The offence of the crass vs the offence of the cross

You don’t have to be Australian, a Morris Marina owner, or a public sector worker for the name ‘Jeremy Clarkson’ to be a red rag to a bull. There are probably very few people who, over the years, Jeremy Clarkson has not offended. He famously referred to Australians as a nation of losers. On a smaller scale, Top Gear’s practice of dropping pianos onto Morris Marinas offended me as a devoted classic car owner, and for different reasons, offended my wife who is a pianist! But the offence was considerably larger this past week when Clarkson stated in a broadcast that he would happily execute in front of their families those who went on strike last Wednesday.

Of course, Jeremy Clarkson’s notoriety and his considerable following on the “Top Gear” programme largely stem from his deliberate and outspoken lack of political correctness. Opening his mouth and putting his foot in it has almost become expected of him. Perhaps he sees it as a necessity in order to maintain his profile and further his career. In society today, being shocked has become a form of entertainment. Hence why Simon Delaney, the lead actor in “Jerry Springer the Opera” was quoted as saying “People will come to be offended, and if we haven’t offended you we haven’t done our job”.

The irony is that in today’s politically correct culture, where laws have being enacted to ensure that nobody is offended by anything – or at least not by anything that is contrary to accepted cultural norms – there are still certain anomalies apparent. The BBC, for example, seemed very reluctant to take any action against Russell Brand and Jonathon Ross three years ago, following the prank calls row. Offence is in the eye of the beholder, but the BBC would seem to be deliberately attempting to shape public opinion as to what is offensive, rather than simply reflect it, so that what might be gratuitously offensive today is legitimate entertainment tomorrow.

On the other hand, however, in matters of faith, what might potentially cause offence seems to be regulated with ever-increasing strictness by both government and media. We have legislation that governs “incitement to hatred”, legal action against a local council that says prayers prior to its meetings, and moves to change the historical references of AD and BC, in case they cause offence to those of other faiths or none. Christians themselves are increasingly aware that any public profession of faith can be deemed offensive. Christianity has effectively been privatised, in a shift that runs counter to all the hard-won freedoms that we have hitherto enjoyed.

Nobody objects to a Christianity that simply advocates little more than being kind to grandmother and the cat. But the message of the Bible is one with a cutting edge that inevitably some will not like. Strikingly, John the Baptist, whose words are regularly recalled each Advent season, addressed the crowds as, “You brood of vipers” (Luke 3:7) and then, interestingly, went on to tell them, “Be content with your pay” (verse 14). Undoubtedly, some would have been shocked and offended. But John the Baptist did not apologise for saying things intended to shock people out of their complacency and the unquestioning mindset that God was quite happy with their lifestyle.

Jesus himself said things that caused such offence that the custodians of the ‘establishment’ wanted to kill him. Having verbally lambasted the Pharisees in Luke 11, a religious scribe accused him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also” (Luke 11:45). Had Jesus been speaking in Britain today, there is little doubt he would have been arrested for offending people and incitement to religious hatred.

Those of us who seek to follow Jesus, and say what he says and live as he did, will therefore inevitably offend some people. It should never be our intention to denigrate other faiths or to incite hatred, but sincere public witness will still make some people angry. The Apostle Paul spoke of the “offence of the cross”, but he was nevertheless determined to keep preaching it. For Christians, it remains an ongoing challenge to determine when it is legitimate to risk being offensive, and when it is not – and to have the wisdom to know the difference. The offence of the cross must not become the offence of the crass. We need to remember too, as somebody pointed out this week, that perhaps part of the “offence of the cross” is the very fact that God loves Jeremy Clarkson!