During Holy Week, in the days leading from Palm Sunday through Easter, Christianity should be at the zenith of its popularity.
And with 2.6 billion followers, nearly an estimated third of the world, this should be the moment of its triumph. But Christianity is facing its greatest challenge in centuries, not from another religion per se, but from within. That’s because many of its followers appear to be worshiping the old Greco-Roman gods instead.
In my presentation to our church, I played a video “10 Ways to Create Empathy for your Characters” by Pietro Schito, which I was using to learn more about how to be a good storyteller. This short Youtube video reveals how Disney and Pixar make the greatest movies. And I showed attendees that “The Greatest Story Ever Told” really is the greatest… a blockbuster worthy of an entertainment giant… and certainly better than the tales of those Greco-Roman gods, right?
In the video, Jesus checks off all the boxes. Good characters face injustice. They are blamed for something they are not responsible for. They have innocence. They are brave enough and seek impossible goals. They “Save the Cat” as they say in the classic screenwriting book.
Such characters have a strong moral hierarchy. They have a compelling backstory. They have flaws. They struggle and sometimes suffer. But, most importantly, they sacrifice for others. It’s not hard to find that in Christianity. Even Jesus had his human side, which makes him more relatable to us, from the Agony in the Garden (of Gethsemane), begging not to suffer, to asking “My God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
Jesus understands our pain that way.
In the “Save the Cat” portion, I talk about how Jesus saved everyone, from the blind and lame to the sinners, the poor woman’s son and rich man’s daughter, even someone from the Roman Centurion’s family. Salvation is open to all, and does not discriminate or segregate.
Greco-Roman gods generally don’t do this. They have little empathy for humans, no responsibility or accountability. Their only virtue seems to be power. They use and abuse other gods, and especially humans, to fulfill their pleasures. The only time they seem to be helping humans is to win a bet or contest with other gods. They’re amoral…even immoral. They don’t have much of a backstory. They are made to be flawless, even when we can see what they’re doing is wrong. They don’t seem to struggle with much.
And they don’t sacrifice for us… we’re supposed to sacrifice ourselves and the best of our youth to them, for their edification.
On paper, Christianity has won! There are churches, chapels and cathedrals all over the world for Christianity. For the Greco-Roman world, there are some crumbling structures, a shadow of their former glory, or vague recreations. Christianity can count followers all over the world. Formal membership in the worshiping the Greek and Roman gods is almost non-existent. People read the Bible cover-to-cover. Who really reads the Iliad or the Odyssey, unless forced to in middle school or high school?
But you and I know that clearly some who profess to be Christian seem to be secretly worshiping Mars, the god of war. Or they’re enraptured by Venus, the goddess of beauty. They pray to Fortuna for wealth. They prefer a tough-guy god like Jupiter with the lightning bolts than the message of the Sermon on the Mount.
I attended a church service in Florida where they claimed not to support “Wimpy Jesus,” failing to realize the true power of service and sacrifice.
Let’s end the modern worship of those Greek and Roman gods. Unless the full dominant message of what Jesus stood for is what we lead with, instead of equivocation, believing that Christianity’s mission is to smite others, embrace lust and money, and use our faith to subjugate others, then Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross really wouldn’t count for much today, would it?
John A. Tures is Professor of Political Science and Coordinator of the Political Science Program at LaGrange College, in LaGrange, Georgia. His first book, “Branded”, is available on Amazon. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu.