Should the police get involved and charge the theatre company with blasphemy after a play has been put on that portrays Jesus in a new light? Is this a case of incitement of religious hatred or just art?

"Jesus Christ is being portrayed here as a foul-mouthed, drunken, promiscuous homosexual and that is an insult to my faith," Stephen Green of Christian Voice told BBC Radio.

Or should people be allowed to air their own views on religious figures without fear of being charged with a crime?


http://newsbox.msn.co.uk/article.aspx?as=article&f=uk_-_olgbent&t=11964&id=472889&d=20041211&do=http://newsbox.msn.co.uk&i=http://newsbox.msn.co.uk/mediaexportlive&ks=0&mc=5&lc=en&ae=windows-1252

People should be allowed to air their own views on religious figures without ANY fear of being charged with a crime.

Many religions are allowed to say what they want about other social groups without any fear of conviction.

If they don't like the play then don't see it.

Whatever happened to free speech? :huh:

Originally posted by IanMitchell
Whatever happened to free speech? :huh:

Well, we've never had it in this country. In America this play is allowed to be performed because they have a law protecting their right to say what they want (not exactly a perfect system, but good for some things). We don't have such a law, and have laws that act against free speech like the Official Secrets Act, and laws such as the one on blasphemy.

Originally posted by Snook
Well, we've never had it in this country.

Really??

Well that's a shame lol, I better watch what I'm saying now then eh??? :P

I agree with Ian, also If jesus did actually exist in reality, then our impression of him is far from what a man of that day would have been like anyway. The cristian church has hijacked what any original message was and made christianity into a dodgy, money making and internally intolerant multinational organisation.

If someone wants to put a play on which suggests that he reacted and lived in a more down to earth way, and as a man with flaws and faults, then that's fine, and I would argue more in keeping with the early christian ideals, than pompous modern idolatry.

Originally posted by muddycoffee
The cristian church has hijacked what any original message was and made christianity into a dodgy, money making and internally intolerant multinational organisation.


Exactly

The catholic church, one of the richest institutions around, does sod all to help the poor.

It just gives them the false impression that they are part of something that is helping them while they are in reality keeping them from rebelling against their poverty.

Originally posted by IanMitchell
Exactly

The catholic church, one of the richest institutions around, does sod all to help the poor.

It just gives them the false impression that they are part of something that is helping them while they are in reality keeping them from rebelling against their poverty.

I'm no apologist for the pope, but the RC church does do more than sod all to help the poor - not much more, given it's wealth, but a little nevertheless

It's a play - if you don't like it you can always ask for your money back...prosecutions for blasphemy sound more like a stories from a hardline theocracy, not a supposed liberal democracy.

"Love the sinner, hate the sin" might be an apposite axiom for the complainants

Originally posted by IanMitchell
The catholic church, one of the richest institutions around, does sod all to help the poor. Ok, so who are CAFOD then?

I fell out with some of the ideals of the catholic church many years ago, but I can't believe some of the tripe posted here....I'm entitled to say anything I like, according to you guys..... So what do you think libel and slander are?

Oh, and Jesus isn't the exclusive domain of christians, he's a jewish prophet too, which given the rivalry between the two religions, suggests he DID exist.

Originally posted by Strix
I fell out with some of the ideals of the catholic church many years ago, but I can't believe some of the tripe posted here....I'm entitled to say anything I like, according to you guys..... So what do you think libel and slander are?


Sorry Strix and Phan :blush:

My comment probably was a bit rash...

What I meant to say really was that the Catholic Church could do a lot more for the poor.

Would this discussion be the same if the play was about a similar figure from another religion eg Hindu, Muslim etc :rolleyes:

If you truly have faith in your religion do you need blasphemy laws. It seems to me that faith should be able to stand up to other people's opinions???

"Jesus Christ is being portrayed here as a foul-mouthed, drunken, promiscuous homosexual and that is an insult to my faith," Stephen Green of Christian Voice told BBC Radio.

He has given the play far more free publicity that it would ever have had if he had just let it pass without comment.

They will no doubt be performing to full houses now.

Originally posted by owdlad
"Jesus Christ is being portrayed here as a foul-mouthed, drunken, promiscuous homosexual and that is an insult to my faith," Stephen Green of Christian Voice told BBC Radio.

He has given the play far more free publicity that it would ever have had if he had just let it pass without comment.

They will no doubt be performing to full houses now.
Yes Owdlad, just "to see what all the fuss is about".

I sometimes do wonder about the source for these stories. If I was a canny theatre producer that was putting on a left field, no-name piece of experimental theatre, I would probably get a few of my actors to pose as outraged religious zealots to complain in the strongest terms possible.

Originally posted by owdlad
"Jesus Christ is being portrayed here as a foul-mouthed, drunken, promiscuous homosexual and that is an insult to my faith," Stephen Green of Christian Voice told BBC Radio.

He has given the play far more free publicity that it would ever have had if he had just let it pass without comment.

They will no doubt be performing to full houses now.

Like in Father Ted huh?

"The Passion of St. Tibulus" ;)

Originally posted by Strix
Jesus isn't the exclusive domain of christians, he's a jewish prophet too, which given the rivalry between the two religions, suggests he DID exist.

Yes and also a profit of other religions. Notably Islam. I also understand that the Jehovas witnesses also believe him to be just a man.

. . So if half the world believe him to have existed, and a great proportion believe he was just a man, not a god or son of god or whatever. Then why can't someone explore the fact that he might have been a normal man, who may or may not have some kind of sexual life, use other language than pius language and use alcohol too. Especially as there is next to no information about large parts of his life.

Originally posted by Snook
"Jesus Christ is being portrayed here as a foul-mouthed, drunken, promiscuous homosexual and that is an insult to my faith," Stephen Green of Christian Voice told BBC Radio.

It's a pity if resorting to blasphemy is all that the British arts have to offer these days.

The writers may indeed have won some free publicity, but they'll have also gotten the contempt of millions of religious people in the UK.

If you're going to begin insulting other peoples' religious beliefs, where do you draw the line on what is and isn't acceptable? Are we going to start insulting the disabled, and those killed in accidents?

What's got four legs and goes woof? Piper Alpha

I think 'sick' humour has always been something that's been part of the British comic psyche.

I remember that what used to be called the 'Marc Bolan Joke' was recycled slightly for Princess Di when she was killed in a road accident.

However....the portrayal of Jesus Christ in a more flawed human way has been done numerous times over recent years. There was 'The Last Temptation of Jesus Christ', for example, and many moons ago I'm pretty sure that the magazine 'Gay Times' got in to trouble over a poem(?) that portrayed Jesus as being homosexual.

I don't think we should have a blasphemy law to specifically defend Christianity in the UK; my own Christian faith is strong enough to survive the actions and beliefs of writers such as this.

Joe

Aren't all religions pretty much variations on a theme?
Neuro Linguistic programming is a development of filters of how we interpret things and its is different to each of us.
As a non religious person I don't mind how anyone portrays a character such as Jesus, he may have or not been real, I'm not bothered. Hasn't Father Christmas been through some serious personality and name changes, Princess Diana, Tony Blair has been perceived as a type of saviour and as the devil himself.
As long as each person still has the right to their own belief and can use their own interpretation - I don't feel it matters too much. It' s a type of exploration.
The arts are big on shock values at the moment, big on exploration which is good and big on examining what we know and interpreting it a different way.
Unfortunately, the media call these people genius's (genii, geniusi, whatever) when in fact a lot of it is tripe.

Originally posted by Snook
"Jesus Christ is being portrayed here as a foul-mouthed, drunken, promiscuous homosexual and that is an insult to my faith," Stephen Green of Christian Voice told BBC Radio.

Well I think that Christianity is an insult to my intelligence.

Is there somebody that I can complain to? Perhaps Stephen Green can help me get compensation for 2000 years of misery in the name of religion?

:hihi:

Blasphemy? No.

Bad taste? Quite possibly.

Sierra

Originally posted by Sierra
:hihi:

Blasphemy? No.

Bad taste? Quite possibly.

Sierra

Was inevitable that they'd offend some people though. Surely they knew that.

Originally posted by Tony
Well I think that Christianity is an insult to my intelligence.

Is there somebody that I can complain to? Perhaps Stephen Green can help me get compensation for 2000 years of misery in the name of religion?

Wow....if you've personally experienced 2000 years of misery because of Christianity then you should let the rest of us in on the secret of your longevity...;)

Joe

I'm claiming posthumously for my catholic ancestors. :heyhey:

If the Church was right about Christianity all along the 7 year rule won't apply due to the imposition of the 'life everlasting' clause in the Contract with God.

If the Church is wrong about Christianity and life everlasting, then I'll go for breach of contract.

I might settle before the hearing providing I'm offered recompense of not less than 1 Papal palace or 2 Michaelangelo's.

Do you think I am onto a winner? :suspect:

Originally posted by IanMitchell
Was inevitable that they'd offend some people though. Surely they knew that.

The transgressive art movement is alive and well in theatre land as well as music, TV and film. It's just that theatre is no longer mass media in the same way it was...