Kuala Lumpur archbishop Murphy Pakiam recently took on a local newspaper which had published a photo of Jesus with a cigarette in his hand. He called it a "desecration", and he later accepted the newspaper's apology after they suspended the employee who had taken the photo off the internet. Wrong move, archbishop Pakiam!
I'm tired of hearing about "holy cities", "holy places", "holy books", "holy people", and anything else in this world called "holy". Who made this designation? Show me the proof that God has deemed any material thing "holy"! This is just man-made baloney and the source of unending conflict. The truth is that nothing on this earth is "holy", whatever that means.
Archbishop Pakiam should have said, "I'm sorry that the newspaper printed a picture that I believe mischaracterizes Jesus. Let me tell you a few things about him that would indicate he probably didn't smoke. But don't worry about how Jesus would react to the picture...people did lots of worse things to him without making him angry. Jesus just got sad about how we always seem to be hurting each other and forgetting about God."
I'm a Christian, and my religion and personal experience tells me that everything humankind does in this world is imperfect, tinged by our own selfishness or our lack of understanding. Only the creator of the universe is perfect - and also totally impervious to criticism. So we are fools to call anything man-made or man-established "holy". And God, or any manifestation of God, cannot be desecrated or humiliated or lessened in any way. Anyone who thinks so does not understand God at all. What do you think, Mr. Archbishop?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
A photo of Jesus? ;o)
But there was no copywrite protection on it.
To the point of the post, as both you and Thomas know by now having read me, I'm not a mainstream or alternative religious person.
But, I have to chuckle thinking of a diety being offended by an inappropriate depiction of itself, his self or her self.
That said, I don't like jokes about religion. The "picture" is crass. I liken it to any other picture or set of words that seek to denigrate something or someone that different that the author. What it seeks to say is that by downgrading, I prove that I'm better.
Interesting notion that nothing is holy. I guess that makes you more Puritan than Anglican, and seems in keeping with the American tradition. Your logic appeals to me, but I suppose it would offend lots of folks.
Post a Comment