“Political Correctness is intellectual suicide.”
Can you imagine someone having the courage and audacity to make that statement out loud? Some hearing it may inwardly agree, but stay silent for fear of rejection. Those opposing may be outraged or utter a slur under their breath before dismissing the comment. However, what if that statement was in the form of a book? Would that alter the impact of the debate?
Radio Personality and Author Joe Battaglia’s passion for Jesus Christ and commitment to professional excellence are well known. A humble man of God, Joe is respected across the board by industry leaders, and studied by up-and-coming radio and media personalities in the faith-based community. He is a soft spoken man of great knowledge and courage, who does not hesitate to publicly take a stand for Jesus.
Sonoma Christian Home had the chance to speak with the author about his new book The Politically Incorrect Jesus and ask some pointed questions. SCH Editor at Large, Suzanne Niles reports.
Joe with Eric and Alex Kendrick at the Broadway premiere of ‘Amazing Grace’.
SCH: The Politically Incorrect Jesus as a title is essentially setting you up to invoke some pretty strong responses. Why this title? Are you purposely trying to “pick a fight” with political correctness?
JB: My title, The Politically Incorrect Jesus contrasts Jesus, the timeless embodiment of truth with today’s appeasement mindset: uninterested with truth and surfing every new mindset of popular culture. As the Logos, Jesus transcends cultural relevance, polemics and politics. Where political correctness seeks to redefine what is culturally acceptable, Jesus’s standard overrides any concept and clashes with that “PC” mindset.
Jesus provokes extreme responses because He asks His followers to live counter to the culture. On any map, Jesus is the fixed point. As culture moves further from what Jesus stands for, we stand firm because we cannot embrace what Jesus does not accept.
Joe with TV Producer Mark Burnett at the red carpet ‘A.D.’ premiere in New York.
As far as “picking a fight” as you put it, Political Incorrectness is not picking a fight, but Political Incorrectness is simply telling us to stand for what we believe, when the culture tells us to stand down.
SCH: Why write this particular book?
JB: Well, I wrote it because I was concerned, quite frankly, with the intellectual dishonesty embraced by a growing number of people, well meaning and otherwise. They are seeking to assuage the cultural forces and self-appointed “PC” police in our midst. Stating truth and stating the obvious have grown unacceptable, unless they also affirm all behaviors and attitudes.
I wrote to Christians in particular and to anyone interested in general, in the growing lack of common sense and honesty, upset with the moral decline of civility and carte blanche acceptance of all behavior. The goal is to get people talking honestly and engage in true dialogue in the public square.
Author Joe Battaglia taking a break at the 2014 International Christian Retail Show in Orlando, Florida.
SCH: It seems clear that you wrote The Politically Incorrect Jesus for Christians you believe are giving into fear in regards to “political incorrectness.” Can you please define theses terms and why they are issues in today’s society?
JB: I define “Political Correctness” as the chic moral ideology of the day abdicated and fleshed out in the public square by self-appointed gate keepers of American public opinion. The terms have long been an issue, but the trend skews confrontational now for Christians (and for others with a moral standard or issue in conflict with the “PC” mandate) to affirm all belief systems no matter what. When simple disagreement is labeled “intolerance” I want to call it for what it is: a form of bullying that people are just plain fed up with.
SCH: You boldly claim that going along with the “social gatekeepers” is intellectual suicide. Can you elaborate on that?
JB: I use the term “intellectual suicide” because political correctness asks us to agree to ignore the obvious and to assent to positions against our beliefs. That is absurd! On that line of reasoning, to assent to something you ethically reject raises an ethical issue, and if I have an ethical issue that creates a moral issue. To cater to the prevailing mindset is to disavow who I am and what I believe. So even greater than intellectual suicide, political correctness is a moral dilemma of my being.
Author Battaglia with the Benham Brothers at the NRB Convention, Nashville, TN..
SCH: What would you hope our audience would take away by reading your book?
JB: I want readers to think about what Jesus clearly stood for and to consciously build personal principles that withstand public trends. I want readers to consider how Jesus might act towards his political adversaries. We may clash with PC thinking, but we do know that Jesus calls us to act in love and affirm people even in the midst of our disagreements.
SCH: How do you see the condition of America’s present culture?
JB: America is in a culture war, but Jesus is beyond culture, beyond taking sides. A Christian enters a political arena as a citizen and we definitely need these believers to bring their ethics into the marketplace of ideas. However, to justify our activities by saying that Jesus endorses a particular candidate or position is to both politicize and dilute the Gospel. Christians should never want to hold the flag so high that people cannot see Jesus and the cross.
Joe Battaglia examines the ideology of the current cultural climate that clashes with the teachings of Jesus.
SCH: What feedback have you received on The Politically Incorrect Jesus?
JB: Thank you for asking. In so many words, I have been told that it is provocative, readable, (I purposely kept the chapters short). Most importantly, I have been affirmed for it being Biblical. Someone made the comment that it should come with a Starbucks card because you want to read and then you want to sit and talk about it.
SCH: Did you have a favorite chapter?
JB: Well, yes, my favorite chapter is the “Poker Gospel” because in it, I try to logically show why God’s grace takes the gamble out of securing eternal life, which is the ultimate good news. “Of Mice and Media” was actually the hardest to compose because I had to dig into my profession and address some issues detrimental to my belief system and I had to ask how I may contribute to the very thing I say I disavow.
Joe Battaglia with SOUL SURFER’s Bethany Hamilton, AnnaSophia Robb, and Lorraine Nicholson; Photo Courtesy of KeepTheFaith.
SCH: Aside from being an author, you are Founder and President of Renaissance Communication, providing media platforms for organizations and gifted communicators of the faith message. You also conduct promotions for faith-based films. Can you share some of the titles you have worked on?
JB: Well, yes, they include: The Passion of the Christ, The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe, The Polar Express, Facing the Giants, Fireproof, Courageous, Soul Surfer, God’s Not Dead, When the Game Stands Tall and several others.
SCH: Wow, what does a busy man like you do for fun?
JB: Well, I hail from New Jersey, and if you ever happen to be in the area, you might see me hanging with some friends on the street corner singing doo-wop songs. It’s fun and I believe somewhere Jesus would be hanging out if he were still physically present on earth.
Joe Battaglia with Roma Downey, Mark Burnett, and David Sams.
SCH: There are so many Christian books, and obviously we live in a culture that is overwhelming with constant messages. Why should someone choose your book over all the others?
JB: If you are a believer, The Politically Incorrect Jesus addresses how becoming like Jesus can help us to be fully in the world but not of it. Every Christian needs to grasp how Jesus would respond to our culture. He can surprise us. Pleasing Him may or may not also please cultural watchdogs. As we question what our culture calls truth, in the light of Jesus, we gain a whole new set of lenses, and a new form of courage.
SCH: As readers share The Politically Incorrect Jesus with others, how would you hope they describe it?
JB: I hope readers describe my book as a practical working manual for the thinking and loving Christian.
Joe Battaglia at the “Athletes In the Line of Fire” outreach event with NY Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte, NHl veteran Stu Grimson, former NY Giants wide receiver David Tyree, Super Bowl MVP Kurt Warner, & former NY Knick Allan Houston.
Well there you have it. An extraordinary man with the fearless fortitude to tell the truth to a culture that is having an incredibly hard time defining just what truth is.
We can take his word on it, trust his vast knowledge and wisdom, and the proof of that is in The Politically Incorrect Jesus.
To learn more about the author Joe Battaglia and his new book, visit his website The Politically Incorrect Jesus
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