The Offensive Jesus
Two posts ago, I wrote about Jesus being King and I briefly mentioned politics in that piece. Canadian politics has had a heavy amount of media coverage because of course elections are almost here. Recently, I was having a conversation with a family member about Canadian politics, and they told me about an interview that they had seen. They thought that I would be interested in it considering it mentioned Jesus. I was intrigued and watched the interview.
The video had CBC's Vassy Kapelos speaking to Green Party Leader Elizabeth May in regards to the upcoming election as well as a little bit about herself (see video below). Most of the video is pretty well what one may expect. Elizabeth May shares about her policies especially the Green Party's claim to fame, climate change as well as some fun facts about herself. Where the interview gets interesting is at 12:53 when Vassy Kapelos begins to ask more personal questions to Elizabeth May, specifically, "who is your personal hero." With a slight hesitation and an apology, Elizabeth May answers, "Jesus."
Now some people could say that I should be reacting to this answer the same way that I reacted to the video of Chance the Rapper on Ellen in my first blog post and say that this was another opportunity for a person with a platform to share Jesus. However, this Jesus moment is very different.
After Elizabeth's answer and her explanation to the interviewer in terms of why Jesus was her personal hero, interviewer Vassy Kapelos asked a very important question. She asked, "why did you say sorry when you answered that." Why did Elizabeth May say sorry? She said that Jesus was her personal hero, she then said that she relies on his advice a lot and at 14:30 in the same video she even talks about the fact that if she could choose a different job it would be to be an Anglican priest which is what she was pursuing before politics. She must value her relationship with Jesus, and yet she apologized for saying his name on television.
Elizabeth May's explanation for her apology as to why she said sorry is even more shocking. She tells Kapelos that, "...politicians in Canada should not put their religion on their sleeve and I gave you my quick, honest answer and I didn't self edit." Vassy Kapelos prods her further asking, "why shouldn't they" in regards to politicians putting their religion on their sleeve. Elizabeth May responds in saying, "Because we are an inclusive and all embracing society..." she then continues from there saying that the Green Party has many people within it with many different ideologies. To be honest, as a Canadian Christian this point of view troubles me.
Imagine if Elizabeth May picked anyone else to be her personal hero. She could have picked another politician, a family member, or maybe a pioneer in our Canadian society, all of whom I can guarantee you are worse people then Jesus morally, and yet she would not have even thought to apologize for bringing those people up and why would she, why would anybody? Yet she says that her hero was Jesus and then was sorry for it. Canadian society has developed in a way that everything is inclusive except when things are "offensive." Is not Jesus and his followers (Christians) a part of that inclusive society? If we have to apologize for one specific religious figure for fear of offending, isn't that exclusive? In the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the first line in the Fundamental Freedoms section is, "Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: (a) freedom of conscience and religion..." In Canada, everyone has the right to their freedom openly, not the right to be so inclusive that it is exclusive. Plus, its not like all politicians are trying to hide their faith anyways. For example, Jagmeet Singh, leader of the NDP wears a turban which is a very obvious symbol of Sikhism and based on our Charter it is perfectly fine that he does that.
So why is Jesus so offensive. A man who healed the sick, forgave people who were seen as nothing, who taught about caring for the outcast and treating people the way that you would want to be treated. Why is this man so offensive? The reality is is that though those examples may not be offensive, to our postmodern society Jesus is controversial. His message is exclusive in that he is the only way to salvation, he is counter cultural and he calls out the sin in our world.
The actual problem that I have with this video is not that Elizabeth May gives off an image of Jesus that is offensive because whether we like it or not that is actually an aspect of who he is. The problem I have is that she gives off this image that it is shameful to talk about Jesus, that he is unworthy to take a risk for and that he should not be talked about in our "inclusive" society. Today we live in an intellectually, spoon-fed world where when someone says something, we either believe it automatically or do a quick google search not to discover the truth but to confirm what we already wanted to believe. This video perpetuates two false Canadian views, that non-believers should believe that Jesus and his followers are only horrible people and that believers should believe that Jesus should not be talked about. This is not good. Christians need to watch what they say, especially on television and other forms of media.
In Romans 1:16, Paul the Apostle, a man who was far more persecuted for his beliefs then any Canadian could ever experience said,"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes" (ESV). We do not have to be ashamed of Jesus or afraid that he is offensive. Paul says that the Gospel of Jesus is the power of God, it is not weak or something to hide away. I encourage believers to preach the full Gospel in love and truth so that people may come to know Jesus regardless of potential offences. For the unbeliever, I encourage you to read the full story of Jesus. Do not just go off of what one person has told you. Yes there may be certain things that seem offensive to you but are you really going to ,make your judgment based on one point of view?
So what do you think? Is Jesus Christ and his message offensive? Is that ok? Was this the right way for Elizabeth May to feel about Jesus? How should we portray Jesus in media and in our lives?
The video had CBC's Vassy Kapelos speaking to Green Party Leader Elizabeth May in regards to the upcoming election as well as a little bit about herself (see video below). Most of the video is pretty well what one may expect. Elizabeth May shares about her policies especially the Green Party's claim to fame, climate change as well as some fun facts about herself. Where the interview gets interesting is at 12:53 when Vassy Kapelos begins to ask more personal questions to Elizabeth May, specifically, "who is your personal hero." With a slight hesitation and an apology, Elizabeth May answers, "Jesus."
Now some people could say that I should be reacting to this answer the same way that I reacted to the video of Chance the Rapper on Ellen in my first blog post and say that this was another opportunity for a person with a platform to share Jesus. However, this Jesus moment is very different.
After Elizabeth's answer and her explanation to the interviewer in terms of why Jesus was her personal hero, interviewer Vassy Kapelos asked a very important question. She asked, "why did you say sorry when you answered that." Why did Elizabeth May say sorry? She said that Jesus was her personal hero, she then said that she relies on his advice a lot and at 14:30 in the same video she even talks about the fact that if she could choose a different job it would be to be an Anglican priest which is what she was pursuing before politics. She must value her relationship with Jesus, and yet she apologized for saying his name on television.
Elizabeth May's explanation for her apology as to why she said sorry is even more shocking. She tells Kapelos that, "...politicians in Canada should not put their religion on their sleeve and I gave you my quick, honest answer and I didn't self edit." Vassy Kapelos prods her further asking, "why shouldn't they" in regards to politicians putting their religion on their sleeve. Elizabeth May responds in saying, "Because we are an inclusive and all embracing society..." she then continues from there saying that the Green Party has many people within it with many different ideologies. To be honest, as a Canadian Christian this point of view troubles me.
Imagine if Elizabeth May picked anyone else to be her personal hero. She could have picked another politician, a family member, or maybe a pioneer in our Canadian society, all of whom I can guarantee you are worse people then Jesus morally, and yet she would not have even thought to apologize for bringing those people up and why would she, why would anybody? Yet she says that her hero was Jesus and then was sorry for it. Canadian society has developed in a way that everything is inclusive except when things are "offensive." Is not Jesus and his followers (Christians) a part of that inclusive society? If we have to apologize for one specific religious figure for fear of offending, isn't that exclusive? In the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the first line in the Fundamental Freedoms section is, "Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: (a) freedom of conscience and religion..." In Canada, everyone has the right to their freedom openly, not the right to be so inclusive that it is exclusive. Plus, its not like all politicians are trying to hide their faith anyways. For example, Jagmeet Singh, leader of the NDP wears a turban which is a very obvious symbol of Sikhism and based on our Charter it is perfectly fine that he does that.
The actual problem that I have with this video is not that Elizabeth May gives off an image of Jesus that is offensive because whether we like it or not that is actually an aspect of who he is. The problem I have is that she gives off this image that it is shameful to talk about Jesus, that he is unworthy to take a risk for and that he should not be talked about in our "inclusive" society. Today we live in an intellectually, spoon-fed world where when someone says something, we either believe it automatically or do a quick google search not to discover the truth but to confirm what we already wanted to believe. This video perpetuates two false Canadian views, that non-believers should believe that Jesus and his followers are only horrible people and that believers should believe that Jesus should not be talked about. This is not good. Christians need to watch what they say, especially on television and other forms of media.
In Romans 1:16, Paul the Apostle, a man who was far more persecuted for his beliefs then any Canadian could ever experience said,"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes" (ESV). We do not have to be ashamed of Jesus or afraid that he is offensive. Paul says that the Gospel of Jesus is the power of God, it is not weak or something to hide away. I encourage believers to preach the full Gospel in love and truth so that people may come to know Jesus regardless of potential offences. For the unbeliever, I encourage you to read the full story of Jesus. Do not just go off of what one person has told you. Yes there may be certain things that seem offensive to you but are you really going to ,make your judgment based on one point of view?
So what do you think? Is Jesus Christ and his message offensive? Is that ok? Was this the right way for Elizabeth May to feel about Jesus? How should we portray Jesus in media and in our lives?
Comments
Post a Comment