The French Olympic show, the drop that overflew the glass

Dr. Michel E. Abs

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC)

The French Olympic show, which we will not go into evaluating on the artistic level here, sparked a massive wave of reactions that ranged between denunciation, condemnation, attacks and angry epithets at everyone who participated in the planning, preparation and implementation of this work, and the senior government leadership did not escape pointing the finger at it for being, in the end, the one who authorized this work.

For decades, the world has witnessed an attack on Christianity that has gone unanswered, not even a note from the relevant leaders, based on the values of freedom that some in the West boast, as well as the value of Christian tolerance, based primarily on love and on the life of Jesus and his commandments. Yes, we love our enemies, bless those who curse us, and do good to those who harm us, out of righteousness according to the commandments of the Master. Therefore, the Western media, film production companies, some of the press, some cartoon pedants, some parties, and some who call themselves intellectuals, went too far. They attacked the Christian message, which is the basis of preserving the freedoms they enjoy, and they insulted and destroyed it in various ways, without any moral or ethical motive. No one had any control over them.

It's the height of ingratitude!

To write an article or study, or to give a lecture, in which you analyze or criticize some of the teachings or sayings of religions, or to evaluate their impact on people in their behavior and dealing with each other, is a respectable matter and is circulated among specialists who respect the ideas of intellectual polemic. As for practicing ridicule and mockery of religion, any religion, this is something that exceeds the acceptable limits in civilized interaction between humans.

It is one thing to criticize in a respectful manner, but to place the sacred symbols of a group of people, no matter how large or small, in a derogatory or defamatory context, is another matter.

How many times has Christianity been put in humiliating situations in cheap films produced by a spiteful financier and staged by a weird director? How many times have the sanctities of Christians been dealt with in an insulting manner in films and series, sometimes directly and sometimes indirectly? Is this acceptable?

We are in a time of freedom and acceptance of diversity, no matter how far the belief or position of others is from our thinking. We are in a time when people greet each other on occasions that mean nothing to them, just because a friend, colleague, neighbor, or fellow citizen means something to them.

When humanity has begun to interact with each other within this framework of values, is it possible, reasonable, or desirable for something to happen as it happened at the opening of the Olympic Games in Paris, the capital of culture and freedoms?

What happened at this opening ceremony is radically different from what was shown in the cheap or tendentious movies we mentioned above.

What happened at this ceremony, firstly, struck the values of the Olympic Games and sports at their core, as it constituted a blatant violation of the principles upon which the Olympic Games were based, as its website literally states that “The three values of olympism are excellence, respect and friendship. They constitute the foundation on which the Olympic movement builds its activities to promote sport, culture and education with a view to building a better world.”

Does infringement on Christianity fall within these principles and trends?

What happened at this ceremony is, secondly, an appeal to a global sports and cultural platform in order to promote controversial ideas that are the subject of global debate, and this is a type of conflict of interest and misuse of matters.

What those behind what happened missed is that the only guarantee for these new identities, in post-modern society, is Christianity, due to its tolerant treatment of all phenomena. The behavior of Jesus Christ with those who wanted to stone the adulteress is conclusive evidence and the best example of how Christianity deals with those with new choices and identities - sexual and otherwise - in terms of not casting prejudices or directing hate speech against them. If they think that, by mocking the religion of love, they are better promoting acceptance of social diversity, then they have gone far astray.

The worst thing about it, thirdly, is that this off-centered show that lost its way was subject to governmental approval from the highest state authorities in France. This is surprising and sad that the country called “the elder daughter of the Church” would agree to such a program. Here we must tell them the old Arab saying: “If you know, then that is a disaster, and if you do not know, then the disaster is greater”!

As for the biggest calamity, fourthly, it was in the press conference held by some of those responsible for this show, which is a metaphor for a word of apology, which is like a consolation prize, on the part of the media official at the Olympic Committee, and a meaningless justification on the part of the one who organized this show. In any case, we could not have expected better from people doing what they did!

As a result, voices began to rise calling for a response to such behavior, to the effect that we have had enough of the insult to the dignity of Christianity, and through it, Christians, through media or artistic programs whose goals are no longer hidden from anyone. The vulgar Olympic spectacle was the drop that overflew the glass.

Some of those who appointed themselves messengers in defense of freedom, have missed the point that freedom does not mean that only they should be right, nor does it mean that they should disdain religions because they mean a lot to many people, and because they were present and organized society, before those who considered themselves protecting “the values of the republic” came. "They are, in fact, hiding behind it in order to target others.

The amount of hypocrisy circulating in our world today requires that Jesus Christ descend into the temple again, carrying his whip, in order to expel the merchants of beliefs and values.