I would never have compared Fifty Shades of Grey with the Bible but Christian commentator Eric Metaxas did a few years ago in making this point: they both arouse strong opposition.
According to Metaxas, every year, the American Library Association receives reports from libraries, schools, and the media on attempts to ban books in communities across the country. It then compiles lists to help the public appreciate the calls for censorship that affect schools and libraries.
Most of the books that top the list contain explicit sex or seek to advance a particular sexual cause but to some people's surprise the sixth most challenged book is the Bible because of its "religious viewpoint".
I must admit, I am not too surprised. I am encountering a growing reluctance and even opposition in wider society to some of the things in the Bible, not least its stress on the uniqueness of Jesus and its clear teaching on sexual ethics.
And so like Admiral Lord Nelson, who is said to have put a telescope to his blind eye when surveying enemy ships and declaring "I have the right to be blind sometimes", societies can choose what they want to see. Today, this can mean resorting to what is effectively censorship in an attempt to close down discussion on topics people find uncomfortable or disconcerting. We are seeing more and more of this.
But I think there's a similar danger when it comes to discussing the whole issue of anti-Semitism. It is to our shame as a nation that, according to reports, anti-Semitic incidents in the UK are at a record high for the third year in a row. And rows over anti Semitic behaviour are currently swirling around and threatening to engulf the Labour Party.
Now, I am definitely no anti-Semite. I have esteemed Jewish friends and I recognise the incredible contribution that they have made to our world over the centuries. And I can identify with one distinguished historian who has said that "the murder and the mayhem perpetrated by anti-Semites throughout history and, above all, in the twentieth century deserves its special place in the annals of infamy". We have much to be ashamed of when we reflect on our treatment of the children of Abraham.
Far from being an anti-Semite, I am a proud follower of a man who chose to be born a Jew and was first and foremost a Jewish or rather, the Jewish king. The roots of my faith are to be found in God's choice of the Jews as His special people. Far from wanting to throw the Old Testament in the dustbin, Jesus has shown me that He came to fulfil it.
But that does not mean I should be prevented from criticising the state of Israel, especially when I think it is not treating the Palestinians justly. I would want the freedom to do that, whatever the state in question. If that makes me anti-Semitic, the Jewish prophets would have to be labelled anti-Semitic too because of what they said about their own people and the way they were living.
It is also not wrong to question Zionist philosophy either. Walter Laqueur, himself no stranger to anti-Semitism, has said: "It goes without saying that not all anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism. We should not forget that up to the 1930s the great majority of Jews were either opposed to Zionism or indifferent - which did not make them anti-Semites."
That's why I was so relieved to see that when adopting the IHRA's definition of anti-Semitism recently, bishops in the Church in Wales clarified that they were not precluding criticism of Israel or the Israeli government. I still have some concerns that the two issues could easily be conflated and as a result, honest debate silenced.
That would be more than a pity; it would be a denial of our God-given calling to act as salt and light in His world, challenging injustice or wrongdoing wherever that may exist.
God expects us to treat every human being with respect, whatever their race or creed, and whether Israeli or Palestinian. It is wrong to dehumanise anyone because every one of us has been created in His image and we all possess the potential to become as fully human as Christ.
With that in mind, we cannot simply close down discussion whenever we hear things we dislike. There have to be limits, of course, as anti-Semitism must be called out and dealt with. But equally, censoring debate on Israel would be a blow to free speech that unjustly benefits some while others not at all.
Rob James is a Baptist minister, writer and church and media consultant to the Evangelical Alliance Wales. He is the author of Little Thoughts About a Big God.
