Coming up with a way to open the Olympic Games requires Olympic-sized creativity. But the people in charge of the festivities at this year’s Paris games discovered how to disgust millions of viewers. Companies pulled their advertising, Catholic bishops sent an angry letter to French President Emmanuel Macron and some French politicians issued statements telling everyone that the bizarre performance was an embarrassing mistake.
Meanwhile, many of the 29 million people who watched the opening night on television scratched their heads and asked, “What were they thinking?”
Breaking News. Spirit-Filled Stories. Subscribe to Charisma on YouTube now!
Even some Muslim leaders in France stood in solidarity with Christians and complained to the U.S. Olympic Committee. They agreed that parts of the opening night festivities crossed a line, especially a shocking segment that included drag queens, partial nudity and a strange blue man who portrayed Dionysus—the ancient Greek god of drunkenness and orgies.
Within hours, video footage of the bizarre show disappeared from YouTube, and the Olympic Committee issued an apology. Next, media commentators began arguing about whether the drag show segment was a mockery of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper” painting or simply a depiction of ancient Greek gods doing lascivious things.
Either way, I can’t help but think that inviting bearded drag queens to gyrate on a runway at a family-friendly sporting event is a really, really bad idea.
After the dust from this controversy settled and the competitions began, I contacted a friend who has pastored a charismatic church in Paris for more than 30 years. I wanted to know how Christians in the host nation felt about this scandal.
THANK YOU FOR VISITING CHARISMANEWS.COM. TO ENJOY THE REST OF THIS CHARISMANEWS POST, PLEASE VISIT THIS LINK.
Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!
