Before I actually get into my commentary, I should first give you a little background. Today, Drudge linked to an article in the Guardian about the new phenomenon of “happy slapping” over in the U.K.

With the rise in ownership of cell phones with cameras, young folks in the U.K. have begun assaulting random people, and capturing it on their cell phones.

In one video clip, labelled Bitch Slap, a youth approaches a woman at a bus stop and punches her in the face. In another, Knockout Punch, a group of boys wearing uniforms are shown leading another boy across an unidentified school playground before flooring him with a single blow to the head. In a third, Bank Job, a teenager is seen assaulting a hole-in-the-wall customer while another youth grabs the money he has just withdrawn from the cash machine.

I had actually first heard this new little game on BBC World Service Newshour this morning driving to work this morning. They interviewed someone from Bullying Online, a group organized to stop bullying. Interestingly, the woman they interviewed wouldn’t classify it as bullying, but as assault.

The BBC reporter was a bit dumbfounded at the idea that people would be stupid enough to film themselves committing a crime. During the story, they interviewed a police officer who was able to quickly apprehend criminals because the victim was able to describe them, and they were able to to retrieve the video.

One comment the Bullying Online woman said was that schools were looking into banning phones to prevent this sort of activity. My first thought was this was a silly idea since the problem is not that people are filming the assault… the problem is that there is an assault in the first place. But, oddly enough, this is how many conservatives think we should deal with pornography. The fact that two people (who probably aren’t married) are having sexual relations is not nearly as bad as the fact that they’re filming it and selling it (and that our children can see it!!!).

In other words, when it comes to our concerns about pornography, what exactly are we upset about? Are we concerned that sin is happening, or are we concerned that we’re exposed to it? As Christians, we need to think about how we live in a sinful world… do we work to isolate ourselves from the world, or do we engage the world?

Choosing the engage the world can be a very difficult proposition. You’re going to encounter some really weird, offensive stuff (1 Cor. 6:9-11), but we are called to engage that weirdness and not simply fight their encroaching on our sanctified lives.

Our sanctified lives will not be tarnished by their sins, anymore than Christ was tarnished by engaging the prostitutes. Christ’s redeeming power how power over even their sins… the question is whether we really believe that and choose to act on that.