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I have never watched a single episode of South Park. I know about the show, but have never personally watched it. If you do not know anything about the show, here is an overview: South Park is a cartoon on Comedy Central that really likes to push the envelope on censorship. To put it another way, it is a very crude show. The creators of the show pour on the satire in a mercurial fashion. They take shots at every aspect of life. They have no problem insulting our leaders, religious or otherwise. They are especially crude when it comes to religion, that is, until recently.

Just last week they planned to air an episode about Islam. The creators of the show tried to depict the prophet Muhammad wearing a bear costume and riding in the back of a Uhaul. You can read about this here: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-et-south-park-20100423,0,5940860.story?page=1 and here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/23/arts/television/23park.html

Shortly before the the episode was aired, a group called “Revolution Muslim” posted on their website what could happen to the creators if they air the episode. Basically the spokesperson for Revolution Muslim stated that the creators could possibly end up dead if they went through with the episode. So what happened? The creators backed down. Probably for the first time. The group said it was not a threat, but rather what could possibly happen to the creators would be the same thing that happened to Theo Van Gogh who was killed by a Muslim for drawing caricatures of Muhammad.

The LA Times article included a good point by professor Volokh who claimed that backing down from bullies will only allow them to gain the upperhand. Here is what the LA Times said, “UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh said that although he sympathizes with the predicament faced by Comedy Central, the network has potentially empowered other extremists by how it has chosen to handle the situation.

“The consequence of this position is that the thugs win and people have more incentive to be thugs,” said Volokh, who teaches free speech and religious freedom law. “There are lots of people out there who would very much like to get certain kind of material removed, whether religious or political. The more they see others winning, the more they will be likely to do the same. Behavior that gets rewarded gets repeated.”

What Christians and all people should learn about this message is clear. Jesus said in Matthew 10:28, “Do not fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can kill both soul and body in hell” (ESV). The creators of South Park have no fear on hell. Based on the content of their program, they do not understand what Jesus meant when he said in Matthew 12:37, “By your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned” (ESV). Again, based on the content of their program, the creators have no fear of the consequences of their words as they are spoken through imaginary figures. But they are afraid of extremist groups. If some group states that something bad can happen to them if they air the show, they back down. But why is there no fear of God?

We can stop sinning because we fear going to jail, hurting someone, or being labelled something bad. But does that really get to the root of the issue? What is at stake is judgment and hell. In an age where people think, “Anything goes” and “Its all good” obviously it is not. People are scared of someone coming to kill them in order to censor their message. But who is afraid of God? Apparently not many today. The Apostle Peter put it best when he said, “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God” (1 Peter 4:17 ESV). Let us therefore guard our tongues and our thoughts in fear of sinning against God.

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In a recent article by the voice of the Emerging church, Brian McLaren ponders the question of why Evangelicals do not like him. You can read the fine article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-d-mclaren/why-do-evangelicals-disli_b_517094.html

I could save Mr. McLaren some time by telling him why Evangelicals do not like him. The reason why they do not like him is because he claims to be one but he is not. No group likes to be misrepresented. And what Mr. McLaren does is misrepresent Evangelical Christianity. The things that he stands for and believes in according to his new book A New Kind of Christianity: Ten Questions that are Transforming the Faith (HarperOne, 2010), are in reality nothing new. The “Ten Questions” that are to transform Christianity are really not new. And I believe that is why Mr. McLaren is whinning about Evangelicals not liking him.

Instead of asking me first, Brian McLaren believes that he is the object of scorn because he is questioning authority. The authorities have spoken and we are not to question them. First of all, who are the authorities? The biblical writers? The early Church Fathers? The Roman Catholic church? The modern leaders of Evangelicalism? Why whine and complain about the enigmatic figure called “Evangelical Leader?” Instead, Mr. McLaren should simply state what he believes and then let the people decide if he represents Evangelicalism. Because judging from the surface, he certainly falls more in line with classic Liberalism, though he would probably deny that.

It seems that perhaps he may just have an axe to grind. He tries to caricature Evangelical Christianity in such a way so as to suggest that they all unilaterally support Israel over against the Palestinians. Can one be an Evangelical and be pro-Palestine/ Anti- Israel? Certainly no Christian should be against any particular nation. A nation may invade your nation and you have the right to defend your freedom and homeland. But are Christians supporting one nation against another nation based on race alone? True that many conservative Evangelicals unilaterally support the nation of Israel with regards to its policy against the Palestinians. But I would hesitate to  say that supporting Israel is a fundamental tenet of what it means to be Evangelical.

Perhaps Mr. McLaren would be better off just enjoying himself among his friends in the Moderate camp and quit thinking of himself as the target of conservative Evangelicalism. If you are going to try to reinvent Christianity and redefine what it means to be a Christian, you are going to make alot of enemies along the way. But your enemies are enemies because you claim to speak for them. Then you pretend that they are upset with you because their authority is being questioned and they are defensive. But there have been many who have sought to redefine Christianity. In the end, how much Mr. McLaren represents historic Christianity will be determined by other Christians of whom he is accountable to. If he does not like their scorn, then perhaps he should keep his thoughts to himself. If however, he wants to continue to redefine historic Christianity, his thoughts will be held up to sever criticism and he will make many enemies. It simply comes with the territory and has been happening since the beginning. So my advice, if anyone cares is to “man up” and stick by what you say and believe. If you can’t run with the big dogs, stay on the porch. But please stop crying.

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