Angry Christians "pounce" at the Olympics
Greek gods party down? LGBTQ+ activists mock the Last Supper? France edges into darkness again?
What a time to be away from the comfort of my own desk, where I find it so much easier to think and write.
Right now, I am in bright blue California and I haven’t watched a single minute of the darkness in Paris — by which I mean news about that massive power failure, well timed attacks on mass transit in France, rising concerns about terrorism and flashes of anti-Israel anger that put a spotlight on rising antisemitism statistics.
Oh, and the Olympics are unfolding. Was there something strange about the opening ceremony? Lots of people appear to be very upset that lots of Christians were very upset about images suggesting a kind of drag-queen Last Supper tableau.
I’ll offer my own take, in a moment. But first, what does the Associated Press have to say? The headline: “Paris’ Olympics opening was wacky and wonderful — and upset bishops. Here’s why.”
In other words, conservative Christians pounce. Saith AP:
Wow. Paris didn’t just push the envelope. It did away with it entirely as it hammered home a message that freedom must know no bounds.
A practically naked singer painted blue made thinly veiled references to his body parts. Blonde-bearded drag queen Piche crawled on all fours to the thumping beat of “Freed From Desire” by singer-songwriter Gala, who has long been a potent voice against homophobia. There were the beginnings of a menage à trois — the door was slammed on the camera before things got really steamy — and the tail end of an intimate embrace between two men who danced away, hugging and holding hands.
Wasn’t there something else going on?
DJ and producer Barbara Butch, an LGBTQ+ icon who calls herself a “love activist,” wore a silver headdress that looked like a halo as she got a party going on a footbridge across the Seine, above parading athletes — including those from countries that criminalize LGBTQ+ people. Drag artists, dancers and others flanked Butch on both sides.
The tableau brought to mind Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper,” which depicts the moment when Jesus Christ declared that an apostle would betray him.
Wait, that’s the main point of the Last Supper?
When a giant silver dome lifted to reveal singer Philippe Katerine reclining on a crown of fruit and flowers, practically naked and painted blue, audiences who didn’t think he was Papa Smurf may have guessed that he represented Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and ecstasy.
But unless they speak French, they may not have caught the cheekiness of his lyrics.
“Where to hide a revolver when you’re completely naked?” he sang, pointing down to his groin. “I know where you’re thinking. But that’s not a good idea.”
OK, here is the “compare these two images” graphic that went absolutely viral on social media. I am sure that most Rational Sheep readers have already seen it.
Online, there were many hot takes suggesting that this LGBTQ+ drama was actual celebrating and or tweaking the Greek gods. Some pointed to “The Feast of the Gods,” a painting by the Dutch painter Jan Harmensz von Biljert (d. 1671). And it’s safe to say that, in this drama, Dionysus represents Dionysus.
My take? It’s both. It’s possible that, in the free-flowing action of this bizarre musical number, the Lord’s Supper line-up was only one image out of dozens and, when it was captured in a still photo, it was what it was.
Note this commentary by fitness guru Jillian Michaels, on X:
Dear fellow gays… We demand tolerance and respect but then make a mockery of something sacred for over 2 billion Christians. This type of hypocrisy and lack of understanding is a bad look. We get outraged when the extreme right bashes us, but then we do this &%$#. What kind of reaction do you think they will have towards the LGBTQ+ community after this. This is NOT how we break down barriers it’s how you build them.
Yes, I took out one ugly piece of language.
Meanwhile, Catholic bishops assumed that what they saw was what they actually saw. Here is a round-up from the Catholic News Agency:
In a statement released Saturday, the French Bishops’ Conference criticized the “scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity, which we deeply deplore.”
“We thank the members of other religious denominations who have expressed their solidarity. This morning, we think of all Christians on all continents who have been hurt by the outrage and provocation of certain scenes,” the French bishops said.
One of the best known prelates of the Catholic Church in the United States, Bishop Robert Barron of Minnesota, called on Catholics to “make their voices heard” in response to what he called “the gross mockery of the Last Supper.”
In a post on X, Barron said the blasphemous act was emblematic of a “deeply secularist postmodern society” that identifies Christianity as its enemy.
Moving on.
In terms of the Olympics, now we can go back to debating how Article 50 of the Olympic Charter — “no type of political, religious or racial demonstration or propaganda shall be permitted in any Olympic venue” — will impact efforts to control the clothing and religious symbolism embraced by athletes who are active in various world religions. Will the born-again Brazilian soccer stars get to wear Christian shirts under their jerseys?
The key for me — because we can see many other examples of this trend — is that displays of pure “secularism” are not enough. They just aren’t any fun.
When artists flee tradition forms of religious faith, such as Christianity, it is highly likely that they will escape into other forms of religion, such as pop-culture versions of neopaganism. Party!
Once again, there is good religion in public life and there is bad religion and the gods of mass media get to decide which is which.
If Christians think they will be offered fair-minded chances to discuss these topics in mass media, other than forums such as X and Substack, that just isn’t going to happen. Traditional religious believers are not in charge of deciding what are positive displays of “diversity” and “tolerance.”
Should Christians pounce? What is the goal of these protests?
Yes, I am asking that question. Thoughts?
An interesting Facebook comment on my post, from Tom Graffagino (I hope I got that name right!):
I have noticed that some folks have come the defense of the Olympian ceremonial “Last Supper” parody, claiming that it was simply an innocent portrayal of Greek (Dionysian) mythology. Nothing more, nothing less. I am persuaded otherwise. I believe that those who cling to this interpretations, while they may be well-meaning , are being terribly and sadly naïve. I am convinced that the theatrical portrayal was obviously well-thought out and cleverly choreographed for maximum spiritual and “re-educational” purposes.
A FB friend of mine recently posted this insightful observation:
“Something that seems to be missing from the responses to and critiques of the Olympic mockery of the Lord's Supper serves to demonstrate that many of us have missed the fact that this was much more hostile to Christ and the gospel than people are perceiving. This is indeed diabolical and much deeper than flaunting drag queens (and children) before the audience.
The inclusion of Dionysus is quite purposeful. In Greek and Roman mythology, this was the god of wine, festivals, fertility, and religious ecstasy. The story was told that Dionysus was killed (and eaten) by the Titans, however, his heart remained and he was resurrected. Secular and liberal "Christian" historians alike have worked hard to find ties between Dionysus and Jesus, to the point that many claim that the story of Jesus is actually a re-telling of the story of Dionysus.
The worst take on this is the idea that Paul's account of the Lord's Supper in his first letter to the church in Corinth is in fact a religious festival meal held by worshippers of Dionysus set with Christian overtones for Paul's readers. The wine which is representative of the blood of Jesus (His life) which was about to be "poured out for many for forgiveness of sins" (Matt. 26:28) has been mockingly tied back to the Greek god of wine and religious ecstasy.
This is not merely a mocking of Jesus, or the Supper, or of Christianity itself. This, by design, is a repression of the truth and also a substitution - it is replacing Jesus with another god. In other words, this was not just an artistic leap into debauchery. It was a deliberate attack on who Jesus is.
Don't get distracted. Don't be surprised. And don't forget that these lost people are the mission...these are the enemies we are told to love, just as "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Love doesn't make excuses for their sin. It demands we tell the truth about their need for repentance and faith in the very Jesus they tried to defame.
Regardless of whether offense was intended, the display was revolting enough to generate disgust from generally reasonable people. Being Catholic, I was pleasantly surprised that "Media Priest" Bishop Robert Barron spoke out immediately. As with Walter Cronkite, once you've lost Bp Barron, fuggetaboutit. He tends to soft pedal, appease and turn the other cheek. He was disgusted and said so immediately. Many people saw a mockery of The Last Supper...the long table, the focus on the central figure, in this case a grossly obese apparently female figure with a sort of halo...if not a Bishop's mitre on her head. She was holding out a double cheeseburger. Gee, it's round...could it possibly be the Eucharist? Add the sprayed on blue Dionysus figure to be eaten...there you go again, you know those Catholics, eating their God. Coincidence? Maybe. I'd be shocked to learn there was gambling going on.
The ghoulish headless figure of Marie Antoinette was incredibly disturbing and frightening. Not to mention horribly misleading with respect to this poor woman who's life has been reduced to a line in a play "Let them eat cake" something she never said.
Add death galloping on the Pale Horse.
But no, nothing was meant to mock religion. Do they think we are fools?
Finally, the ego trip of a gay activist producer has nothing to do with the Olympics. This is meant to be a showcase for great athletes, a source of national pride, dreams fulfilled and sometimes dreams shattered. The producer in his quest to shove his perversions down the throats of many unwilling subjects completely ignored the athletes who were stuck on little boats, frantically waving little flags instead of the traditional march into the arena for the hometown crowd to cheer.