2006-01-31 - 11:28 a.m.
The good news is that I�m down to 282lbs, from a peak of 314.
The bad news is that I�ve begun a weight-training program for the first time since I got out of the military and my joints have filed for early retirement.
I�ve also lost a lot of strength, which I hope will come back quickly, but is pretty discouraging for the moment.
I�m doing about half of all the weight I used to, (use it or loose it I guess) and I feel like a Girly Man�
A Danish diary company is suffering a boycott of sales in response to a series of cartoons published by a completely unrelated Danish independent newspaper. Danish relief workers have also been asked to leave several Muslim countries. Overall the Danes are taking a huge black eye in the Muslim world because a small independent paper published a series of cartoons that defames The Prophet Muhammed.
The Prophet is never supposed to be depicted in art, (contemporary Muslim art almost always shows him with a veil covering his face) so of course a demeaning depiction is sure to cause anger. The cartoons aren�t anything special, though they are difficult to find as no media organization want to touch this hot potato, but as far as outrageous goes, there pretty tame.
I�m not actually sure where I come down on this. My first thought is, �Well Christ is depicted in cartoons all the time, often in ways that I personally find offensive, but I haven�t boycotted an entire country for the offense.�
But, maybe I, and all other Christians, should get a little more upset over a demeaning depiction of what we profess to be the most important person in our lives.
Or maybe not.
The folks that create these cartoons obviously don�t share our beliefs, and therefore can�t be expected to revere the holy figures of our chosen faith.
It is the same argument I have with the terribly unproductive attitude that many Christians have about how the outside world should conform to their beliefs.
�This is what I believe, and you have to believe it too!�
A lot of Christians are upset about the TV show �The Book of Daniel� which depicts the troubled family of a Priest. It seems that the fuss is over conversations that the priest has with Jesus, and the depiction of Jesus that the show puts forward.
I haven�t seen the show, but from the several clips I�ve seen, I have to say,
�Seriously, just shut up.�
This is not the battle to be fighting right now. Even if you don�t think that the way the show depicts Jesus is correct, even if you think that it is terribly insulting, you don�t have the right to tell other people that their idea of Christ is wrong.
If you don�t like it, don�t watch it.
I personally don�t think it�s a very good portrayal, so what? The show�s creator has said several times that the Jesus that is depicted is the character�s personal idea of who Jesus is. Obviously that means it is probably also his idea of who Jesus is, or at least how he would like Jesus to be.
Most Christians have an idea of who Jesus is to them, the Jesus that they pray and speak to, the idea in their head of Christ. I have a feeling that if you were to project that image on a screen there would be as many Jesus� as there are Christians.
The point is, no one has it just right,
Some have it completely wrong,
Some are probably pretty close.
But everyone is sure that their own view of Christ is THE right one.
Well almost everyone.
I think a follower of Christ should understand that they probably don�t have a perfect image of who Christ is. That is the quest, to discover who Christ is and become like him, and it is a quest that is never ending.
Christian should be happy for every opportunity to discuss their faith in a public way, and if �The Book of Daniel� is a conversation starter, then it is a good thing for Christians, no matter how Jesus is portrayed.
However inaccurate the portrayal is, I say that it is less harmful than the image of Christ that Pat Robertson is showing to the world. No one is looking towards Jack Kenny (Book of Daniel creator) as an authority on the Christian Faith. While Pat Robertson has lost a momentum as a Christian leader, there are still a few million people out there who think he speaks with authority.
More to come later,
-Justus
