I enter this realm very hesitantly. The new media darling has created a fire storm with her speech when she accepted her Emmy award last week. She was blasphemous and rude, and in fact, so much so that her comments aren’t appropriate for this site. I can merely refer to them here–but everyone knows what I’m talking about.
Let me be clear from the get go that I’m not excusing her blasphemous remarks. I have always felt that there are some limits on free speech. Free speech should never give a license for disrespect. What I find further ironic in this situation though, is that if I, as a Christian were to blaspheme someone else’s religion–I would get blasted for it as an intolerant biggot. In fact, if I were to say anything besides, “whatever you believe is okay with me”, I’m intolerant. Yet Kathy Griffin has become the pillar of the liberal media in recent days and Christians are outraged.
I’m neither saying that Christians shouldn’t be outraged. I believe it is the Holy Spirit within the Christian that prompts us to find her language and commentary odious and offensive. However, I can find better things to do with $90,000 than to take out an ad in USA Today decrying her public defamation of Jesus.
Is It Really That Blasphemous?
Bear with me for a minute here. Is there really a difference between someone actually stating their world view vs. someone simply living the lifestyle of that commentary? To me, her remarks are the natural verbal conclusion to a society that has no reverence for God. If we are bothered by her remarks (which we should be) we also need to be bothered by that which we see going on around us. Every day, people are saying essentially the same thing as she did, yet doing it through their actions. Yet I’m afraid that sometimes we’re not bothered enough. We live in a society that says that tolerance is a good thing and taking a stand against sin isn’t so popular. So we sugar coat the truth not labeling sin as sin, or we ignore someone’s actions saying that it’s okay for them but we‘re ‘convicted‘ differently.
To me, her comments are a wake up call. Not a wake up call to take a stand against entertainment and people who speak against Christianity. A wake up call to pray more. A wake up call to consistently find the sin in my own life as offensive as I find her comments. A wake up call to actively preach the gospel in every aspect of my life–using words only when necessary. While I respect the Miracle Theatre and what they’re trying to do, $90,000 would buy Bibles for many of the people of the world who cannot afford them. It would build several churches in numerous countries. It would fund missionaries and their missions supporting Bible translation many times the world over. (My friends who are missionaries live on approximately $10,000 to do translation work. . .so $90,000 could support 9 missions.)
As far as Americans go, to drive the point home, we need do nothing but turn off our television sets and stop watching. Refusing to listen to this kind of garbage is the most powerful means of taking a stand.
There is a thread on this topic in the forums. Please join us!