Although we Protestants don’t really observe it next week is listed by the Roman Catholics as Holy Week, the last week of Jesus’ ministry before his death and resurrection. This is a time when Christians around the world should pause to reflect on what the death and resurrection of our Savior means to us, and it has become a time for another tradition, an attempt by the main stream media and others to trash our faith. Last year it was the rightly forgettable Lost Tomb baloney, the year before, I believe, was the Gospel of Judas, and who can forget Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code (I guess I could, because it honestly took me several minutes to remember the title!) the year before that?
I don’t know about any others, I’m sure there are probably some, but the writers of a nationally distributed comic strip about life in an office are doing their part this year. Earlier this week they introduced a character named Jesus, and although they make sure to add the disclaimer that the name is pronounced Hay-soos, the attempted parody is obvious. Through today, Wednesday, the Hay-soos character has made a bald character’s hair grow just by touching him, the same character can see without glasses and Hay-soos changed coffee into wine. He also gathered a group of twelve to work on an office project, and the last strip I saw had one of the main characters coming to the company’s CEO and offering to point Hay-soos out for forty shares of stock.
As I said this is an attempted parody, but in actuality it is open mockery of the Biblical account of JESUS of Nazareth. One question it brings to my mind is how many “Christians” are going to be offended enough by this to do anything, even posting a blog entry about it? My guess is, not very many. The second question is, why are the writers doing this?
There are several answers to this question, and one is that the writers honestly think it is funny. Another possibility is that, since it is the Easter season, this series is a way to draw readers (and thus revenue). And a third possibility is they think they can get away with it, and they’re probably right. There probably aren't many “Christians” who would write the papers this trash is appearing in to complain, much less cancel any subscriptions to said papers, and certainly Christianity is so marginalized in the minds of many that the series will pass without comment. If, on the other hand, these writers had dared to do a parody about Mohamed, if any paper dared to print it the entire Muslim world would rise in fury and demand not only the blood of the writers, but those who dared publish it.
Finally, this brings to mind two questions every Christian should ask themselves: One, how much longer is the Creator of the Universe going to allow His name to be mocked like this? And when He finally moves, what is our response to this attitude going to be?
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5 comments:
I think you are creating a tempest in a teapot. I am a Christian. I pray, study the Bible and meditate daily. I also read Dilbert. I had an entirely different reaction to this comic than you did. I thought the artist was poking fun at fake Christianity. His stock in trade is to see the ridiculous in the real. We have the growing presence of Hispanic names, among which the name "Jesus" is very popular. Americans don't know that to the Spanish, this is like being named Josh. So everyone jumps to conclusions, and the comic character obligingly meets their expectations.
You are right that Muslims would probably issue a fatwa against the artist if he had parodied the common name Mohammed in the same spirit. But Christians don't do that. The artist did no disservice to Jesus Christ our Lord, because he wasn't saying anything about Him. This comic is about human nature, and maybe about the impact of our changing national demographics.
This is my point of view.
I think it's all in the interpretation. I can see both sides here, however given the present ideas and attitudes towards Christians these days I tend to lean more on the side of they are trying to make fun of it. Everyone knows that a very common Spanish name is Jesus (hay soos.) The point in the matter is, that whether they mean the Spanish version or English version it's still Jesus. Using it in the Spanish version just makes it easier to get away with ridiculing Jesus.
Given the timing of the comic strip (Resurrection celebration is upon us)and the content of the cartoon (people scoff at the miracles such as water into wine, and healing...and God has grown hair back on people who have lost it in certain situations) my first reaction is that it is not just to be humorous. At work, people hang up print outs of things such as this making fun of Christians and Jesus. They don't believe that it is just some comedy thing.... they believe that the author is making valid points against Christianity. That's why I blame the present mindset and attitude on how this should be taken. If it were years ago... when the attitudes were much less hateful towards Christianity here in the states, then I would have laughed it off... but not now with my present experience.
I think that as time goes forward attacks on the Bible, Jesus, and the One True God will only become more frequent and more brazen. As for this comic strip, only God can know the true motives of the author. As a Christian I don't care for what he has written. The thing that really gets me is that it seems that society expects Christians to simply take what's dished out and not stand up for themselves. If we do stand up for ourselves we're being too sensitive or being anti-this-or-that. As Christians we have to know that we must stand up for the Truth, but in doing so we will be met with persecution. It's the nature of the life that God has given us.
We must stand up for truth. The truth is that our faith is constantly challenged. I agree that Christians are under fire. But I think we need to make sure that when we react to an attack, we must be sure that we have been attacked. Serpentine wisdom required here. When we attack a joke as if it were a challenge to faith, then we make our faith look like a joke to the very people we most want to win to the faith.
I have to be truthful with all of you. I don't care that the character is called Jesus. One of my favorite baseball players had the same name. I still believe that the comic strip artist is having some fun with human nature and stupid perceptions. My faith is anchored in the Christ who redeemed humanity with his own life; it has nothing to do with magic or hairgrowing.
It's not about the name used, it's about the mocking actions. It's not about reacting to a little cartoon, but it is offensive to mock what my God did. If someone makes fun of what your Father or what he does, does it not hurt you and make you angry? Again, the name is not the issue, and even if it was... do you think it is a coincidence they pick a Hispanic name spelled out to be Jesus and then mock the miracles of our Lord? I am tired of us as Christians saying "Oh, you're making too much out of something small." If you call mocking the miracles of Jesus something small, then I guess I am wrong, but until I believe that myself, I will have something to say about it. It's not like we are cursing the people, but we are commenting on how it makes us feel to see someone belittle the things of God. Also, it brings us to the point of prayer for the author.... that they might come to know God...and see what they are doing. God loves them as much as us.
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