An evangelical Christian is suing Channel 7 in Australia because a character in a crime drama swore using the name "Jesus Christ." This, according to, Andre van der Linden, is blasphemous and shouldn't be allowed under Australian law.

News.com reports:

"It is high time that television stations like yours be called to account for your defamation of the name Jesus Christ, a practice that insults hundreds of thousands of Christian believers," Mr van der Linden said in his legal documents. ... He contends that blasphemous words should be "bleeped out". ... "After years of raising my voice in protest, it seems abundantly clear to me that Christian believers are the most vilified group in this nation," he says in his formal complaint.

The station's defense is that "the TV show is a realistic reflection of day-to-day life," which suggests to me that they can't defend themselves by saying that Christian viewers shouldn't expect to be protected from every possible religious offense that might occur over the course of a program. That's a shame because that's exactly the right sort of defense that they should be able to use.

Read More:

• Recent Books on Free Speech
• Court Decisions on Free Speech and Censorship