Earlier this month Contributor Prabu David wrote about Stephen Colbert's episode making fun of the recently found papyrus in which Jesus said, "My wife..."
Colbert's satire was funny, though it could have been considered sacrilegious by some. It did not cause protests or riots, was simply laughed at and forgotten by most.
The "Innocence of Muslims" film, though not comical, caused an uprising in many Muslim communities.
In the comments section, one reader said, "We, as Muslims, are as offended by sarcastic videos and comments about the prophet Jesus Christ as we are regarding our prophet Muhammad (peace be upon both of them)."
It got us wondering about blasphemy, so we asked our panelists:
Where do you draw the line when it comes to someone else's blasphemy of your faith system?
Deb Conklin | Oct 25, 2012 | 6:21pm
I think it is important to have a sense of humor about our faith. I laugh as much as anyone at jokes about Methodists doing potlucks and Presbyterians forming committees. And I think we learn about the weaknesses in our message as others poke fun at us.
As a United Methodist flavored Christian, I believe that we do not leave our brain at the door of faith. We look to scripture as the starting point for understanding the answers to the deep questions of life (what is the nature of the divine? what is the meaning of life?) And we study the theologians in the tradition. Then we ask, does this teaching / doctine ring true to my experience? does it make sense? If it violates my experience and reason, then it does not become part of my faith.
So, i enjoy things that challenge my beliefs: Science Fiction, The Da Vinci Code, books that suggest that Jesus was married, or that the institutional church has covered up that there was a female messiah from the same period as Jesus (another Holy Grail tale). Some consider them blasphemy. I consider them interesting ideas to explore. And it doesn’t really matter wether they are comedy or drama.
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