 1815.
Napoleon expressed the following thoughts while he was exiled on the rock of St. Helena. There, the conqueror of civilized Europe had time to reflect on the measure of his accomplishments. He called Count Montholon to his side and asked him, "Can you tell me who Jesus Christ was?" The count declined to respond. Napoleon countered:
    Well then, I will tell you. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I myself have founded great empires; but upon what did these creations of our genius depend? Upon force. Jesus alone founded His empire upon love, and to this very day millions will die for Him. . . . I think I understand something of human nature; and I tell you, all these were men, and I am a man; none else is like Him: Jesus Christ was more than a man. . . . I have inspired multitudes with such an enthusiastic devotion that they would have died for me . . . but to do this is was necessary that I should be visibly present with the electric influence of my looks, my words, of my voice. When I saw men and spoke to them, I lightened up the flame of self-devotion in their hearts. . . . Christ alone has succeeded in so raising the mind of man toward the unseen, that it becomes insensible to the barriers of time and space. Across a chasm of eighteen hundred years, Jesus Christ makes a demand which is beyond all others difficult to satisfy; He asks for that which a philosopher may often seek in vain at the hands of his friends, or a father of his children, or a bride of her spouse, or a man of his brother. He asks for the human heart; He will have it entirely to Himself. He demands it unconditionally; and forthwith His demand is granted. Wonderful! In defiance of time and space, the soul of man, with all its powers and faculties, becomes an annexation to the empire of Christ. All who sincerely believe in Him, experience that remarkable, supernatural love toward Him. This phenomenon is unaccountable; it is altogether beyond the scope of man's creative powers. Time, the great destroyer, is powerless to extinguish this sacred flame; time can neither exhaust its strength nor put a limit to its range. This is it, which strikes me most; I have often thought of it. This it is which proves to me quite convincingly the Divinity of Jesus Christ. 

As Ravi Zacharias writes, '...it is difficult to explain this away as mere eloquence...With unbelievable insight, Napoleon saw how Jesus Christ conquered. It was not by force, but by winning the heart.'
http://justjesus.typepad.com/blog/2009/11/napoleon-bonaparte-and-jesus-christ.html

Even when he died in 1821 he left  his last will and testament which made clear how much Napoleon came to respect Christ Jesus.  According to Napoleon's last testament:

"I could not delare loudly and boldly that I was a Christian.  I should have confessed that I was a Christian."

This testament is reportedly kept in a library of a university in Chicago.

Napoleon also expressed various interest views on life:

You can tolerate an ugly woman but bear an arrogant woman.  
A beauty is for the eye but a good wife is for the mind. 
In order to enjoy a married life man and wife has to always share burdens and sweat. 
A true hero is the one who advances over unhappiness of his life. 
If you learn in a right manner, you can change to a right direction.
However wars Napoleon set off and launched resulted in death of 600,000 to one million people.  So, he must have asked big pardon from Christ Jesus.

Nonetheless, Napoleon paved the way for destruction of absolute monarchy systems and oppressive rules in Europe while introducing democracy and liberalism.  He must have been a pawn of the God in His plan called the history.


http://yaplog.jp/tadaopottery/archive/358
St. Helena Island




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Mat 9:27 And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us.
Mat 9:28 And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.
Mat 9:29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.
Mat 9:30 And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.