How sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer\u2019s ear! It makes the wounded spirit whole, and calms the troubled breast; Dear Name! the rock on which I build, my shield and hiding place, Jesus, my Shepherd, Brother, Friend, my Prophet, Priest and King, Weak is the effort of my heart, and cold my warmest thought; When John Newton wrote that, he could not have foreseen that 250 years later the sweetness of Jesus’ name would no longer be thought of as manna to the hungry soul<\/em>, but ice-cream to the greedy stomach. The Sweet Jesus ice-cream company, we are told<\/a>, was born out of a love for experimentation. <\/em>Experimenting with shabbily belittling what Christians regard as the most important event in human history: God becoming man.<\/p>\n Christians have so little influence on Canadian society today that not only can an ice-cream merchant name his sticky wares \u201cSweet Jesus\u201d without fear of losing his profit, but the free advertising generated by gratuitously irritating Christians will probably result in increasing it.<\/p>\n Had the owners been less astute in their assessment of the cultural zeitgeist and named their obesity inducing, artery clogging sugar laden junk confection \u201cMunchable Mohammed\u201d, they would not only have lost their profits but been prosecuted under Bill 59; assuming they hadn\u2019t lost their heads first.<\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t help that the \u201ct\u201d in \u201cSweet\u201d is an inverted cross and the \u201cs\u201d in \u201cJesus\u201d is a lightning bolt, both obliquely tied to Satanism.<\/p>\n Adding to the odious miasma that wafts effortlessly like mist from a B grade horror film are these advertisements that feature what some have called “creepy” looking children:<\/p>\n There are some online petitions<\/a> urging a name change, something that the owner is not willing to do, and there are numerous expressions of outrage<\/a> on both sides.<\/p>\n None of this surprises me. In Canada, the ridiculing of Christianity and Christians is a national sport; I am surprised that it is not worse than it is. It\u2019s futile to blame the world: it knows no better. If anyone is to blame, we \u2013 Christians and our pathetic, impotent mainline churches\u00a0 – are. If our church doesn’t take Christ seriously<\/a>, and we continue to support it, why should we expect anyone else to?<\/p>\n From here<\/a>:<\/p>\n There are few things that feel more care-free than enjoying an ice cream cone, and Toronto-based chain Sweet Jesus serves up gigantic, Instagram-worthy soft serve cones \u2014 or blasphemy, depending on who you ask.<\/p>\n The brand, founded in 2015 by Andrew Richmond and Amin Todai, has received attention from some in the Christian community for the religious imagery in their logo and advertising. Richmond told the Star in 2016 that the name stuck after an employee would often declare \u201csweet Jesus,\u201d after tasting the ice cream and says the brand has nothing to do with religion.<\/p>\n The backlash has followed Sweet Jesus\u2019 expansion south of the border, where they have opened up shop in Baltimore and the Mall of America. Petitions began popping up in January, after right-wing blog Activist Mommy posted an article analyzing the \u201cblasphemous\u201d use of religious imagery in the brand\u2019s logo.<\/p>\n A petition hosted on CitizenGO, a site that bills itself as a conservative advocacy group, calls Sweet Jesus \u201coffensive and revolting,\u201d and accuses the ice cream parlour of hate speech towards Christians. The petition calls for a public apology for \u201copenly (attacking) the Christian community,\u201d and God. The petition further asks for a name change to \u201celiminate mockery toward our Lord Jesus.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of the hymns we Anglicans like to sing goes like this: How sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer\u2019s ear! It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds, and drives away his fear. It makes the wounded spirit … Continue reading
\n<\/span>It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds, and drives away his fear.
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\n<\/span>\u2018tis manna to the hungry soul, and to the weary rest.
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\n<\/span>My never-failing treasury, filled with boundless stores of grace.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>My Lord, my Life, my Way, my End, accept the praise I bring.
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\n<\/span>But when I see thee as thou art, I\u2019ll praise thee as I ought.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/anglicansamizdat.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Sweet-Jesus-Girl-500x500.jpg\")
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