Saturday, January 08, 2005

The Christian Right Strikes Again

I had intended today on writing about myself and my reasons for setting up this blog (mainly so I could engage in my interest in writing), but a news item today has prompted me to talk about that instead.

Tomorrow the BBC will be broadcasting "Jerry Springer - the Opera", and there have been tens of thousands of protests from Christians about certain parts of the play which show Jesus in what they would consider blasphemous situations. Of course all their protests are succeeding in doing is giving the programme some free publicity. I know I didn't know about it before the news started talking about the controversy that had been provoked by the programme and I know other people who also didn't know about it before this. I'm sure there are programme makers that deliberately add a controversial aspect to their programme just to make people talk about it and watch it. It's an obvious tactic. That is probably not the tactic here, however.

This has been on the stage for over two years with no reaction from Christian groups. It's only been when the BBC announced that it was going to broadcast the show that the uproar began. They were happy to ignore the show while it was only being performed at a theatre, but somehow having it on the TV gives it a special significance that demands a much higher standard. The protesters are indeed saying that the BBC should be more selective in it's programming and uphold the moral standards of the nation. (I didn't know Britain still had any moral standards! I thought we lost them a long time ago.) They are saying that we all have to pay a licence fee for the BBC so we shouldn't have to pay for programming that offends us, but of course that isn't the idea of the licence fee. It may be an out-dated way of funding broadcasting but at the moment it is how the BBC is still funded, but that doesn't mean that we can all choose what should or should not be funded. There have been scenes of people burning their TV licences, which is an interesting public display but rather drastic since it means they can now no longer legally watch any TV (whether BBC or not) until they buy a new licence.

The real issue is not whether this Opera is blasphemous but if it was would that mean it shouldn't be shown. Christians say that it is blasphemous and so, of course, it shouldn't be broadcast, but I don't think many of these people who are complaining about the programme have been to see the play and much less have seen the programme which isn't on till tomorrow. Begs to wonder how they know it's blasphemous, they are all going on hearsay. They have heard that there are some 'bad' sections in it and that's all the information they need. It makes you wonder what these people would think if they had actually seen it. The Director-General of the BBC was interviewed about the programme and he said that he was a practising Christian and he didn't find it blasphemous. Other Christians who have seen the programme may disagree, but if some of these protestors were to watch tomorrows programme expecting to be offended they probably will be.

The question of whether a programme is blasphemous depends entirely on who is watching it. The question of whether that same programme should be taken off the air because it is blasphemous is a difficult one to answer. Christian groups are percieving this as an attack on their religion, that leftist atheists run the BBC and are determined to indermine everything Christians believe in. I don't believe that this is the case but let's not foget that there will be people who will be just as vocal as the Christians if it is taken off the air. In a free society should a part of the community be allowed to dictate what everyone else can watch on TV? I would tend to answer no to that question. If we allow that to happen then we open the door for any small group to dictate what we can and can't watch. Atheist groups don't complain about Songs of Praise even though it defies their belief that their is no God. People should be free to watch what they like so long as it doesn't endanger those who are more vulnerable in our society. The material in this play is clearly not suitable for children and accordingly the BBC is not showing it till ten o'clock at night. Adults who choose to watch it can do so in the privacy of their own homes. If they don't want to watch it they don't have to; we have many more channels to choose from.

I think one reason that the Christians are protesting so strongly about this is that they are fed up with the way the Christian religion is being targetted like this when no one would dare to attack Islam in this way. Last month a theatre in Birmingham was attacked by Sikhs because of a play that was being staged there. The play was subsequently taken off specifically because of the violent reaction that it had produced. I commented to my father at the time that if the play had been set in a Christian church instead of a Sikh temple the worst that the theatre would have got was a viscious letter writing campaign; and the play would have stayed on. Chistians are too nice to get violent about comething that offends them. The stereo-typical image of a Christian is of a weakling who wouldn't say boo to a chicken, therfore people think they can get away with ridiculing Christian values because if the Christians did complain it would only provide them with some free publicity. Christians were too nice to do anything bad. This time I think Christians are taking this more personally that usual and are getting very worked up over the opera (more than it really deserves). Christians are fed up with being walked on; now they are going to fight back! Of course it isn't working, they are still too nice, but now it looks like they are whining about something they can't control.

Now I must admit that I am a Christian and go to a local Pentecostal church. Many of the people in my church are going berserk over this. Others are not. Just like everywhere it takes all sorts! I personally am not bothered what the BBC show, I won't watch it. I suggest everyone else in my church does the same. Everybody else out there is perfectly free to do whatever they want. What right have I to empose my principles on anybody else?

Thursday, January 06, 2005

My First State of the World Address

This is my first blog and I'm sure it's going have a very poor start, but we'll get better as we go on. I have thought about starting a web log for some time and tonight I thought I'd make a start and see what comes out of my fevered brow. So what do I start with?

Well, let's start with what everyone (well, the media anyway) is talking about: The Tsunami in the Indian Ocean. I have been amazed by the enormous outpouring of generosity from the public and from individual countries. In the news today I heard that in the UK alone over £100 million had been raised solely from public donations while the government has also pledged over £100 million, but that is nothing compared with countries like Japan and Australia who have pledged $500 million each. According to FT.com $5 billion has been pledged and donated, more than the UN could possibly use for many months. Now this is all very commendable and I am certainly not suggesting that we shouldn't be giving any money for the situation; I have donated some myself. But it is still utterly amazing that so much has been given in such a short amount of time.

It begs to wonder what would have happened if this level of money had been given for Africa instead of South Asia. Tony Blair today tried to remind people that Africa is still a crisis that needs to be solved. He said that a man-made Tsunami of casualties was happening in Africa every week. Where are the billions of dollars for Africa? Millions of people have died in the conflict in the Congo. More people have died there than in any conflict since the Second World War. The problems in Africa cannot be solved by simply throwing large amounts of money at it. It needs a total change in the attitude of the people in power about africa. The global systems that prevent third world countries competing fairly for trade need to be abolished and the enormous debts that have been run up by African countries need to be written off. The British government seem to be committed to making this a priority during their chairmanship of the G8. I hope something happens to ease the suffering in Africa. For years we have been hearing of the millions of people who are dying of AIDS in Africa, (I have supported HopeHIV myself which works with children ophaned by AIDS), let's pray that this year we will see something happening to halt this sad situation. Only today Nelson Mandela announced that his son has died of AIDS. This can only serve to emphasize the how wide-spread this disease is in Africa and halt the shame that many people still feel about it.

There are many problems in the world and I certainly don't have all the answers (or even any answers, I'm glad it's not my job to attempt to solve some of the problems). Money can be helpful in many situations but there is only so much it can do. There needs to be a change of attitude for many people around the world. It is very unlikely that will ever happen. Natural disasters like the tsunami in the Indian Ocean is tragic but the biggest tragedy comes from the thousands of people who die as a result of the greed of others.

Till next time.