Causing Offence

To Offend or not to offend that is the question

These two comments seem to provoke an adverse reaction every time I put them out on FaceBook or Twitter.

“Win the lost, offend the religious, provoke the Church!” – Damon Thompson

“If I haven’t offended you yet, please be patient and I will get round to you.”

I wonder why?

Jesus caused no end of offence. He offended nearly everyone during His time here with us. In particular, He offended the Pharisees and the Sadducees by both His words and deeds – particularly on the Sabbath and with regard to legalistic issues like forgiveness of sins. He offended the temple traders when He drove them out with a whip. He almost certainly offended the Romans by attracting large crowds wherever He went.

In today’s politically correct mad world, offence is, or seems to be, the only thing taken from any public utterance whether it be a verbal or written communication. It never seems to be very PC to agree with anything said by anyone – other than a minority group with a loud voice of course.

Parents take offense at whatever may be taught or omitted from the scholastic curriculum. Political or religious groups take offence at the curriculum too. Muslims seem to take offence at anything or anyone who does not share their faith. Atheists are offended by anything at all to do with any religion. Christians are offended by gay rights, abortion, and same sex marriages. Even within the Church, liberals are offended by Pentecostals and vice versa, or one denomination is offended by another.

Nearly everyone is offended by something or someone.

Is it me, or is there a common thread to all this offence? It really does seem to me that there is an attitude nowadays that says, if I don’t like what you are or what you stand for, then I am offended by you. Long gone are the days of tolerance and “laissez faire” when we were all allowed our own views. It was called freedom of speech or freedom of religion. These days to hold such a view is to offend someone somewhere – it is even illegal in many places.

To even be a Christian is deemed offensive to many. We live in a world which accepts political corruption; that accepts sexual perversion, lying, corporate theft through profiteering; That accepts the murder of countless babies each year through abortion; that accepts taking from widows and orphans what little they have – all as the norm. For us to actually offend simply by being a Christian is, to me, almost like being awarded a medal or other honour.

Maybe I am abrasive; maybe I am a little radical; but if my being Christian causes offence, then I am sorry – but I really do want to offend as many people as possible. I want the entire world to know about my faith and the faith of many of my friends. I want the entire world to take offence at my views on gay marriage, abortion, and so on. The world of His time 2000 years ago took grave offence to my Saviour. I will not compromise my faith nor in my belief in the truth of the Word of God. I want to offend people with the Name of Jesus Christ.

However, the purpose of all this offensiveness is not to be abrasive. It is to bring the Name of Jesus before people in such a manner that causes them to reflect why I take the stance I take. The purpose is to bring them gently into His presence and to lead them to Him – one by one by one.

I actually don’t want to cause offence at all. Rather, if people take offence I don’t worry about it. Rather, I want them to be offended in an inquisitive manner that makes them reconsider their own relationship with God. Christianity isn’t a religion, it is a relationship with God through His Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

I want every person in the world to share with me the joy of being a Christian.