100 years after the first “successful” Olympics of the modern era, the Games returned to Paris on July 26, 2024. People of many nations, cultures and religions witnessed in person or via telecom the Opening Ceremonies, which included what some considered a depiction of the Last Supper of Jesus Christ.
The table setting in this apparent re-creation did not feature Christ and His disciples at a meal as painted by Leonardo da Vinci circa A.D. 1496. Rather, the Artistic Director, Thomas Jolly cast drag queens, a transgender model, a child, and a nude performer representing Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and revelry (also known as Bacchus, the god of fertility, festivity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy – see Encyclopedia Britannica’s article for more).
Mr. Jolly in describing his conception, explained that the scene had not been inspired by The Last Supper but depicted a pagan feast linked to Olympian gods in order to celebrate diversity and pay tribute to feasting and French gastronomy.
“Our idea was inclusion…Naturally, when we want to include everyone and exclude anyone, questions are raised…We wanted to talk about diversity. Diversity means being together. We wanted to include everybody…”
Nevertheless, the outrage was instant from many Christians and world figures, but not so immediate from Pope Francis (who took about a week to issue a statement). It seems that there was more outrage from Muslim leaders, like Turkish President Erdogan, the Egyptian Imam of Al-Azhar and Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei for this great insult toward Jesus Christ.
Perhaps it was Erdogan, who best described this offensive display during the opening ceremonies at the Olympics (publicly, and then to the Catholic Pope privately):
“The disgraceful scene in Paris offended not only the Catholic world, not only the Christian world, but also us as much as them…[the] immorality displayed at the opening of the Paris Olympics once again highlighted the scale of the threat we face.”
Presumably, the Turkish President was not just addressing the apparent disregard and disrespect for Christ and His followers but was decrying “wokeness” that glorifies paganism and debauchery with LGTBQ…, and uses such rituals for furthering recent Western trends that are still seen as immoral in many cultures and countries of the world.
Even so, the number of those that tried to defend this obscene play at the July 26th opening ceremonies was unexpected: some did not see any resemblance to what da Vinci portrayed in his painting, and then others didn’t think such disrespect was a big deal.
There were history and art “experts” who compared the scene to a 17th Century painting by the Dutch artist Jan van Bijlert, called “The Feast of the Gods.” Depicted in that work were the gods of Olympus gathered at a long table, featuring the sun god Apollo with a halo around his head. Interestingly this painting is at the Musee Magnin in Dijon, France.
Whether the event’s coordinators meant to depict a distorted interpretation of the Last Supper, or they were reenacting “The Feast of the Gods,” through transvestitism, transgenderism and led by Dionysus in a sort of Bacchanalian festival, the scene created was offensive to many.
Unfortunately, such cultural and religious devotions are not new to the Olympic Games. Perhaps a brief history of the Olympics might give some context of how religion and sport were connected from the very start of these Games.
The original Olympics were held every four years at Olympia in the Greek city-state of Elis from 776 B.C. to A.D. 394. In their National Geographic article, dated July 27, 2012, Stefan Lovgren and Ted Chamberlain attributed the longevity of these Games to the formatting:
“It was the sheer spectacle of it. Sports [were] one part of a grand, all-consuming extravaganza. It was first and foremost a religious event, held on the most sacred spot in the ancient world.
“It had this incredible aura of tradition and sanctity…where sacrifices and rituals would take up as much time as the sports. And there were peripheral things that came with the festival: artistic happenings, new writers, new painters, new sculptors. There were fire-eaters, palm readers, and prostitutes.”
Lovgren and Chamberlain describe more about the opening ceremonies to the Games anciently:
“…the athletes [filed] into the temple, where they had to give their oath before a terrifying statue of Zeus wielding these thunderbolts. They had to swear over this bloody slice of boar’s flesh that they would obey the rules of the game and use no unfair means to gain victory.”
As Christianity began to spread throughout the Roman Empire, the Olympic Games waned in popularity (there were also earthquakes and floods that destroyed the infrastructure of Elis). The end of the Games came shortly after A.D. 393 when Emperor Theodosius I issued a decree suppressing all pagan festivals to support what had become Rome’s state religion – Christianity.
A French Baron, Pierre de Coubertin, resurrected the idea of the Olympics in 1892, and the first Games of the modern era were held in 1896 in Athens Greece. These Games were not very popular until they were held in Paris in 1924.
de Coubertin, born and educated as a Jesuit in Paris, had a vision of the Olympic Games as an extension of his work to regenerate his own country’s people through restoring physical and moral values through its education system. Until recently, he was celebrated for his dedication to using sport to promote peace and international cooperation in establishing the modern Olympic games.
However, in his home country he now is considered to have been sexist, misogynistic, a class snob and even a supporter of colonialism, while partial to the Nazi regime (he died in 1937 before W.W. 2). There was controversy over whether to honour him at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris – it was decided not to.
Instead, this statement is made about how the Olympic movement has evolved despite him:
“Over time, the Olympic movement has evolved to reflect today’s values and culture, and now includes more than 10,000 athletes of all genders. It includes participation from almost every country in the world, excluding only those that violate the Olympic Charter or values.”
And “reflect today’s values and culture” it certainly does! The Olympic Games in Paris has featured repeated demonstrations of the world’s ethical, moral, religious values and culture:
- Fairness in sport, too often gives way to political decisions on doping, cheating, and who qualifies for what event.
- Diversity and inclusion are the only consideration in exhibiting culture(s), while dispensing with morality.
- Religious devotion to unseemly pagan figures and practices of antiquity are widely supported.
The original Olympic Games were still almost four centuries from disappearing when Christianity began in a Roman Empire heavily influenced by Greek culture.
The apostle Paul was born and educated in that world and understood the Empire’s peoples and traditions, including sporting events. Romans 1 is quite an indictment of the dominant culture of his time. There he addresses dishonouring God, as well as their pointless reasonings and silly speculations. He declares that God gave them up to the uncleanness of their minds.
Paul also speaks to idolatry and exchanging the truth of God for a lie. Homosexuality and sexual depravity is detailed, along with complete moral decadence. Verse 32 concludes the 1st chapter of Romans (J.B. Phillips Translation of the New Testament):
“More than this – being well aware of God’s pronouncement that all who do these things deserve to die, they not only continued their own practices, but did not hesitate to give their thorough approval to others who did the same.”
It matters not if the scene depicted in Paris’ Opening Ceremonies was designed to mock Jesus Christ and Christianity, nor if it was reenacting the Festival of the Gods of Olympus: ideas and performances that overtly reject and defy the God of the Bible were celebrated.
In the two weeks since, the approving voices of this display have overwhelmed the number of those in protest: there is seeming majority acceptance of the immoral concepts presented at the Paris Games.
