Infinite MonkeysHugh Hewitt called printing cartoons critical of Islam "un-Christian" on his show yesterday. I respectfully disagree. Christianity, and Judaism before it, have a rich history of mocking false gods and their prophets. My favorite example is from my favorite Old Testament bible story: Elijah on Mount Carmel. Elijah and the prophets of Baal are having a contest to see whose God is the true God. I quote the 1 Kings 18:26-27 from the English Standard Version:
And [the prophets of Baal] took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, "O Baal, answer us!" But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, "Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened."Sorry, Hugh, but Moo-Hammed and the Porcine Prophet (and the others) are not only legitimate political speech, they are statements that are consistent with Christian criticism of false prophets. Posted by RobbL at February 3, 2006 04:10 PM
Go to http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/freespeech1 to sign a petition in support of Denmark.
Posted by: Holger at February 3, 2006 04:17 PMDamn, good point. I'm not well versed in scripture (I was raised Catholic), so I really cannot engage on that front. But it is thought provoking.
Posted by: JamesPh. at February 3, 2006 09:28 PMI'm not sure. It seems like Turning the Other Cheek and Judging Not Lest Ye Be Judged are more direct instructions than Casting Out of False Prophets.
Posted by: Monty at February 3, 2006 10:39 PMWell, both are pretty explicit. The OT actually calls for a much stricter judgment on false prophets than mere mockery - by the end of the chapter Elijah's slaughtered all 450 of the prophets of Baal.
As "civilians" we don't bear the sword in the way that Elijah did, and we don't live in the Theocracy that Israel was in those days, but I believe the main principle still stands: Criticism of false teaching is consistent with Christian behavior, and sarcasm is a legitimate vehicle to deliver that criticism.
I know Hugh's church is covenantal, but for those who would prefer to derive their principles only from the New Testament, there are still good examples. Christ routinely ridiculed the behavior and teaching of the corrupt religious rulers of his time, calling them hypocrites, brood of vipers, whitewashed tombs full of dead men's bones, and other less-than-sensitive names. Paul often used sarcasm as a device to convey his point, as well. Beyond the scriptures, the church (both in its Catholic and Evangelical forms) has a history of strong polemic language, as well as satire.
An important point: This is a response only to Hugh's accusation that these acts were "un-Christian" - it is not meant to imply that some of these ideas (such as killing false prophets) should be enacted by our existing governments, or as a defense of Theocracy.
Posted by: Monkey RobbL at February 3, 2006 11:36 PMSurely we have ourselves to blame for some of these problems.
Each of use is raised in a country with its own set of values, yet somewhere along the line our government’s decree that we must be all things to all people and quietly shove our founding values in to a dark room least we offend some minority who has chosen to come to our country.
Now I am not against anyone coming to my country, the Italians, Greeks, Germans to name but a few, have all enriched my country in countless ways, but when someone comes and they start telling me that my values are wrong and those that they have imported from their home land are the ONLY way to go.
Recently in Australia, Christmas songs were banned in school because little Isabinfarting from where-ever was offended when they were sung.
Sorry Isabinfarting, go home to your parents land, leave the room or even the school if necessary but YOU DONT HAVE THE RIGHT TO COME TO MY COUNTY AND TELL ME I MUST ADOPT THE FAITH OR WAYS OF YOUR COUNTRY.
Some idiots talk about being citizens of the world and tolerance, but I see it as world domination by one bunch of way-out-there religious zealots.
If I went to a Muslim country and declared they were all wrong about drinking and sex they would kill me, yet when we let them come to our country we say "sorry mate, well fix that just so you feel welcome" Sorry my arse! If you don’t like what you see, BUGGER OFF WE DON'T WANT OR NEED YOU!