What a Picture is Worth

This would not have happened a decade ago.

When the editors at Rolling Stone magazine decided to put a photo of Boston bomber suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in a Bob Dylan-style pose on its cover they knew the shrapnel of criticism that would come their way and they didn’t blink.

As Boston area businesses including Walgreens, CVS, Roche Bros., and Cumberland Farms pulled the magazine from its shelves, Rolling Stone maintains that it covers “falls within the traditions of journalism.”

In a note appearing on the online version of Janet Reitman's cover story, titled "Jahar's World," the editors also expressed sympathy for the victims of the bombing, before going on to cite "Rolling Stone's long-standing commitment to serious and thoughtful coverage of the most important political and cultural issues of our day."

Readers, particularly from the Boston area, slammed the magazine on its Facebook page, charging that the cover treatment turns the accused killer into a "rock star."

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino wrote to Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner accusing the magazine of offering Tsarnaev "celebrity treatment" and calling the cover "ill-conceived, at best," in that it supports the "terrible message that destruction gains fame for killers and their 'causes.'"

Surely, the editors at Rolling Stone had to see this backlash coming. So the logical question becomes why?

Because they knew it would sell.

Rolling Stone has been in existence since the 1960’s and while it is primarily a music magazine, it also has forged a reputation for hard-hitting pieces on national affairs, politics and popular culture.

This cover story, appearing on the heels of one of the most horrific terrorist attacks ever experienced in the city of Boston screams, “You want to know this man!”

Ten years ago there would not have even been a discussion in the editorial room about putting a terrorist on the cover. But in 2013 not only was it discussed, it was approved and published.

On the surface this seems shocking but when one stops and reflects on the fact that the US homicide rate is still among the highest in the industrialized world and that 1.2 million abortions are performed annually then the reasoning behind the cover becomes clearer – we are a society of murderers.

One needs to look no further than our entertainment to see this gruesome fact on display. Our movies, TV shows and music all glorify violence and murder. We are hooked on gangster rap, intrigued by the inner workings of the mafia world and glued to cop shows that prop its villians up on a platform to be admired.

Rolling Stone understands that we are no longer horrified by the Tsarnaevs of the world, we are infatuated by them and what makes them tick as the title of the article suggests, "The Bomber: How a popular, promising student was failed by his family, fell into radical Islam and became a monster."

As Christians, this should not surprise us. Jesus told us in Matthew 24 that the days when men would love lawlessness would surely come. And here they are.

The Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 1:28-32 that those who practice unrighteousness not only perform the acts themselves but also approve of those who practice them.

While Tsarnaev graces the cover of Rolling Stone, we need to have the gospel of grace on our lips and “always be ready” as the Apostle Peter urges us to “give a defense to everyone who asks us a reason for the hope that is in us.”

As Christians, we serve the One that promises men a future and a hope. We worship the One that gave His life as a ransom for many. And we love the One who first loved us.

I would rather read about this man then the one on the cover of Rolling Stone.

Thou Shalt Not …

Aaron Hernandez makes us feel better about ourselves.

Despite the fact that he has not been tried yet for the gruesome death of Odin Lloyd, the court of public opinion has rendered him a cold blooded killer along the lines of Dirty Harry.

Hernandez was a promising tight end for the New England Patriots who just two years ago was catching passes from Tom Brady in the Super Bowl. Now he is sitting in jail with no bail facing a first degree murder charge.

Society can forgive most things. But murder? Not a chance. Even the sixth commandment leaves no wiggle room or loophole. Murder is wrong.

Forget for a moment that we live in a digital age filled with public relations savvy and fleeting fame where image reins over truth in most circumstances. And that the intent of most is to sell oneself to the media as a likeable commodity. None of us know Aaron Hernandez. But yet, we look at him and his arrest for first degree murder and feel pretty good in comparison. After all, most believe hell is reserved solely for the worst of worst. Adolph Hitler. Charles Manson. Jeffrey Dahmer. Certainly not us.

But Jesus has a different view. In the Gospel of Matthew, He threw his audience a curve ball when He said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.”

Jesus is always looking at the heart for it is here that the issues of life spring forth. Anger is the beginning of murder. Many of us only believe our actions are sinful but Jesus backs up the sin problem to our heart. Proverbs 23:7 tells us that as a man thinks, so is he. In other words, we are a product of our thoughts.

Abortion was passed in this country because we changed our thinking about life in the womb. We have told ourselves for decades now that a fetus is not really a life until the third trimester and that a woman has a right to do what she wants to her body. It is this thinking that now has conservative abortion estimates up to 50 million annually. That number is staggering. And it has its roots in wrong thinking.

It is all too easy to look at Aaron Hernandez and excuse ourselves from self-examination but really his arrest should do just the opposite. We should probe deeper and look at our own hearts to see if we have seeds of anger. And not only anger but lust, greed, gluttony, pride, covetousness and envy – all of which are the root of sinful actions.

Jesus came to save sinners. At the cross we find forgiveness and victory over sin. Jesus bids us to come and then beckons us to extend His forgiveness to others.

There is a sin problem. We all have it. And Jesus is the remedy.

*************************************************************
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.’” - Gospel of Matthew 7:1-5