TV anchors were recently in the news (pun intended) because of the strictures passed against them by a Supreme Court bench of Justices K.M. Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy, in the matter of promoting hate speech. They termed it “multi-layered, like killing someone, you can do it in multiple ways, slowly or otherwise”. What is wrong with anchors they asked if “invited people are not being allowed to express their own views, being muted or run down”?
The venerable Justices were stating what is obvious to the impartial viewer – that TV anchors can steer a debate in a direction of their choice, in pursuit of their own agenda, including hate, that guarantees higher TRPs.
Some of the most vulnerable panellists are those purportedly representing the Christian community. They are invariably hauled over the coals on the contentious issue of alleged “conversions”. Considering that some of these panellists have spent years studying theology, missiology, apologetics and polemics one wonders at their naiveté! Why blame the anchors alone?
Perhaps these Christian “representatives” are modelling themselves on the “goody-goody” docile Jesus, who told his disciples to turn the other cheek when struck (cf Mat 5:39). Ironically, at the one occasion that the Gospels record Jesus being struck unjustly, he is quick to challenge his attackers. “If there is some offence in what I have said, point it out; but if not, why do you strike me”? (Jn 18:23).
This led me to imagining Jesus being questioned by a TV anchor from Holier Than Thou TV. The anchor used a Voice Over to quote various statements/ incidents in the Gospels, seeking a fresh response. It went something like this:
VOICE OVER: “Then the Pharisees went away to work out between them how to trap him in what he said … Master we know that you are an honest man and teach the way of God … and that you are not afraid of anyone, because human rank means nothing to you … Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar? But Jesus was aware of their malice and replied: You hypocrites why are you putting me to the test? Show me the money you pay the tax with … Whose portrait is this? Caesar’s … Very well, pay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God. When they heard this they were amazed, they left him alone and went away” (Mat 22:15-22).
ANCHOR: Tell us Jesus, do you stand by what you then said?
JESUS: Absolutely. If you look at it objectively, I then laid the foundation of a secular society, recognizing the complementary, not conflicting, roles of religion and State. Giving a free run to either is a recipe for disaster.
ANCHOR: Why don’t your present day disciples talk like you did?
JESUS: Because they are not alert when somebody is trying to trap them. They are also not fearless and seek human respect that results in compromises.
AUDIENCE: Wow! Fantastic, no wonder those Pharisees slunk away dumbfounded.
VOICE OVER: “Master this woman was caught in adultery and in the Law, Moses has ordered us to stone women of this kind. What have you to say? They asked him this as a test, looking for an accusation to use against him. Jesus began writing on the ground … Let the one among you who is guiltless be the first one to throw a stone at her … he continued writing … they went away one by one … Jesus was left alone with the woman … Woman where are they? Has no one condemned you? … Neither do I, go and sin no more” (Jn 8:4-11).
ANCHOR: Even today in some countries people stone such women to death. Is it justified?
JESUS: This law was indeed given by Moses. It was based on the false premise that the woman was into consensual sex (cf Deut 22:24). This is not always the case. Besides, in a patriarchal society, women were like cattle, owned by someone else. They had no rights or dignity of their own.
ANCHOR: What did you write on the ground that all your accusers slunk away?
JESUS: (Laughing) I was aware that they were trying to trap me again as with the tax issue. Either way I would have been damned. These Yes/No binaries that you anchors use are a trap. I had to find a via media. I realized that these men were all hypocrites, who had themselves sexually abused that hapless woman. She too whispered that to me. So I began writing down their names. Finding themselves exposed they ran for cover!
AUDIENCE: Brilliant. Indeed one must have presence of mind and read between the lines in public life.
VOICE OVER: “One Sabbath day he was walking through the fields and his disciples plucked ears of corn. The Pharisees said – Why are they doing something on the Sabbath day that is forbidden? He replied – Have you never read what David did in his time of need when his followers were hungry – how he went in to the house of God … and ate the loaves that only the priests were allowed to eat? … The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath” (Mk 2:23-28).
ANCHOR: So are you advocating or justifying the breaking of the Law?
JESUS: Now you are questioning me just like those Pharisees. Nothing is absolute, including religious laws. They are meant to serve a purpose and not become an end in themselves. Human need must take primacy over all else. Of what use are religious laws if they become a burden or perpetuate injustice or indiscrimination?
ANCHOR: You are quite intelligent.
JESUS: It is also important to use their own arguments against them. So I quoted King David whom they hold in great esteem. They cut the branch that they were sitting on!
AUDIENCE: Cool, man. You are a management guru. HR guys should learn conflict management from you.
VOICE OVER: “What authority have you for acting like this? Who gave you this authority? Jesus said to them – And I will ask you a question, just one, if you tell me the answer, then I will tell you my authority … John’s baptism, what was its origin, heavenly or human? And they argued among themselves – if we say heavenly he will retort to us – Then why did you refuse to believe him? If we say human, we have the people to fear, for they hold that John was a prophet. So they replied – We do not know. And Jesus retorted – Nor will I tell you my authority” (Mat 21:23-27).
ANCHOR: Very clever. You threw the question back at them. You are quite a cunning guy.
JESUS: When commissioning my disciples I had explicitly said to them, “Look I am sending you out as sheep among wolves, so be cunning as snakes and yet innocent as doves” (Mat 10:16). It is important to strike a balance between being assertive without being unduly antagonistic.
AUDIENCE: A fine balancing act.
ANCHOR: I wanted to throw many more questions at you, but we are completely out of time. I have interviewed Presidents, Prime Ministers, actors, sportspersons of every hue, but I have yet to come across a Smart Alec like you. You are the embodiment of perfection, Purushottam, the Perfect Man.
JESUS: Most people address me as “Son of God”. I myself used the term “Son of Man” to describe myself. It is found 82 times in the Gospels. The greatest mistake my disciples make is to place me up there on a pedestal, out of reach; to be adulated. They first need to see me down here, so as to emulate me.
AUDIENCE: Some said “This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it … After this many of his disciples went away and accompanied him no more” (Jn 6:60,66). Others in the audience said with Peter “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mat 16:16); and with the Centurion at Calvary, “In truth this man was Son of God” (Mk 15:39).
- The writer has an existentialist/ evolutionary approach to understanding the person of Jesus. These thoughts are expounded at length in his book “Beyond 2000 – The Other Side”.
OCTOBER 2022
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