How Should Christians React to Blasphemy?
You must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives- Jude 22-23 NLT
The Christian response to the opening ceremonies for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games exposed a deep and growing rift in Christianity. When you get down to heart of the matter, the rift centers around how Christians ought to interact with a post-Christian culture.
Some were angry, and not just at the weird display of crudeness and blasphemy. This group has had enough of Christianity being the one religion it’s okay to use as a punching bag. They point out (correctly) that there are no activists mocking or vilifying anyone else’s deeply held beliefs. Public scorn is reserved only for Christians. These folks believe it’s high-time Christians start standing up for themselves and fight back.
On the other side of the divide, are those who think Christians should ignore any blasphemy directed (deliberately or inadvertently) at the Christian faith. These folks feel pretty strongly that any criticism, of any kind, directed at unbelievers sends the message that God (and His people) do not love them or want them anywhere near the Church.
This group points out (correctly) that Jesus often associated with sinners and nearly all of His disapproval was aimed at self-righteous religious people who judged sinners mercilessly (Matthew 9:9-13). They also note (correctly) that Christians are commanded to love everyone, including blasphemers (1st Corinthians 13:1-13, Matthew 5:43-44, Luke 6:32-35, Luke 7:36-47). Therefore, any and all disapproval of a non-Christians behavior should be hidden from view in the name of “kindness” and “love”. This group sincerely believes showing disapproval of sin will cause sinners to reject Jesus.
Yikes. No one wants that.
So, is Christian disapproval of bad/blasphemous behavior really the fast-track to total rejection of all things Christian?
Well.
I have some personal experience I feel is relevant to this discussion.
I grew up in a messy non-Christian home, by the time I hit my teen years I was a jumble of chaos and sin. I knew nothing about God or the Bible. I never even thought about God or the Bible, I was post-Christian girl long before post-Christian was even a thing.
I was also a bit of a wiseacre.
I worked at a fast-food restaurant, mainly on the front register. I almost never wore a nametag. Mostly, because I didn’t want customers to know my name if I made a mistake or offended them in some way. One day, one of the managers happened to notice I wasn’t wearing a nametag. I was told to put one on, pronto.
So, I did.
However, I did not put my name on the nametag. To my (now) eternal shame I put “GOD” on my nametag in all caps (and YES, I am now VERY aware of how blasphemous that was). Some of the customers and all my co-workers thought it was hilarious, so I left it on. My idiocy started a bit of trend. Almost all my co-workers began putting crazy, absurd names on their nametags, stuff like “Big Bird” and “Abraham Lincoln”. The managers were oblivious, all they saw is that we were wearing nametags. No one bothered to look at what they said.
It was all great fun.
Until one day a lady came through my line, saw my nametag and went deathly pale. She looked me in the eye and said in the kindest, gentlest, most alarmed voice you can imagine: “sweetie, you need to take that nametag off. There is a real God who is very powerful and He is very offended that you put His name on your nametag”. I don’t remember what I said to her, I do remember feeling shocked she would care about something I saw as just silly fun.
I did not become a Christian that day.
However, her gentle demeaner and concern for my soul had a huge impact on me. For the first time in my life thought God, and what He was all about, and what else I might have done to offend Him. All of a sudden, out of nowhere I felt super ashamed about the nametag (although at the time I had no idea why). I took the nametag off after my shift and never put it back on (1st Timothy 1:13).
All that to say.
I do not think it’s a good idea to let people blaspheme God without some kind of a reaction. Silence indicates an absence of disapproval. Most people (not all) who blaspheme God have no idea what they’re doing (Luke 23:34). Some really do hate God and are doing their level best to be offensive (Acts 7:51, Hebrews 10:29), most aren’t. The vast majority are just attempting to be witty, or trendy, or outrageous. Very few actually understand how dangerous their behavior is from a spiritual perspective (Leviticus 24:16). They are fools (Psalm 14:1). It is our job to gently guide them to the truth about God (Jude 22-23).
However.
When we talk to people we can’t be rude or hateful. We must communicate with our words and tone that we care about the souls of the people we are talking to.
Nor can we make it about us.
Our disapproval cannot be about our feelings, our firmly held beliefs or our rights. It has to be entirely focused on our God (1st Samuel 2:2). We have to tell people there is a holy, kind, patient God who loves them beyond reason (John 3:16-18, Psalm 68:4-6, John 5:24). We also have to tell people that His patience is not without limits. People need to know there will come a day when all people will be called into account for their words and deeds (Matthew 12:36, Romans 14:12, Romans 2:15-16). However, all this must be done in a spirit of gentleness and humility (Philippians 4:5, 1st Peter 3:15).
