Yes, 'Black Jesus' Is Offensive And, Yes, It Should Stay On The Air

Critics of the new Adult Swim comedy show Black Jesus -- featuring a profanity-spewing, beer-guzzling, drug-dealing Christ in contemporary South Central L.A. -- contend that it's blasphemous and should be yanked from the airwaves.

It's not surprising that series creator Aaron McGruder would grab headlines for controversial subject matter, as he did for many years with The Boondocks.

I don't have cable and haven't seen Black Jesus. And I don't plan to watch it online.

As a consumer and comedy fan who happens to be a Christian, I'm exercising my right to simply tune out something that I may potentially find offensive and disturbing. But as a writer myself, I support McGruder's right to artistic expression and, furthermore, self-expression.

In the controversy over Black Jesus, I fall somewhere in the middle of outraged critics who say it should be banned and passionate "converts," so to speak, who think it's hilarious social/religious satire.

I'm not a fan of blasphemy. But I'm not in favor of censorship, either. As the old saying goes, I disagree with what you say but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.

Do I like the idea of something I hold sacred being mocked? No. Is Black Jesus crass, in poor taste, insensitive and disrespectful to millions of believers around the world? Possibly. 

But I'd rather live in a society where the Aaron McGruders of the world have the freedom to express themselves without fear of persecution.

And a society where people can say things that other people might find offensive, without fear that they are going to be literally or metaphorically gagged, bound and spirited away (pardon the pun) by the politically correct "thought police" in the middle of the night.

As a viewer, I have the right to change the channel. Or turn off the TV.

Chris Bournea is the author of the novel The Chloe Chronicles,  now available at Amazon.com. He is currently working on a book with Raymond Lambert that will tell the story of Lambert's All Jokes Aside, the famous Chicago comedy club that helped launch the careers of many kings and queens of comedy.