Last week, Kathy Griffin had TV censors reaching for their scissors with her Emmy acceptance speech. "A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus... Suck it, Jesus. This award is my God now."
Now Fox News religion correspondent Lauren Green has a rebuttal.
I don't know what went through her mind and why she would think that was cutting edge or even funny. But first, I want to actually show you that, in fact, Kathy Griffin is wrong. Jesus had everything to do with her winning that award. And here's the reasoning.
Jesus died on a cross 2,000 years ago. His dying words were, "Forgive them Father for they know not what they do." He died and they buried him in a rock cut tomb. Three days later, as the Bible says, he rose from the dead. That day...
Well, I'll stop there. Suffice to say that Green continues like that for 2000 years, linking the crucifixion directly to the advent of democracy and free speech. It's the most humorless response to a joke at an awards ceremony since Sean Penn called Jude Law one of our finest living actors.
Besides, it's not clear why Green thinks it will help Jesus' image for him to get credit for "My Life on the D List." Really, you're just giving Hitchens ammunition.
It's also amusing that Green starts out by saying that if Griffin had stopped after saying "no one had less to do with this award than Jesus," "I could have been mildly insulted at that and turned the other cheek, as the founder of Christianity taught." But it was after the, you know, punchline, that Green felt this was no longer an option. Because that's where the founder of Christianity drew the line. I came across this attitude a lot in talking to evangelicals for my book: I believe in turning the other cheek, but when you attack my family/country/ministry/god.... Please. I think if Jesus was still preaching forgiveness when they pounded nails into his hands, you can suck it up for a Creative Arts Emmy speech. It's not like it was the Primetimes.
