The Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics provoked controversy for a parody of a Leonardo da Vinci’s famous Last Supper painting. Finished in the 1490s, this iconic mural, which still fills a 30-foot by 15-foot wall in Milan, Italy, has formed the Christian imagination about that critical biblical moment for over 500 years.
A debate circulated social media over the weekend as to whether the artistic directors for the Paris Opening Ceremony intended to produce a parody of the Last Supper or a parody of the Feast of Dionysus from Greek Mythology. Nevertheless, the messy hodgepodge of religious imagery—which placed drag queens (and more) in the place of saints and the Savior and the Greek god of parties at the center of the feast—caused an uproar.
Some were offended by the scene. Other were offended by the people who were offended by the scene.
Christians (and many others) throughout the world rightly took offense, because the scene was, well, quite offensive. It made a mockery of a central moment in Christian history, as well as a central piece of Christian art that has endured in the imagination of followers of Jesus for half a millennia.
Here are some keys for Christians thinking through and responding to this situation.
1. Christians Should Be Willing To See What Is in Front of Them.
Some (including Christians) breathlessly denied any connection the Opening Ceremony had with the Last Supper. For example, someone commented to me, “What is wrong with you! I would never have connected to the last supper. I guess you see what you want to see.”
But the Paris Olympics have confirmed that the scene did draw from da Vinci’s iconic painting, as reported by ESPN, The Guardian, and The New York Times.
The New York Times reported (before the confirmation), “‘The idea of the central figure with a halo and a group of followers on either side—it’s so typical of the Last Supper iconography that to read it in any other way might be a little foolhardy,’ said Sasha Grishin, an art historian and professor emeritus at the Australian National University.”
To be clear, the argument that raged online about what the performance was depicting has been settled. After an unclear statement from the artist, which was used as a club against anyone who raised even a mild concern, the Olympics issued a clear statement that says the performance was, indeed, drawn from the Last Supper.
Many, including other Christians, really wanted to prove that Christians are stupid—even when an expert art professor thought it “a little foolhardy” to see the performance any other way. Some quickly protested that American evangelicals are too sensitive and have a persecution complex. However, the most pointed complaints came from French Roman Catholics, Christian leaders from the Global South, and Christian Olympic athletes.
As Sarah-Jane Murray pointed out: “The first calls to the Olympics committee were made by a French bishop who was part of the Holy See delegation to the games, as well as the archbishop of Malta, and fueled in part by complaints from athletes themselves.”
We should be willing to see the reality that shows up in front of us. And we should believe the best about our brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. Offense and Outrage Aren’t the Same Thing.
I wrote an entire book about the problem with outrage, “Christians in the Age of Outrage: How to Bring Our Best When the World Is at Its Worst.” In that book, I pointed out the problems with outrage. I explained how Christians have become outraged at silly things, like the “Red Cup” controversy at Starbucks.
In 2015, a Christian social media creator posted a rant about Starbucks removing holiday imagery from their cups. He fumed that Starbucks hated Christians and Christmas—because Starbucks had removed snowflakes, snowmen, and trees from their red holiday cups. We rightly reject such silly outrage. I’m not recommending unrighteous outrage for Christians about the Paris Olympics or anything else.
Outrage is different from proper offense. As I said in “Christians in the Age of Outrage,” outrage is disproportionate, selfish, divisive, visceral, domineering, and dishonest. Offense, on the other hand, inverts these flaws. Righteous offense is proportionate, focused on God and neighbors, uniting, rational and spiritual, servant-hearted, and truthful.
While some Christians and others may have degraded into unholy outrage, I believe many of us simply took on a rightful offense to the scene at the Opening Ceremony in Paris.
The scene was inappropriate. Further it was but one in a line of offensive scenes during the opening ceremonies.
3. We Should Speak up About Offensive Uses of Symbols of Our Faith.
God commands us not to love the world: “Do not love the world or the things in the world” (1 John 2:15). Notice it does not say, “do not love…the people in the world.” We love the people in the world—our neighbors—but we reject sin in all its forms. We reject the mockery of God’s design for human sexuality and the mockery of Christ’s sacrifice.
