Dress-up Jesus
NBC5i reports:
"I did a double take. It just seemed unbelievable to see something like that," said Gerry, a man who didn't want to use his last name. From a distance, the item looks like a kid's dress-up game. But when you look closely, it is a magnetic Jesus dress-up figure. ... He said he was shocked by the magnetic game showing Jesus on the cross, clad in underwear with interchangeable outfits like a devil costume, a skull T-shirt and a hula skirt.
People will be offended by this - however, we no longer live in a country where it is a crime to do, say, or sell something that offends people's religious beliefs. Those who try to stop the sale of this are no different than Muslims who tried to stop the sale of Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses." The censorial impulse is the same in both cases: this offends my religion, therefore no one should ever see it.
This thing is rather tacky and it is unquestionably blasphemous. Urban Outfitters has said that they sell it "to reflect a diversity of opinion among its customer base," but you don't believe that, do you? They sell it for one reason only: they think it will sell well and make them money. They aren't going to carry anything that "reflects diversity" but doesn't sell.
I'm not complaining about that because, after all, that's how retail stores have to be run. I'm sure they knew this would provoke negative reactions, so I assume that they figured the negative publicity would ultimately help drive sales by people who would never have known about it and never would have considered buying it. You can also buy it on the internet.
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Comments
HOW DARE YOU CHARACTERIZE JESUS LIKE THIS? ARE YOU IGNORANT? YOU WILL BURN IN HELL AND PAY FOR THIS OFFENSE THAT HAS NO NAME.TRYING TO BECOME RICH AT GOD’S EXPENSES? TOTALLY NOT….YOU NASTY PEOPLE DESERVE TO BE PUNISHED.
CAPS LOCK IS CRUISE CONTROL FOR C00L!
I have a question for Eugene. Why are you surfing this blog?
I agree with Marc. What are you doing here? Quit deciding who’s going to be punished and go to Hell and do something nice, caring or helpful. In short, worry about the soul you believe to have and leave other people alone!
>>HOW DARE YOU CHARACTERIZE JESUS LIKE THIS?
Well all the right-wing Christian leaders in the West were going on the air saying it was ok to depict religious icons, like say Muhammad, in funny cartoonish ways. He just assumed that this applied across the board to all religious icons…
Eugene – Doesn’t your god have a sense of humor? If not, how did man get his?
You are living in the US, a Christian based society. If you don’t like it, you can leave!
This country was FOUNDED on CHRISTIAN religious freedom. I am tired of
these school children and their outspoken parents – 1 of the entire
population of the United States, telling this country what to do!
We have enjoyed freedoms in the US that no one else in the world has
and I believe that if God is taken out of this society we will suffer
the consequences.
If you don’t want to worship the one TRUE God, that is your choice.
[blockquote]You are living in the US, a Christian based society. If you don’t like it, you can leave!
This country was FOUNDED on CHRISTIAN religious freedom. I am tired of
these school children and their outspoken parents – 1 of the entire
population of the United States, telling this country what to do!
We have enjoyed freedoms in the US that no one else in the world has
and I believe that if God is taken out of this society we will suffer
the consequences.
If you don’t want to worship the one TRUE God, that is your choice.[/blockquote]
This country was not founded on christian principles. The constitution specifically gives us all the right to be a part of any religion or even no religion.
If you don’t like it, you can leave! — TRUECRISTIAN on October 21, 2008 at 7:03 pm
If I don’t like it? You are the one doing all the bitching about America, with its annoyingly outspoken parents, etc., etc, wah wah wah.
If you’re so tired of this country’s schoolchildren and all the rest, why don’t you leave? I like it hear just fine, even though I have to listen to crybabies like you.
Um, I like it here just fine, too.
“founded on CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS FREEDOM”?
what does that even mean? The freedom to believe in Christianity…but nothing else? You made that up…
“I am tired of
these school children and their outspoken parents – 1 of the entire
population of the United States, telling this country what to do!”
Who should tell america what to do if the american people shouldn’t? Your tired of americans employing their right to freedom of speech when you don’t agree with what they say. If you disagree with whatever these people are saying, argue your point- don’t argue about their right to have a say.
I’m from the UK but as far as I can tell, the idea that is supposed to make America America is Freedom. That’s the big philosophy and one that I admire greatly. What you’re suggesting is that American non-believers are somehow less worthy of their say, somehow “less equal”- this is surely what you might call “unamerican”- or- simply, not right.
Are there any theists with an actual point to make about this?
To TRUECHRISTIAN
[b]We have enjoyed freedoms in the US that no one else in the world has
[/b]
I beg to differ, I live a little north of the 49th parallel on the same continent you do and I haven’t noticed any hob nailed boots on my neck preventing me from doing pretty much what I want. In fact, I dare say us Canuks have the same freedoms as you Yanks, and quite possibly more.
Just putting that out there.
MR
“You are living in the US, a Christian based society.”
No, actually. In the Treaty of Tripoli, the founders of the United States wrote that ‘The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.’ – Treaty of Tripoli, article 11.
“If you don’t like it, you can leave!”
Or, you could join the fastest growing “religious” group in the US – the non-religious.
“1 of the entire population of the United States, telling this country what to do!”
The Pew Center, a pro-religious polling group, says that the percentage of Americans who are non-religious is between 15 and 20% of the population.
“We have enjoyed freedoms in the US that no one else in the world has”
What bullshit. The freedoms of democracy and liberal societies are hardly unique to your country. Stop listening to your own media, and learn about the rest of the world. By all measurements, the US lags behind most other advanced nations in many ways – government transparency, access to health care, quality of public education, access to contraception, etc, etc. In some areas, the US has more in common with Third World theocracies than the secular democracies of other “western” nations.
“if God is taken out of this society we will suffer the consequences.”
Like in the nations that have the highest degree of religious disbelief – northern and western Europe? Yeah, they sure are suffering in Sweden. And in Belgium. Check that, they are suffering – but only because Muslims are moving there who have similar views to yours about imposing their religion on others.
“If you don’t want to worship the one TRUE God, that is your choice.”
Is it really? Which god is that then? Yahweh the Desert Mountain God? Not Thor? Or Zeus? How magnanimous of you. But non-believers were still get incoherent, bigoted rants from you, will they?
I’m also from the UK, but TRUECHRISTIAN’s poisonous rant reminds me of an old joke. I can’t remember the source, but it goes as follows:
American one: “If you don’t like America, YOU CAN GET THE HELL OUT!”
American two: “What, and be a victim of our foreign policy?”
If you really think about it, this country was founded on religious principles. You will find the same underlying themes in documents such as the Declaration of Independence as those in the Bible. And–correct me if I’m wrong–but doesn’t the Pledge of Allegiance say “one nation, under God”?
Please, elucidate those themes – preferably those that are common to the Bible and the one document that is the foundation of our government: the Constitution.
The PoA was written after the Civil War; the phrase “under God” was added during the Cold War. So what does either have to do with the founding of our government?
Ah, but Austin. In your blinkered Atheistic hatred of all things good you don’t realise that all decency and niceness comes from Christianity. Ideas like personal responsibility, hard work, loyalty, self-sacrifice, trust, confidence, scepticism, scientific investigation, honesty, teamwork, fun, happiness, joy, contentment and literacy are all Christian ideas that were invented by Jesus and that cannot be accessed by anyone who rejects the obvious fact that Jesus is real and the only key to salvation.
None of these things existed in any form before Jesus, who was definitely a real person, came up with them as reported in the New Testament, which is entirely reliable eyewitness testimony. Even the bits that contradict the other bits. If you disagree you’re a closed-minded Atheist fool (Psalm 14:1 says ‘The fool says in his heart “There is no God”‘ and if it’s in the Bible it must be true) who hates everything good and can’t tell right from wrong.
Therefore anything nice that you find in any situation or dicument including the US Constitution is Christian in origin. I hope that clears that up.
Ahem, I meant “document”. Jesus help me with my spelling weakness!
The Declaration of Independence gives us important insight into the
opinions of the Founding Fathers. Thomas Jefferson wrote that the
power
of the government is derived from the GOD Up until that time, it was
claimed that kings ruled nations by the authority of God. The
Declaration was from the idea of divine authority.
Constitution so deliberately acknowledges the supremacy of Jesus
Christ
our Lord over America
Constitution so deliberately acknowledges the supremacy of Jesus Christ our Lord over America — TRUECRISTIAN on October 24, 2008 at 1:58 pm
In that case, you will find it easy to quote the portions of the U.S. Constitution that acknowledge Jesus Christ, or, indeed, even mention him.
If you are unable to find any such statement in the U.S. Constitution, I am sure that ordinary honesty will compel you to admit that you are dead wrong about this.
Ah TRUECHRISTIAN, but the Treaty of Tripoli says this:
And the only mention of religion in the US Constitution concerns limiting its influence.
If you want to live in a theocracy you should go to Saudi or Iran. Oh, of course they’re not theocracies run by TRUECHRISTIANS, so they’re bound to be bad. Once TRUECHRISTIANS are in charge of everything the world will become a paradise I’m sure. It certainly was in the past when TRUECHRISTIANS were in charge, like during the dark ages and the inquisitions, before those nasty atheists took over and invented selfishness and crime.
Or were they not TRUECHRISTIANS during the inquisitions?
What do TRUECHRISTIANS believe anyway? Do TRUECHRISTIANS think Jesus can be eaten in biscuit form?
Many polls have shown that the populations of Islamic nations like Iran, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia and many others strongly supported the attacks against America on September 11, 2001. In their minds, the barbaric, savage tactics used in this and other acts of terrorism are justified in a battle they characterize as Islam versus Christianity and the Jewish nation. Christians are persecuted in these countries to the point of even being killed. Because Islam is a false religion that promotes a false god, it should be vigorously opposed by Christians in America and elsewhere. We should not be embracing Islam as another equal path to God. There is no path to salvation other than faith in Jesus Christ as our savior. All other paths lead to Hell like or not.
TRUE CHRISTIAN is a brain-f**ked, hateful religious nut. He is no less insane, stupid or deranged than the Islamist extremists whose antics he decries! He is one all-mighty hypocrite, pure and simple!
Blasphemy: the victimless crime.
All other paths lead to Hell like or not. — TRUECRISTIAN on October 26, 2008 at 6:47 am
What does your Bible say about bearing fales witness? Do you believe that it is wrong to tell lies? Like when you claim that the U.S. Constitution “acknowledges the supremacy of Jesus Christ our Lord over America” when anyone who can read knows that it does no such thing?
By the way — is there a reason you spell “Christian” without the “h”? Aside from incompetence?
although this may be incredibly old, Truechristian (if you can really consider yourself that) who in the hell are you to declare that we should interfere with these peoples god?? honestly you consider yourself a Christian, but christianity was a religion simply based upon acceptance of everyone. they know of your god and still choose theirs. have you ever even considered their religion, if simply just studying it seeing if it makes a little bit more sense?? the bible isnt a book of stories but rather a book of morals, that were kindly summed up in the ten commandments (which happen to be the only applicable part of the bible to this day). all i have to say to close minded ***holes like you is that i really can’t wait until you end up burning in hell with all of us athiests.