On July 26, the highly anticipated 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony took place. While many acknowledged and praised the artistic elements of the ceremony, several scenes, such as the parody and desecration of Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper," were deemed blasphemous to the Christian faith by global Christian communities and conservative groups, including the Chinese Christian community.
Numerous pastors and believers within the Chinese Christian community voiced their direct criticisms of the blasphemous scenes at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on social media. Some pastors explicitly described these scenes as "truly disgusting," stating that "these performances not only go against the European background but also do not align with our excellent traditional Chinese culture." One pastor quoted Acts 13:41, saying, "When faith becomes a joke, respect turns into mockery; when civilization is trampled by vulgarity, solemnity is replaced by garishness." Another pastor pointed out that this also reflects the so-called decline of those Western Christian countries, attributing it to the corruption of the church. "The church has become a den of thieves, and if it does not repent, it will inevitably be torn down."
A pastor from a Three-Self church wrote: "If freedom and inclusiveness lack truth as a baseline, the freedom and inclusiveness advocated by people will only become tools for indulging desires and manifesting human pride. Ultimately, it will only lead people into shackles, bound by sin, and become chains. People will inevitably become slaves to sin!"
In addition to criticism, some Chinese Christians believe this incident should provoke reflection. In Western society, the influence of the church in cultural aspects is increasingly waning, which is related to churches' "high walls" and Christianity becoming more religious. European churches need to move towards the world, emphasizing the cultural mandate, and fundamentally, Christ should be the center of Christians’ lives, they added.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
当地时间月7月26日，举世瞩目的2024巴黎奥运会开幕式举行。虽然不少人承认和赞扬开幕式的艺术感，但开幕式上出现的多个画面如模范和亵渎达芬奇名画《最后的晚餐》等，被全球基督徒群体和保守价值观群体的认为是亵渎基督信仰；引发质疑和抨击，包括中国基督徒群体。
中国基督徒群体中有许多牧者和信徒在社交媒体发声，对巴黎奥运会开幕式的亵渎画面进行直接的批评。有牧者直接表示这些画面“真是恶心”，“这些表演不仅有逆于欧洲背景，也与我中华传统优秀文化不符。”也有牧者引用使徒行传13:41评论说“当信仰沦为玩笑，尊重变成恶搞；当文明被低俗践踏，庄重被妖艳取代。”有牧者指出这也反映了所谓的那些欧美基督教国家的堕落，背后是教会的腐败“教会已经成了贼窝，再不悔改必要被拆毁”。
一位三自教会的牧师写道：“如果自由和包容没了真理作为底线，人所倡导的这种自由和包容，只会成为放纵情欲和彰显人性骄傲的工具，最终，只会使人落入桎梏，被罪所捆绑，成为枷锁。人也必成为罪的奴隶！”
除了抨击外，有中国的基督徒也认为应该引起反思。在西方社会，教会在文化等方面影响力越来越弱，这背后有教会筑起高墙并且越来越宗教化有关系，需要走向世界；他们强调文化使命（cultural mandate），最根本是要以基督成为我们生命的中心。
巴黎奥运会开幕式亵渎画面引发中国基督徒群体的反对
On July 26, the highly anticipated 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony took place. While many acknowledged and praised the artistic elements of the ceremony, several scenes, such as the parody and desecration of Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper," were deemed blasphemous to the Christian faith by global Christian communities and conservative groups, including the Chinese Christian community.
Numerous pastors and believers within the Chinese Christian community voiced their direct criticisms of the blasphemous scenes at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on social media. Some pastors explicitly described these scenes as "truly disgusting," stating that "these performances not only go against the European background but also do not align with our excellent traditional Chinese culture." One pastor quoted Acts 13:41, saying, "When faith becomes a joke, respect turns into mockery; when civilization is trampled by vulgarity, solemnity is replaced by garishness." Another pastor pointed out that this also reflects the so-called decline of those Western Christian countries, attributing it to the corruption of the church. "The church has become a den of thieves, and if it does not repent, it will inevitably be torn down."
A pastor from a Three-Self church wrote: "If freedom and inclusiveness lack truth as a baseline, the freedom and inclusiveness advocated by people will only become tools for indulging desires and manifesting human pride. Ultimately, it will only lead people into shackles, bound by sin, and become chains. People will inevitably become slaves to sin!"
In addition to criticism, some Chinese Christians believe this incident should provoke reflection. In Western society, the influence of the church in cultural aspects is increasingly waning, which is related to churches' "high walls" and Christianity becoming more religious. European churches need to move towards the world, emphasizing the cultural mandate, and fundamentally, Christ should be the center of Christians’ lives, they added.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Scenes of Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony Draws Opposition From Chinese Christian Community
