Saturday, January 12, 2008

Body of Christ

An art gallery in Gateshead is exhibiting a plaster statue of Jesus with an erection.

Predictably:

Evangelical group Christian Voice expressed outrage at the work, calling it blasphemous and saying it had created a “storm” of protest.

I wonder. Is it conceivably the case that this “storm” of protest might (a) be more akin to a breeze in its proportions, and (b) have been created by Christian Voice rather than the statue itself? Christian Voice appears to be something of a roving storm in search of an unholy teacup: its recent press releases decry this statue (twice), the proposal to scrap the blasphemy law, and ‘Jerry Springer: The Opera’.

Its director, Stephen Green, said:

It's just so disgusting, pornographic and offensive, it's hard to find words to express the outrage.

He then found many, many more words to express his outrage, with particular reference to the facts that the artist who created the sculpture is Chinese and the collector who has bought it is Jewish.

He added:

I have written asking for the statue's destruction.

Not asking for it to be removed from display. Not asking for any display to be in a separate room with a warning on the door. But “destruction”. That’s his answer to thought-crime. Sigh…

It doesn’t look a particularly impressive sculpture, and it’s a bit on the puerile side for my liking. But my response will be just not to go and see it.

As to its blasphemous nature – isn’t it part of the doctrine of the incarnation that Jesus was both fully divine and, ahem, all man?

(Hat tip: the Barefoot Bum.)

(Footnote: you might think that two posts about genitals in one day is a bit much. I prefer to think of them as two posts about arrogant stupidity.)

3 comments:

Matt M said...

Every time I try to read that Sun "article" my browser tells me it has a problem and then shuts down.

Prude.

Anyway, I managed to catch a glimpse (oo-er) and wasn't overly impressed. At the whole thing I mean, not just Jesus' erection, which was... well... at first I thought they were all high-kicking.

Still could've been worse. According to the Vancouver Sun, Koh's "work is sometimes smeared with his own blood or semen." Lovely.

Tom Freeman said...

Ick.

First time I've ever linked to a Sun piece. You live and learn...

nescio said...

First time I ever visited the sun website. A warning would have been nice.

I thought shocking Christians was so last year. I'm amazed that one can still get a - ahem, warning: terrible pun ahead - rise out of them...