The Political Spectrum

James Cameron of "Titanic" fame has produced a new special "The Jesus Family Tomb" in which he details "proof" that Jesus Christ was buried with Mary Magdalene and his son Judah. The Discover Channel and the History Channel have agreed to air the piece.

I will refrain from delving deeply into the religious perspective on this since it should be obvious that those who hate Christians, or merely think us daft and gullible, will be elated while persons of faith that respect the religious beliefs of their fellow human beings will be dismayed with another, tedious, assault on the broader concepts of faith. I will say this though... early Christians were murdered because the societies around them bought into speculative and bigoted rumors about their faith. Persecution built up the Church then and the persecution of the Modern age will do the same.

Bring it on Mr. Cameron... Your denial of our faith only firms up the Truth.

Of greater interest to me is America's reaction to this attack on the basic tenet of the Christian faith; that of the Resurrection.

There will no doubt be a vocal cry from Christians of every denomination against Cameron, those who bankrolled him, and those stations that air the episode; and rightfully so. Where others go out of their way to offend and cause injury to one's culture and faith, it is right and proper to raise one's voice. As a Christian it is even more critical because we are supposed to proclaim the Word, particularly before those who do not believe.

However, no boycott, the only useful mechanism for the influencing of corporate America, is likely get much traction and I would not expect any meaningful demonstrations against our persecutors.

American media outlets are quite shy of assault on faiths other than Christianity.

I think of this as a "natural" consequence of "majority status." We see something similar with the general acceptance of bigoted race, gender, and culture representations in the media of the "majority." The media's participation in an unrelenting assault on the the predominant religion, race, and culture of a America is tied, in part, to the perception that no great harm is visited upon us by such attacks.

It may be true that no articulable injury is done by such attacks.

Though I have had to endure endless articles designed to damage my faith in the Roman Catholic Church, had to self-censor the shows that I watch so as not to have my blood reach a boiling point, and have had to be selective in what my children view, there has been little impact on my economic or social situation by the bigoted attacks of a militantly secular society. At least for now, those who openly seek harm to those of faith are in the minority and their attacks have not reached me.

However, a local child was told that he could not wear a costume of Jesus to his school's Halloween pageant because the principle believes that the Constitution forbids the mingling of the State and religion. (Her words, not mine.) The boy was allowed to take part only after he took off his crown of thorns and agreed to change his entry to that of a "Roman." The boy's mother was angry enough to file suit.

Then there was the presentation at my local elementary school that included a Christmas Tree with a Menorah, and red Crescent cutouts to adorn the tree. I suppose that Christianity was demonstrated by the tree itself?

Of course, as a Pennsylvanian, I cannot ignore the change in PA law that extends the statute of limitations for sex crimes, specifically to open the door to more false accusations against Catholic religious. (It will be interesting to see whether volunteers for children and teen programs dwindles on account of a statute of limitations that could have one defending one's actions thirty years from now for perceived injuries today.)

There are lots of other examples, but I find it interesting that the majority status inoculates one to injury and bars protection. I wonder if this will continue when my race and faith are minorities.