South Park, the edgy comedy show, is in the news again. Remember that several weeks ago its network pulled an episode lampooning Scientology under threat from Tom Cruise. This time, the creators were planning an episide depicting Muhammad, Islam’s prophet, but the network told they couldn’t do it (presumably because they didn’t want to spark violence and murder from adherents of the “religion of peace”).
So to protest the censorship, the creators took on not Islam, but Christianity, depicting Jesus Christ indecently (and during the most solemn week in the Christian calendar, no less). So brave!
Not sure what this proves, except that Christians remain the one group that can get trashed with impunity in our ultra-“tolerant” society. On one level, this was smart. The show’s brain trust knows Christians won’t burn down embassies or target the show for jihad. We’re used to this kind of treatment.
And we believe Jesus can take care of himself just fine, thank you.
About Stan Guthrie
Stan Guthrie is an editor at large for Christianity Today magazine and for the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview. His latest book is God's Story in 66 Verses. He also is author of All that Jesus Asks: How His Questions Can Teach and Transform Us, Missions in the Third Millennium: 21 Key Trends for the 21st Century, and A Concise Guide to Bible Prophecy. He is co-author of The Sacrament of Evangelism. Besides authoring, writing, and editing books, Stan is a literary agent, bringing together good authors, good books, and good publishers.
Stan writes the monthly Priorities colum for BreakPoint.org. He has appeared on National Public Radio's Tell Me More, WGN's Milt Rosenberg program, and many Christian shows, including The Eric Metaxas Show and Moody Radio's New Day Florida. A licensed minister and an inspirational speaker, he served as moderator for the Christian Book Expo panel discussion, Does the God of Christianity Exist, and What Difference Does It Make?
