Some religious groups are in high dudgeon this week over the Discovery Channel’s plans to air a much-publicized documentary about an unknown tomb in which Jesus may have been buried. The documentary raises the possibility that Jesus could have been married and had a son. If true, the finding certainly challenges the Bible’s depiction of Jesus.
Those voicing objections are demanding that the Discovery Channel pull the show.
These folks certainly have a right to complain and object. But Discovery also has every right to air this show. How else can people make informed judgments about the world we live in unless all the information to base their decisions is out there for everyone to see and examine for themselves?
Discovery Channel is hosting a post-documentary discussion with biblical scholars and archeology experts to take a “Critical Look” (their words) at the findings revealed in the program, yet religious groups claim Discovery is biased on the subject? Please.
The bias is actually coming from those who don’t want others to explore the historical significance of the find for fear that some people might ask some inconvenient questions which don’t conform with their own religious beliefs.
No one is saying that religious folks whose faith prevents them from considering any possibilities other than those found in the New Testament have to watch the show. And to censor such a documentary would be, well, un-American. People are free to make up their own minds, especially on religious matters. And they should.
Here’s hoping the Discovery Channel doesn’t buckle under the pressure; not because it upsets a religious apple cart, but because the right of free speech, even speech which some find offensive, is a principle we simply cannot afford to lose.
FAMOUS LAST WORDS
“We must respect the other fellow’s religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart.”
- H.L. Mencken
Posted on March 2nd, 2007 by Chuck Muth
Filed under: National
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