as to the point - I think it’s well made. The INTENT of the article was to provide the video for a point of reference AND YET, people refuse to acknowledge that the prof. is doing the very same thing

My fault on labeling them Christian. Have you heard of World Magazine? I just assumed they where the same, and I’m pretty sure the mag is ‘christian.’

Anyways, I understand the reason they found it newsworthy is the tie to Obama, seems like they don’t have a single good thing to say about that guy from the headlines listed. But, I don’t really care about that, they are entitled to their opinion. And I hear you on it being offensive. But again, that wasn’t my point.

My point was that if it was offensive, then WorldNet is doing the exact same thing as Lessig’s by presenting the same video as he did. That’s all.

honestly, if christians are going to get that worked up over this stuff I don’t want to be associated with them as a religion.

As for the issue you raised, it was not a free-expression issue at all. No one questioned the guy’s right to show the video, or anyone’s right to produce it. There apparently was an attempt to tie Barack Obama to the guy, and therefore to the guy’s use of the video. If he was indeed selected by Obama as an advisor, and plenty of people were offended by the video, then it matters in the sense that Obama wants to be the president for all the citizens of the US, not just the ones who would not be offended by such a video. It is a fine point, and maybe even a cheap shot, and certainly not something I am worked up about.

Consider this though, Ariah and Emily, What if one of the candidates had as advisor someone who used a video used an Uncle Remus or blackface video clip in his presentations? What about John Hodgeman’s “hobo” comedy?

As you pointed out, however, disrespect isn’t the issue. The issue is how do we respond to the disrespect. Do we let it open a dialogue, or do we just point fingers and say, “That’s disrespectful! How dare you?”

In this case, the prof. didn’t have blasphemous intent, he thought it was a good example of remix of a song in the context of religion. And we don’t know if the creator had blasphemous intent (I don’t think, unless I missed it in the article) because we haven’t heard from the creator.

It’s one thing to say “I as a Christian find that offensive because..” it’s something totally different to say “that is blasphemous”.

On the other hand, I think we can all say that this video is making fun of/is disrespectful towards Jesus (and not because of the gay-stereotype implications). I’m not sure the real question is whether it’s blasphemous or not, but the real question is what our response should be when an unbelieving world blasphemes. Personally, I think it’s OK for Worldnet and/or other Christians to be offended by this. The question is what would an appropriate response be when your brother/the world around you offends you.

Right on! Thanks for chiming in. What you just shared is so accurate and definitely some points I hadn’t considered before. Thanks.

The term “blasphemy” annoys me. It smacks of elitism and self-centeredness. Yes, making fun of Jesus shocks and offends people who regard Jesus as the son of God, but not everyone regards him that way. Differing opinions are a fact of life (isn’t “free will” a major part of Christian doctrine?) and it’s rude of Christians to tell non-Christians that they must treat our doctrine with the same reverence we expect of ourselves. We must also remember that in today’s pop culture, Jesus isn’t just a historical person, he is a symbol and an idea. People who have not had a personal experience with Jesus as Lord will not regard him with the same love and reverence as I do. I cannot fault the creator of this video for buffooning the idea of Jesus’ resurrection, because to an outsider, the doctrine of the resurrection IS absurd. (Even Paul acknowledged that the wisdom of God is foolishness to the world.)

As a Christian - albeit a very liberal Christian - I’m amused by the video. It’s absurd and silly, and a wry play on the idea of the risen Jesus. I wish more Christians had a sense of humor about this sort of thing, instead of having the knee-jerk reaction of “how dare you make fun of my beliefs?!” Jokes give us a window into others’ feelings and ideas, and if we’d just listen to those ideas, we’d have a better understanding of the people we are called to love.

I just think it’s ridiculous that they actually show the video on their site. How is that any different then what Lessig’s did?