Mar 01, 2024 |
WLSU, Cancelled
| The Rev. Philip DeVaul
WLSU, Cancelled
This canceling business is not uncontroversial. It’s also not new, even if the lingo is.
I remember back in 2003 when the Country music trio then-named The Dixie Chicks responded to the US invasion of Iraq by telling a London audience, they were ashamed that our President was from their home state of Texas. The backlash was intense and immediate – with radio stations refusing to play their music and their music sales dropping dramatically. They even received death threats.
So did the Beatles, of course, back in 1966, when during an interview John Lennon remarked that his band was currently more popular than Jesus. Aside from the death threats, some Christian groups organized public bonfires of Beatles records and paraphernalia. The Beatles considered ending their US tour early for their own safety.
And then there was St. Paul, and even Jesus. Jesus, in describing conflict resolution at one point instructs his followers that if someone inside the community sins egregiously and is unwilling to apologize and atone, they should be treated like “a Gentile or a tax collector”. Which is to say they should be treated as outsiders.
Maybe Jesus was an early proponent of cancel culture.
Want to support our podcast?
