cartoon part 2

In this whole uproar concerning cartoons of Muhammad, some of you may be wondering why there is no Christian uproar about the tons more satire and offensive behavior against Jesus and the Christian faith. Every day some political figure or group in Washington D.C. is complaining about Christians. Christian this. Christian right that. Hollywood has a field day with stereotyping Christians in an offensive way. For instance, in Family Guy (I only watch it on occasion for cultural anthropological purposes), Jesus and God are regularly satirized. An example would be when Jesus phones God and catches him in bed with a young woman and God tells Jesus to call back later, he’s busy. Here is another. Also, we all have seen it is open season on the Catholic Church throughout the world.

So where is the protest? First of all, it could never be violent. The model of Jesus and the overall message of the Bible forbids violent protest of any kind. Why not even impassioned protest? O, there are some Christian organizations who may complain, but we also have the model of Jesus and scripture that says this:

Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12)

When you ridicule Jesus, I will have a firm word for you about tolerance (respect and courtesy over someone you disagree with), but as a Christian, I am always required to behave as the most mature person in the room. There is a sense of competition in the Christian faith. I can try to outdo you in honoring you, but there is no trash talk. I can’t try to tear you down if you insult Jesus. I may gently but graciously correct you, or I may just walk away. Either way builds up true character.