Joie de Vivre A Wretched Man’s Quest To Follow Jesus Christ

Reading all the hoopla surrounding the deaths of famous people like the recently-departed Heath Ledger and others in years past made me just wonder what today’s mass media might say about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ if the event were to be set in these days.

It just amazes me sometimes how much people grieve and mourn when their favorite celebrities (or idols, which I think would be a more appropriate word here) pass on, when the latter didn’t know them from Adam (or Eve) all that time.

Some even succumb to the extreme act of taking their own lives to either ‘be with their idols in the netherworld’ or to express their inconsolable grief, as in the case of a fan or two of some celebrities like Leslie Cheung (a Hong Kong actor/singer).

Don’t get me wrong — I am not against feeling sad over the death of one’s favorite celebrity, but such extremities are uncalled for in my opinion.

Anyhow, coming back to my thoughts…

Will there be any sympathy for a man whose life was taken despite having done no wrong to anyone?

I doubt it.

They’d probably say that Jesus Christ was a blasphemer much like the Jews of His day accused Him of, and they’d also probably say that He was some political and social risk, seeing how we all need to so be politically correct nowadays (see story: “Three Little Pigs ‘too offensive’“).

Will there be ‘fans’ mourning His death?

Definitely, but probably ignored by the mass media while the respected writers of the day churn out commentary after commentary, and one analysis after another debating the miracles that Jesus Christ performed during His ministry — whether they were just magic tricks or true miracles, as well as His teachings.

And, finally, what will the mass media make of the Resurrection three days later and the Ascension 40 days after the Resurrection?

Probably with some level of shock and awe (sorry, I know that’s a ‘bush-ism’) initially, I’m sure, but it will soon die down and give way to jaded commentaries along the same lines of the denial in the Qur’an that it was not Christ Jesus who was crucified, but Judas Iscariot or someone who looked like Jesus.

As for the Ascension, it’ll probably be written off as a trick out of David Copperfield’s hat or even a ‘pretty good’ replica of David Blaine’s levitation trick.

Am I way off in my estimation of how today’s mass media would react to the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ Jesus if it were to happen in this age? Probably not.

What do you think?

One thing is certain though — it’ll be interesting to see how the mass media carries the glorious return of Christ Jesus, eh?

Photo of a typical ‘mamak’ newspaper stall in Singapore by nebulaenova.