Offense taken: Parsing the uproar over the Olympics opening ceremony

This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on July 28, 2024.

The way pastors and pundits respond to controversy online in the heat of a cultural moment can be a window for discovering how power works in society and a reminder for where Christians can find beauty.

When screenshots of the Olympics opening ceremony revealed a scene that looked like a drag queen version of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper painting, of course all the usual suspects were going to come out of the woodwork and post their outrage.

Perhaps most predictable was Al Mohler: “Every society — without exception — coalesces around a dominant religious impulse with associated symbols. The sheer horror of the secularist replacement is what we saw in Paris. It’s a deliberately pornographic corruption of Christianity.”

Rick Pidcock

Then Mohler warned, “Don’t miss how intentional it is, right down to details. Paris aspires to be the new Babylon, with a drag queen at the center behind the altar.”

When someone on X suggested Christians should ask what they may have done to warrant such satire and mockery, Mike Cosper, director of CT media for Christianity Today, responded by saying the suggestion was “the moral equivalent of telling an abused wife, ‘What did you do to make your husband so angry?’” In his analogy, this means the opening ceremony would be the moral equivalent of a husband abusing his wife.

“What we saw last night deliberately incorporated blasphemous imagery, pagan imagery, and sexualized imagery. It was meant to scandalize,” Cosper added. “It’s perfectly reasonable for Christians to say, ‘These are our sacred symbols and we don’t appreciate you crapping all over them in front of 1 billion people.’”

Of course, it’s not at all surprising to learn how the Olympic Games actually meant the scene as an “interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus,” given that the Olympics originated in Greece, and that the scene’s purpose was to make people “aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings.”

It’s not at all surprising to find out the beheaded woman was not a reference to the modern dispensationalist idea of Christians being beheaded during the Tribulation after the Rapture, but was a nod to Marie Antoinette, otherwise known as “the beheaded queen.”

So of course, the horse rider was not meant to point to the pale horse and rider in Revelation that are followed by Hell, but was meant to celebrate Joan of Arc, who in France’s honoring of Christianity is their patron Saint.

“Awareness and being mindful of the absurdity of violence aren’t exactly character traits of conservative evangelicalism.”

But awareness and being mindful of the absurdity of violence aren’t exactly character traits of conservative evangelicalism, given that the Public Religion Research Institute found Republicans are 2.5 times more likely than Democrats to support political violence.

So it’s not shocking to hear words like these from men like Mohler or Cosper.

What was surprising about this story was how it provoked the ire of some of the more moderate leaders in conservative evangelicalism who tend to have more awareness than many of their peers about topics related to gender.

‘A direct undercutting of God’s design’

One of the more notable responses came from Andy Wood, pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California, this morning. Wood was selected by Rick Warren to take over after Warren retired.

You may recall Saddleback being in the news last year because Warren had an epiphany on allowing women in church leadership and the Southern Baptist Convention expelled Saddleback — the denomination’s largest church — as a result.

Andy Wood

Despite recent attempts by Saddleback to moderate its positions on women, and despite the Olympic Games clarifying the interpretation of the Friday night ceremony, Wood stood at Saddleback today and read the following statement:

One of the most appalling parts of the ceremony was the enactment that was a representation of the Lord’s Supper done with drag queens in a very evocative fashion. They took what is a piece of art, but more than that is a rendering of a sacred moment when Jesus was informing his disciples about his impending crucifixion for the sins of the world. It was a complete offense to the most sacred event in human history. Make no mistake, this was a direct undercutting of God’s design — God’s design for sexuality, God’s design for marriage, and most importantly, a mockery of King Jesus. If I were the president of France, I would feel the responsibility to repent on behalf of my nation. If I were the leader of the Olympic Committee, I would feel the need to say I’m sorry to every parent who watched the Olympic opening ceremony with their family. And I would feel the need to resign now.

At this point, he was interrupted by applause from the congregation. Then, without ever mentioning the Olympic Games’ statement about the Greek God Dionysus, Woods stated, “It is wrong to cram a value system down the throats of our children through the opening ceremony of the Olympics.” He concluded by saying the enemy has overplayed his hand and that we’re on the verge of a new Great Awakening, calling it “the greatest time in church history to be alive!”

‘You owe the West an apology’

Andy Stanley is a familiar voice in conversations about LGBTQ people given his willingness to host the Unconditional Conference in 2023 despite being accused at Christianity Today of seriously undermining a New Testament sexual ethic and “sending people to hell.”

Andy Stanley

So it was surprising when he posted on X about the 9,238 Americans who lie in the Normandy American Cemetery after coming to France’s aid during World War II. “Their final prayers were to the God whose Son you mocked in front of the entire world,” he wrote. “You don’t just owe Christians an apology. You owe the West an apology.”

As more information came out regarding the Olympic Committee’s intentions, however, Stanley deleted his tweet. He also didn’t speak during this Sunday’s service. So he hasn’t explained yet why he felt the need to say something originally or why he took his post down.

‘The most vulgar mockers of Christianity’

Glenn Packiam is a popular pastor, songwriter and author who left the well-known New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo., to become lead pastor of Rockharbor Church in Costa Mesa, Calif. He’s typically a calming voice online and uses his platform to affirm women preaching and leading in the church.

Continue reading at Baptist News Global.