It was the Opening Ceremony for the 2024 Olympics Games in Paris. The setting was the River Seine. Key figures from French history had featured in the festivities - everyone from Marie Antoinette to the Phantom of the Opera - as the boats floated past Notre Dame and the Louvre. And then, in front of the Eiffel Tower, controversy struck: the French singer-songwriter and actor Philippe Blanchard, almost nude and painted blue, performed his song ‘Nu’ reclining on a table, surrounded by drag queens.
The scene bore a resemblance to an LGBT-parody of Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting of the Last Supper, the final meal Jesus had with his closest friends before we went to the cross.
The reaction was marked by fierce disapproval, from a wide range of sources. The Roman Catholic Bishops’ Conference of France released a statement calling it a "derision and mockery of Christianity”. The Vatican said that they "deplore the offence". The World Council of Churches wrote to the International Olympic Committee demanding an explanation. Various world figures waded into the row, including President Trump, President Erdogan of Turkey, and the Slovak deputy prime minister Tomas Taraba, who described the scene as “decadent deviance”.
In response, the producers of the Paris Olympics said that the director of the Opening Ceremony Thomas Jolly had taken “inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting to create the setting", but also pointed out that the scene had been parodied on many occasions before.
For his part, Jolly denied any intention to mock Christianity, and said that the aim of the scene "was to do a big pagan party linked to the gods of Olympus”, and that rather than Blanchard being dressed as Jesus (or indeed, as others had suggested, Papa Smurf), he was actually playing Dionysus. The same day, Anne Descamps, a spokeswoman for the Games said: "Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. On the contrary, I think Thomas Jolly did try to intend to celebrate community tolerance. We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offence, we of course are really sorry."
Clearly, as Christians, we will be offended whenever we perceive that anyone is making a mockery of our faith, and in particular, the God we worship. Such activity is far from new: one of the earliest depictions of Jesus from the Ancient World - estimated to have been created around 200 AD - is the ‘Alexamenos graffito’, a piece of graffiti carved into the plaster of a wall in Rome. It features a young man worshipping a figure who hangs on a cross, and the inscription ‘Alexamenos worships his god’; but the figure on the cross has the head of a donkey.
In two thousand years, it might feel that things haven’t changed much. England and Wales abolished its blasphemy law in 2008 (and Scotland in 2024), although in practice, it was 1697 when the last man was executed in Britain for blasphemy and mocking the Christian faith, Thomas Aikenhead, a 20-year-old student from Edinburgh University. Many Christians will have been offended by the release of ‘Monty Python’s Life of Brian’ back in 1979, although it is worth pointing out that other Christians spoke in support of the comedy group, and the Python actors clarified that their intention was not to mock Jesus himself. More recently, books - and films - like Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code have alleged that Jesus had a secret relationship with Mary Magdalene. Bishops and vicars are regularly parodied: in 2013, for example, as part of Comic Relief, Rowan Atkinson did a sketch in which he impersonated the Archbishop of Canterbury, in which he said: “Keep on praying…it doesn’t work, but it’s a good part of a getting-to-sleep routine if you’ve got insomnia”. The skit drew over 2,200 complaints.
In a sense, Christianity stands unusually apart in the UK (and the West generally) as a candidate for mockery, partly by virtue of its historic position. Much comedy in recent years has focused on ‘punching up’ - that is, making fun of those who have been in positions of power, as the Church has generally been here - rather than ‘punching down’, such as on what are perceived to be minority groups. Many seem to fear causing cultural offence to Muslims, Hindus or Sikhs. Of course, the Christian faith also has the advantage - or disadvantage - of familiarity within the UK. It is much easier to deride something you learnt about in your school assemblies.
But I suspect the other reason why Christians can be seen as fair game, is that as Christians, we are capable of living out a truly distinct approach when people insult us. In some faiths, such as Islam, blasphemy not only provokes outrage, but has resulted in violent actions: famously, the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo has been the target of multiple terrorist attacks, in 2011, 2015 and 2020, in response to cartoons it published of the prophet Muhammad. In the second of those, 15 people were killed. Similarly, Salman Rushdie, whose 1988 novel ‘The Satanic verses’ featured what was perceived as an irreverent depiction of Muhammad, has been the subject of multiple death threats and assassination attacks, and the supreme leader of Iran even issued an official fatwa calling for his death. He lost an eye in a stabbing attack in 2022.
Christians on the other hand, have always been called to a different way-of-life. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls his disciples to live as kingdom-people, being “salt and light” to the world around them, and to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”. Here are three ways in which Jesus shows us how we can respond when we find the way others are exercising their freedom of speech to be offensive…
1. Freedom of speech should be equal for everyone
Winston Churchill once said: "Everyone is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people's idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone says anything back, that is an outrage."
As Christians, we value our freedom to speak, and particularly, the freedom to speak the gospel. Although it would not stop us from preaching in Jesus’ name if it were illegal to do so (like when the disciples are summoned in front of the Sanhedrin, and ordered to stop teaching about Jesus, and they reply: “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him?”) we benefit greatly from it being legal.
However, we should be under no illusions: although the gospel is good news, people will have a wide range of responses to Christian teaching. We see this in the book of Acts, when the disciples are first preaching the gospel: in Acts 2, some people “were cut to the heart” (Acts 2:37), and believed Peter’s message, but others “made fun of them and said, ‘They have had too much wine’” (Acts 2:13). In Acts 6, the people are so exercised that “they seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin” (Acts 6:12). In Acts 13:45, we read that “When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him.” When Paul went to Ephesus, although people were initially interested in what he had to say, soon Demetrius began to warn about the risks to their livelihood from the destruction of the Artemis-cult, and people began to chant, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians”. In Acts 23, the people actually want to kill Paul to stop him from speaking at the next trial.
The gospel has always provoked a range of reactions, and many of them are negative. Today too, people can be offended by what Christians have to say: some will feel that Christians are judgemental for talking about sin, or will feel threatened by historic teaching about subjects like marriage and sex. Maybe some will feel that Christianity is offensive in making exclusive truth claims: if Jesus is Lord, then by extension, Allah, Brahmin or the Buddha are not. Others will object that faith ought to be kept private, and they simply don’t want to hear.
Indeed, in recent years, some have found Christian teaching to be sufficiently offensive that they do want it to be banned, and for a person to be punished. Back in 2014, Gareth Lee, a gay rights activist, placed an order for a cake with Ashers Baking Company, owned by Daniel and Amy McArthur in Northern Ireland, and asked for it to be decorated with the slogan “Support gay marriage” (same-sex-marriage was illegal in Northern Ireland at the time). The McArthurs declined the order due to their Christian beliefs, returning the money. Lee complained to the Equality Commission of Northern Ireland that he had been discriminated against on the grounds of sexual orientation, who supported him in filing a lawsuit; the case eventually escalated to the UK Supreme Court, who found, unanimously, that Ashers had a right to decline the order on the grounds of compelled speech.
When he was asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus taught his disciples that it was both to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” and to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:30-31). This means that as Christians, we cannot seek legal rights for ourselves which we are not willing to grant to others. Our right to speak words which may cause offence to others, should also mean that others have the right to speak words which will offend us too. Indeed, in the Ashers case, this logic was even picked up by gay rights campaigners like Peter Tatchell, who came to support the McArthurs’ right to freedom of expression.
Tatchell later commented: “Freedom of speech is one of the most precious human rights. A free society depends on the free exchange of ideas. But some students justify ‘no platforms’ and ‘safe spaces’ in the name of not causing offence, even though nearly all ideas are capable of giving offence to someone. Many of the most important ideas in human history – such as those of Galileo Galilei, Karl Marx, Charles Darwin and Sigmund Freud – caused great offence in their time. There is no right to not be offended, whether on a university campus or anywhere else.”
2. The importance of both truth and grace
During his life on earth, Jesus faced opposition on numerous occasions. Early in his ministry, when he forgave the sins of a paralysed man, some teachers of the law thought to themselves: “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:6-7). At times the Pharisees and the teachers of the law criticise him, or question what he is doing. Later in Chapter 2, when his disciples pick some ears of grain, we read: “the Pharisees said to him, ‘Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?’”. Just a few verses later in Chapter 3, they are looking out for whether Jesus will heal on the Sabbath. By the end of the story, “the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus” (Mark 3:6).
Although it would be untrue to say that Jesus never became justly frustrated (particularly when his opponents neglected the weightier matters of the law like justice and mercy, in favour of human traditions), a reader of the Gospels cannot help but be struck by Jesus’ patience as he responds to question after question. In Mark 3:22, “the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, ‘He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons’.” In short, Jesus is being accused of being in league with the Devil. His response is not to lash out, but to beckon his opponents over and to reason with them: “So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come.”
We read in John’s prologue that Jesus “came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Both grace and truth are fundamental tools in Christian speech. Tim Keller once explained it like this: “Love without truth is sentimentality; it supports and affirms us but keeps us in denial about our flaws. Truth without love is harshness; it gives us information but in such a way that we cannot really hear it. God’s saving love in Christ, however, is marked by both radical truthfulness about who we are and yet also radical, unconditional commitment to us.”
As Christians, when we feel affronted or offended by the words of others, it is important not to descend to the same level. Jesus calls us to a higher standard: we are not to repay an eye for an eye, and he does not just tell us to love our neighbour, but to love our enemy. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:43-44). This was something he lived out himself at the cross, when he prayed for God to forgive those who had put there.
Instead, let us look to gently explain why someone is in the wrong; this will often involve not immediately assuming the worst or impugning motives without hearing someone’s explanation (like in the Olympics ‘Last Supper’ fiasco). In fact, if we are able to respond differently, avoiding tit-for-tat, being counter-cultural in how we deal with insults, we can turn potential arguments into evangelistic opportunities. The Apostle Peter - who himself had experience of being hauled in front of hostile audiences - explained: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” (1 Peter 3:15-16)
Peter explains how Jesus behaved when he was arrested, abused and crucified: “Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. ‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.’ When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:21-23). In all things, we want to imitate Jesus: if he did not retaliate, then neither should we.
3. Jesus doesn’t need our protection
It is an entirely normal feeling when it feels like Jesus (or the Christian faith) is being insulted, to want to defend His honour. As Christians, we believe that Jesus is the most precious thing to us; David once wrote of God “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” We do not want to see God being mocked.
This is not a bad impulse in and of itself: the Psalmists often implore God to act, so that his enemies might not seem to win: in Psalm 10, we read of the evil-doer who “says to himself, ‘God will never notice; he covers his face and never sees’…Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, ‘He won’t call me to account’?” (Psalm 10:13). Numerous other passages speak about God doing things “for his name’s sake”, whether they be about forgiving sins (Psalm 25:11), not forsaking His people (1 Samuel 12:22), or bringing Israel out of Egypt through the wilderness to the Promised Land (Ezekiel 20:9, 14, 22).
And yet, on another level, it really is nothing new for Jesus to be mocked or insulted. The final few hours before he died were full of it. When the High Priest accused Jesus of blasphemy, Mark writes of the Sanhedrin: “they all condemned him as worthy of death. Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him” (Mark 14:64-65). In the next chapter, he describes how the soldiers began to mock Jesus: putting a purple robe on him, crowning him with thorns, and falling to their knees, as if they were paying homage to him.
Even when Jesus hung on the cross itself, people continued to insult him. Some hurled insults at him: “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!” (Mark 15:29-30). The teachers of the law joined them: “He saved others, but he can’t save himself!” We read in Luke’s account: “One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: ‘Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’” (Luke 23:39).
In his response to the Paris Olympics controversy, the evangelist Glen Scrivener posted the following message: “The deepest sense in which ‘God cannot be mocked’ is the literal one. You simply cannot plumb a deeper depth than God crucified. Everything since has been laughably tame and woefully out of date.”
When he died on the Cross, Jesus faced the worst impulses of humanity; he was abused both physically and verbally, and died the death of a common criminal. It was the day on which evil did its worst. And yet he turned everything upside down: what seemed like his moment of shame, became the hour of his greatest glory. Paul writes in Colossians 2:15: “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Jesus faced down the very worst that evil had to offer, and showed it all to be vapid and powerless, for all the world to see.
There is a very real sense in which we want God’s name to be lifted high: we do not want to see him insulted. And yet we know that whatever anyone can throw at Jesus, it is nothing to what he has already faced. And one day, there will come a time on which the proud and mighty will be laid low; the “Fool who says there is no God” (Psalm 14:1) will be shown to be in the wrong, and “at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the father” (Philippians 2:10-11).
Jesus doesn’t need our protection. He has already faced down hell’s worst, and won.