religious responses to irreverent pop culture: Islam vs. Christianity; coercion vs. persuasion

From Janie Cheaney in World...

We're familiar with the pattern by now: artist or performer produces work seen as insulting to Islam; threats ensue; artist or performer backs down. In the case of the infamous South Park Episode 201, it wasn't the creators who backed down but their network, Comedy Central....

Perhaps it was no coincidence that the Times Square car bomber's vehicle was parked near the headquarters of Viacom, Comedy Central's parent company....

How about this: a cartoon comedy series called JC, featuring an all-powerful but indifferent Father whose divine Son seeks excitement in New York City. Programming head Ken Alterman was asked the inevitable question: Won't Christians be offended?...

By now everyone knows that making Christians uncomfortable is much safer than poking certain quarters of the Islamic community. A more interesting question: Now that radical Muslims have demonstrated how easy it is to shut down blasphemy, why don't Christians show the same outrage at brazen ridicule of their Lord? The organized boycotts of the last 20 years have fizzled, and attempts to reclaim the media have faltered—we seem either powerless or apathetic. Why aren't radical Christians as dedicated to our beliefs as radical Muslims are to theirs?

We are—but radical Christianity is, to say the least, different. Culturally, we have a long tradition of freedom of conscience rooted in the Reformation and freedom of expression spurred by the Enlightenment. Biblically, we are called to appeal and persuade, not threaten and coerce. Our message is, "Believe in Christ because . . ." not, "Believe in Christ or else." Our job description is to make disciples, not break dissenters. And when we are persecuted the Lord says, "Vengeance is Mine."

But there's something else, too. He who dwells in unapproachable light deliberately made Himself vulnerable to human mocking. Those who beat, spit upon, and facetiously bowed down to Him did so with His full cooperation. His response was to beg mercy for them, "for they know not what they do." Shouldn't that be our response?...