I just received an email from the AFA inviting me to contact NBC and request that they don’t air the upcoming Madonna special where she (once again) mocks Jesus and the Christian faith.
Is this offensive? You bet. But then, I already despised The Pathetic Attention Seeker Formerly Known As Esther for the hypocritical, vain child that she is. This latest grab for attention doesn’t change a thing. For goodness’ sake, this woman is 48 years old and trying to look and act like a teenager. You know you’re pathetic when even Rod Stewart says you have a bad voice. She’s desperate for relevance, but not bright enough to realize that blasphemy just isn’t cool anymore. The Onion had this phenomenon pegged a long time ago, so she can’t even have the credit for jumping the shark. It’s just sad.
As for NBC… when a dog urinates on a fire hydrant, it’s not committing a crime, it’s just being a dog. Don’t blame NBC. It’s just doing what networks do. Are they cowardly hypocrites? Yes, indeed. You think they’d show a fact-based TV movie on the life of Mohammed? Even one that was favorable? Of course not. But they’ll show any filth where Christianity is concerned. So be it. They’re pathetic. Turn the channel when you’ve had enough.
Once again, this is an opportunity to educate people about Christianity. I’ll steal a bit from an older post -
Christians will protest furiously if the American Family Association has anything to say about it. And that is our right. However, before we act on this, let’s take a moment to think. It’s ironic that at the same time conservative Christians are signing petitions and blogging in support of Denmark’s right to publish cartoons of Mohamed that offend Muslims, that we are going to scream and yell about a TV show that is not exactly the epitome of Christian values to begin with. [...]
It’s not an apples-to-apples comparison to say that Christians are engaging in the hysteria Muslims do where blasphemy or even mild criticism of their religion is concerned. We’re not burning flags, making bomb threats, and threatening to kidnap people. However, of a billion or so Muslims, most of them are not either. They may tacitly agree with it – many have said in interviews or on websites that they find it understandable – but the actions of most are to boycott, sign petitions, and make phone calls. Are they correct in demanding that newspapers refrain from printing cartoons that depict their faith in an unflattering light? Can we demand to be free from the possibility of being offended and still remain a free society?
Let’s keep in mind that the gospel offends. Someday our “freedom” to not be offended by entertainment may turn into someone else’s freedom to not be offended by the gospel.
Rather than scream about this and demand concessions, let’s model Christianity with our forbearance, and educate people on why this kind of thing is offensive. This is an opportunity. Don’t miss it.
You are a wise woman, Laura. Your attitude on this is exactly right–and Christ-like!
Great post! Same goes for Rosie!
It is precisely an opportunity, Laura. What an excellent post and observation! With 89% of the American people stating clearly that they believe in God, I will predict that this shameless effort to get ratings through outrage and shock will rightfully blow up in NBC’s and Madonna’s face. These childlike attention seekers are so blatantly transparent. It seems that there are no limits. I long ago “turned the channel”. I don’t know any of the “stars” names for roughly the last ten years or so and have never seen “Survivor”, “Desperate Housewives” or “Sex in the City”… As a matter of fact, have I got those titles correct? (They are each just hearsay to me… HA!) I can’t imagine how I have managed to have a life without them. They’re not on any pedastle in my world. …Cockroaches!
I’ve been trying to figure out exactly what’s blasphemous about this. I don’t know what her intention is, for one thing. Is she trying to be Jesus in some sense? A feminist commentator I heard was saying she was saying Jesus could be female or something like that, but that doesn’t sound like what Madonna might be up to. Is she trying to indicate that what Jesus did applies to people like her? That sounds more plausible to me, but I’m not so sure that Madonna is going to come up with something as brilliant as that. Given how offended people have been, I’m tempted to assume that her intention is the least offensive one I can come up with, so I’m assuming the last possibility until I can see some actual statements from her about what she thinks she’s doing. I’m not at all convinced that this is blasphemous until I see something like that.
Blasphemy -
1. impious utterance or action concerning God or sacred things.
2. Judaism.
a. an act of cursing or reviling God.
b. pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton (YHVH) in the original, now forbidden manner instead of using a substitute pronunciation such as Adonai.
3. Theology. the crime of assuming to oneself the rights or qualities of God.
4. irreverent behavior toward anything held sacred, priceless, etc.: He uttered blasphemies against life itself.
As far as I’m concerned, creating a cross like a disco ball, getting on it while wearing a crown of thorns and including it in a show featuring plenty of S&M references in the costumes and dance, *more* than qualifies as blasphemous. The cross, Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins, is at the heart of our faith. To use that symbol in this way is offensive, and this is certainly not the first time she’s done this kind of thing and taken heat for it – so it’s deliberate. She has said that “Crucifixes are sexy because there’s a naked man on them.” She’s not thinking of anything spiritual, she just wants the attention. She says it’s to encourage people to give to charities, especially AIDS charities. Obviously I’m not buying that, because there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of ways she could have done that in an inoffensive way. This is no accident, misunderstanding or faux pas – this is her entire career.