Of all the things France could have done to open the 2024 Olympics, the last I think anyone would have expected was a mockery of the faith of 2.4 billion Christians around the globe in the form of a drag queen version of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper. Yet, that is what they decided to go with.

I can only wonder what was going through the minds of the people who planned this, and of those who approved it. What was the point? What, of all things, is France attempting to say to the world by mocking the Christian faith? And at the Olympics, an event that is supposed to celebrate international harmony in sports?

Let’s be clear about this: If you are given the privilege of making a mockery of the faith of 2.4 billion people on an international stage like the opening ceremony of the Olympics, you no longer get to call yourselves marginalized. Nope. You are fully a part of the establishment now.

Of course, there were the obligatory attempts to explain away the matter, and the required non-apology apology (i.e.: “We never intended to offend anyone, but if we did, we’re really sorry.”) Okay, that is either a bald-faced lie or it is an explanation offered by the most utterly clueless people on the face of the planet. Who could plan such a thing and not imagine that it would offend people? No one. I’m banking on their knowing exactly what they were doing and not caring if they offended anyone. Europe, and France in particular, is being overrun by immigrants from Muslim-dominated countries, and they are carving out sections of the continent for their own brand of civilization, where it has become downright dangerous for non-Muslims to traverse. This from the Middle East Forum, October 2023 issue: “Mass migration has made Islam omnipresent in Europe, where Islamist-inspired parallel societies are proliferating along with sharia courts, polygamy, child marriages, and honor violence. It is also stoking social chaos and rampant crime, including runaway antisemitism and mass sexual violence against European women.” Yet, Europe seems to think it is Christianity that is the greatest threat to their precious goal of a completely secular society.

However, while is France willing to entertain the world with its anti-Christian proclivities, it is unwilling to tolerate expressions of Christian faith from the athletes competing in the Paris Olympics. Brazilian surfer Joao Chianca was told to remove the image of Christ from his surf boards or he would not be allowed to compete. This in the face of an opening ceremony that included a depiction of an implied menage a trois and a nearly-naked man representing the Greek god Dionysius (so, I guess, Greek gods are okay, just not the actual God of the universe).

I will still watch the Olympics. I’ve been watching and I’m enjoying the games. I watched a U. S. women’s rugby match for the first time and thought it great fun. Why am I watching? Because I choose to place my confidence in those French patriots who have spoken out against the freak show that was those parts of the opening ceremony. I believe them when they say that this does not represent their country, but only a small, elitist segment who are, for whatever reason, allowed to represent their country in the worst possible way.

Bishop Emmanuel Gobillard, bishop of Digne and spokesman representing the Holy See for the Olympics, said the mockery of the Last Supper left him, “deeply hurt.” “The fact that our religion,” Bishop Gobillard went on to say, “should be mocked is usual and we are used to blasphemy in France, but the context isn’t the same. … In an event that brings together all or part of the population, I found this staging hurtful and out of place.” French politician Marion Marechal-Le Pen posted on X that the drag queen representation of the Last Supper was “not France that is speaking but a left-wing minority ready for any provocation.”

It’s a shame that those organizing what is supposed to be a celebration of the human spirit and human achievement cannot keep themselves from denigrating those who think and believe differently than they do. Let’s face it – Europe is lost to Christianity. Yes, there are those remnants who hold to the faith, but the overarching attitude of the governing bodies and cultural elites of Europe is one of hostility toward Christianity. Practicing Christians are now a minority in Europe, and there is nothing to suggest a resurgence of the faith in any numbers that will prove significant. The religion of Europe is secularism, and a version of secularism that is not tolerant of faith traditions, but hostile to them. Except for Islam. Concessions will likely continue to be made for the massive streams of Muslims entering Europe legally and illegally. What the Muslim invading armies of centuries past failed at, the migrants of today are accomplishing: a Muslim Europe.

But our hope is not in our controlling governments or continents. Our hope is in Jesus, who is Lord of history. We need not lay prostrate while those who are hostile to all we believe trample over us and over our God-given rights. No. We must resist and resist firmly. But neither should we confuse the conquest of civilization with the kingdom of God. We stand with Christ.

Be Christ for all. Bring Christ to all. See Christ in all.