There's going to be a hue and cry about this, and you're probably all going to see it, so you might as well see it here:

It's not going to quite make the "nameing a Teddy-Bear Mohammad" level of outcry...mobs will not be calling for blood because of it, at least not on anything more than a metaphorical level.

On the other hand, you can bet that it WILL create outcry.

I've heard Conservative Christians proudly proclaim that the Gospel is offensive.  They declare it to be "not politically correct".  They use this to justify their condemnation of others.

But even more offensive is the idea that we are called by their gospel to be servants to one another,  to minister to one another, and to forgive one another, and yes, to turn the other cheek. 

This picture of the concept of Christ as an emblem of humilty and healing in the face of great wrong will, of course, be deeply offensive...probably even mocked as the perversion "Gandhi Christ", and appelation I have heard on more than one occasion.

And that offense will serve the very ordinary purpose of covering a very ordinary condition of being unable to transcend our humaness.

No matter how many platitudes and pontifications are made about "foundations of morality" or having been "made a new creature"...

You're still just a human being.  But.  You are a human being who can IMAGINE a condition where a man could bend down and act as a servant to his enemies, giving them comfort, healing their wounds, and dissapating their wrath.

This picture is a challenge, and an offensive, uncomfortable one at that.  By that measure, which of us can succeed?  Fortunately, for the more non-dogmatic among us, falling short is not a death sentance.  It is merely a continuation of the challenge, to cultivate a person who can approach this ideal.

For those of us who HAVE no religion, it is not necessary to believe that Jesus was God, or even if he was a flesh-and-blood man.  The mere fact that we can conceive of a person so humble, so inoffensive, and yet so noble that he can dispell the aggression and hate of his enemies is a challenge, for us to take up or ignore as we are so inspired.  Must the same as our friends and neighbors who DO have religion.

The good news is, that's you are SUPPOSED to be human.  So get to work being the best one you can make of your self in the time you have.

And stop counting on someone else to do it for you.

(Double hat tip to: Monk-in-Training and Random Reflections)