All Manner of Evil

I know you'll think this is "fake news," but apparently a pop singer -- one of our ubiquitous entertainers known first and foremost for their moral virtue and deep and abiding concern for religion -- has had a poster for her latest album banned by the UK's Advertising Standards Authority. (Please note from the outset that it was not Christians.) Apparently, in order to promote her latest album (whose name I won't print here because my mother reads my blog), the poster showed the singer in a "bondage-style outfit" lying on a large, crucifix-shaped bed positioned like so many of the images you've seen of Christ on the cross. That, the authorities concluded, might offend religious people -- especially religious people with children who were looking at it. Go figure.

I think it's an offense. No, not an offense to Christians. An offense to 21st century civilization. For the younger generation, I'm going to offer an historical term you may not have heard. There used to be what we called "common decency," a sense that "this is okay there but not here." There was also something known as "common courtesy" where things didn't have to be legislated for us to be kind to one another. Well, no more. We have arrived at the place where not only do we not care about other people's feelings -- we are encouraged not to care about other people's feelings and, even, told that we should get paid for it at times. You should "be yourself" and "do what makes you happy" and, explicitly, do it with complete disregard for others. Of course, we're in this uniquely schizophrenic society these days that includes the proviso, "Except, of course, if you're offending a protected class." But since those "protected classes" are almost entirely in the minority (sometimes to the extreme), we mostly encourage being offensive to the majority if it suits your fancy.

I think it's an offense that people use "the arts" to attack the God who created beauty and call it "artwork" and I think it's offense that Christians take offense even though they were promised this would happen. Our Leader said, "If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you" (John 15:18). Paul wrote, "All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Tim 3:12). (And it's painful calling this kind of thing "persecuted".) Peter wrote, "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you" (1 Peter 4:12). He also said that we were called to suffer for Christ (1 Peter 2:20-21). Instead of moral outrage, we are called, as James put it, to "Count it all joy" (James 1:2) or, as Paul said, to "rejoice in sufferings" (Rom 5:3-5). Brothers and sisters, don't be surprised that the world hates God and His followers. And don't think that your righteous indignation furthers the cause of Christ in this. If they hated Jesus, why would you expect them to react differently to His followers? Did you think that legislating their behavior you could save their souls? Did you think that your moral outrage would bring about their repentance? We weren't put here to make a better world; we were put here as ambassadors for Christ with the Gospel. Let's not lose focus here.