I think your gaslight has flamed out on this one. Nobody was looking to be offended. The fact that millions of people around the world were offended means there was something there to consider. So much so that the Olympics apologized for any offense. I find it hard to believe that the artistic Director didn’t see the resemblance to the da Vinci painting. Perhaps he didn’t. Perhaps he did but didn’t care. Perhaps he wanted to offend although he disclaims that now. Yes, some reaction might’ve been over the top, but so has a lot of the pushback. It’s like some people are so on the lookout for something about which they can criticize Christians.
Or some Christians are looking to be offended. Ask yourself why the social media sphere where this took off chose to use a still shot instead of the entire segment. It was to gin up this entire episode and they were right.
Keep in mind the same American “Christians” going along with this faux outrage, were pissed off because a single obscure online influencer was sent a can of Bud Light. Maybe some people are just looking to be perpetually offended, and the internet supplies it to them like a heroin IV drip? Eff your feelings is a one way street I guess.
Yep . . . that there are millions of people around the world capable of misjudgment and with a critical thought deficit.
Yup. People watch "news" that is just an echo chamber of what they want to believe. Take a snapshot of something that is meant to make them outraged and, surprise, they become outraged. Then they post that snippet on social media for their like minded friends to be outraged.
Be honest. 1. Did you see it live? and 2. Did you immediately think they are mocking the Last Supper and Jesus. If 1 or 2 are a no, then you are one of the millions who only were offended by it after the fact and most likely got it feed to you by your media of choice. As it turns out, it was not even what people thought it was.
I'm not sure why I've seen several references to the Devil. Do people believe that Dionysus (and/or Greek mythology generally) is Satanic? Is it about paganism? If so, was it evil for Christians to adopt or incorporate pagan themes or events?
Sure thing, that's why they apologized and took down their opening ceremony video from youtube. Olympics opening ceremony: IOC take down video from YouTube, C Spire drops advertisements after backlash – Firstpost
Thank you for asking these questions. I was going to post my answers in response to someone else, but since you asked directly, this is much more appropriate. 1. I did watch it live. 2. My initial thought was that they were mimicking The Last Supper. My initial reaction was not so much offended as surprised and disappointed. My wife’s reaction was “that so French.” I lived two years next-door to France and visited often. I understand they are a secular society, and open to irreverence. So perhaps I should not have been surprised. For the most part I enjoyed the opening ceremonies. I thought they were creative, albeit disjointed. Some aspects were fascinating, some just stupid, like the ménage à trois. I thought the guillotined Marie Antoinette was interesting. Even though they might not have intended to reference The Last Supper, how can people fail to at least see the resemblance? The pushback on this is just as over the top is anyone’s offense. And being offended is not the monopoly of Christians or conservatives. I remember a few years ago on TH left leaning people were apoplectic over some geometric shape. What was it, a pink triangle or a red circle or something like that. IIRC, they saw a resemblance to something from concentration camps and their heads exploded.
At some point, the ladies have to step up and speak out, boycott. Yes, I know it's not easy. Throwing away years of training to take a stand, but if enough of them do it, things will change. Stand up to the mob, protect your sport for the long haul. It may require some sacrifice, but seems better than getting punched in the face by a man.
Is paganism the same as satanism? Is a pagan also a disciple of the Satan? What historically pagan themes or events would you consider to be satanic in nature? With respect to the very early church many (substantially all?) non-Jewish converts were pagans, no? Much if not most of the outreach (spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ) of the early church was to pagans. Seems, if the pagan practices were not in conflict with His teachings, there was no prohibition to new Christians still embracing those practices. It's quite likely the practice of some pagan themes/rituals by early (new) Christians was important to the early evangels. But, the propriety of Christians embracing pagan rituals is not an issue I must judge.
