is now becoming a sport . OK, it was a roast , it was a roast of sportscasters (two guys I like, by the way), and it’s easy to go too far. My question is: Why was Jesus the object of Dana Jacobson’s obscenity-laden rant? Because Notre Dame’s coach happened to be in the audience? Because the mural known as “Touchdown Jesus,” associated with the school, was just too easy to leave alone—and so she was on a kind of Jesus rhetorical roll? Or has blasphemy simply become cool? (We’re talking strictly about references to Christianity, of course. Insert “Muhammad”—or a racial or ethnic minority group—for “Jesus” and see how quickly Jacobson would have been filling out paperwork at the nearest temp agency.)
In other words, whereas a shot at church or clergy would have been edgy before, has New Atheist bestsellerdom, and the general coarse level of discourse in media in general, made derogating the figure of Jesus himself a way of proving your bona fides as a fearless commentator (not to mention first-class jerk)?
By way of Mark Stricherz at Get Religion .
While I have you, can I ask you something? I’ll be quick.
Twenty-five thousand people subscribe to First Things. Why can’t that be fifty thousand? Three million people read First Things online like you are right now. Why can’t that be four million?
Let’s stop saying “can’t.” Because it can. And your year-end gift of just $50, $100, or even $250 or more will make it possible.
How much would you give to introduce just one new person to First Things? What about ten people, or even a hundred? That’s the power of your charitable support.
Make your year-end gift now using this secure link or the button below.
