Is this timely or tasteless
- Thread starter daty
- Start date
Erected by a church in new zealand
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/091217/oddities/nzealand_christmas_offbeat
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Thu Dec 17, 10:13 AM
WELLINGTON (AFP) - A church billboard showing an apparently naked Virgin Mary and Joseph in bed together has sparked the ire of conservative Christians in New Zealand.
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On the poster a sad-looking Joseph lies next to Mary, whose face is turned heavenwards under the words: "Poor Joseph. God was a hard act to follow."
The billboard was erected outside the progressive St Matthew-in-the-City Anglican church in Auckland on Thursday.
St Matthews' vicar, Archdeacon Glynn Cardy, said the billboard was meant to challenge stereotypes about the way Jesus was conceived.
In the bible, the Virgin Mary becomes pregnant after an angel appears to her and tells her she will give birth to the son of God.
Cardy said the billboard was meant to challenge literal interpretations of the Bible.
"It is intended to challenge stereotypes about the way that Jesus was conceived and get people talking about the Christmas story," he said.
Conservative Christians have criticised the billboard as offensive.
Auckland Catholic Diocese spokeswoman Lyndsay Freer said the poster was disrespectful to the church.
"Our Christian tradition of 2,000 years is that Mary remains a virgin and that Jesus is the son of God, not Joseph," Freer told the New Zealand Herald.
"Such a poster is inappropriate and disrespectful."
One protester was so incensed, just hours after the unveiling of the poster, he climbed on top of his car and covered the images of Joseph and Mary with brown paint.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/091217/oddities/nzealand_christmas_offbeat
Module body
Thu Dec 17, 10:13 AM
WELLINGTON (AFP) - A church billboard showing an apparently naked Virgin Mary and Joseph in bed together has sparked the ire of conservative Christians in New Zealand.
ADVERTISEMENT
On the poster a sad-looking Joseph lies next to Mary, whose face is turned heavenwards under the words: "Poor Joseph. God was a hard act to follow."
The billboard was erected outside the progressive St Matthew-in-the-City Anglican church in Auckland on Thursday.
St Matthews' vicar, Archdeacon Glynn Cardy, said the billboard was meant to challenge stereotypes about the way Jesus was conceived.
In the bible, the Virgin Mary becomes pregnant after an angel appears to her and tells her she will give birth to the son of God.
Cardy said the billboard was meant to challenge literal interpretations of the Bible.
"It is intended to challenge stereotypes about the way that Jesus was conceived and get people talking about the Christmas story," he said.
Conservative Christians have criticised the billboard as offensive.
Auckland Catholic Diocese spokeswoman Lyndsay Freer said the poster was disrespectful to the church.
"Our Christian tradition of 2,000 years is that Mary remains a virgin and that Jesus is the son of God, not Joseph," Freer told the New Zealand Herald.
"Such a poster is inappropriate and disrespectful."
One protester was so incensed, just hours after the unveiling of the poster, he climbed on top of his car and covered the images of Joseph and Mary with brown paint.
I wonder: could anyone tell me WHY it is tasteless? Is it because it is religious by nature, because it involves sex, what?
All organize religion is based on faith...faith in what? some all powerful being who decided consciously to let us fuck up his garden?
You would think someone all powerful would see the compliment in that. In fact, I bet the christian god is struttin' around in front of Allah, Buddha, Thor, Apollo, Mother Nature and all the other gods........
It's tasteless because it completely misses the point.
Joseph was kind enough to take Mary in. This was a tradition at the time, however not every guy would do it. This applies today, as well as back then. Yes, this might have been a virgin birth, and Mary might have been the mother of God, and all that. Joseph didn't really know that for sure. Nevertheless, Joseph took Mary in and looked after her. This cartoon makes fun of that commitment.
Further, the comic goes on to make fun of Joseph being unable to "perform" for Mary. The inability to perform under pressure has got to be one of the most well documented sexual problems in new couples. If Mary is a virgin, this can happen. If Mary isn't a virgin, this still can happen. Either way, the comic is really making fun of a very common insecurity.
Further, any reading of the bible, does not make the entire Jesus birth sequence a "fun" thing for either Mary or Joseph. So what is the cartoon trying to say: "here is another way for Jesus birth not to be fun?" Keep in mind, as the bible story goes, shortly King Herod is going to kill a whole bunch of young Jewish children. Being unable to perform in bed is a bigger problem than having someone try to kill your kid? Being unable to perform is worse than a near genocide?
Additionally, the cartoon even fails in its stated intent. The cartoon's purpose is to make fun of the Virgin Birth. Just because God has made love to a girl, does that mean I can't? Nuns are married to God. They occasionally have sex, and get pregnant. I don't see how Joseph's inferiority has anything to do with the Virgin Birth. Surely, Joseph and Mary would have had a full married life, including sex.
Ultimately, you either believe in the virgin birth and a caring God, or you don't. If you believe in the virgin birth and a caring God, then you probably believe that a caring God wouldn't do this to Joseph. If you don't believe in either the virgin birth or a caring God, then you probably believe Joseph got Mary pregnant out of wedlock. In either interpretation, the cartoon looks silly.
In short, this cartoon is tasteless, because it misses the point in so many different ways.
This is the first documented case of tboy logic being used against tboy. It appears to be an effective strategy as tboy has yet to respond.
I think everyone will take it in different ways.. I do have a sence of humour and see it as a joke.. haha..
