About 300 protesters held a candlelit protest outside a Glasgow (Scotland) theatre over the staging of a play which portrays Jesus as a transsexual.
The protest was held outside the Tron Theatre, where Jesus Queen of Heaven, in which Christ is portrayed as being transgendered, is being staged.
It is part of the Glasgay! arts festival, a celebration of Scotland's LGBT culture.
Festival organisers said it had not intended to incite or offend anyone.
For more details see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8342056...
Gabi
Comments
No intent?
Okay, then . . . let's see them put on a play that portrays the prophet Mohammad as being transgendered. At that point I might believe their claim.
m
They know they can survive
Idiotic
RAMI
"Festival organizers said it had not intended to incite or offend anyone." Then the organizers are stupid or naive or in my opinion lying.
If some group, performed a play, where they portrayed all Transgendered characters as child molesters and rapists, the LGBT community would protest that play (rightfully). If a spokesperson for that production said it was not intended to incite or offend, it would likewise be stupid or naive.
Actions such as this, do not engender support for the LGBT movement, it only incites those opposed and forces those with no viewpoint or a moderate viewpoint into the opposition.
I am not a Christian and I feel that such portrayal is offensive. Just doing it, is wrong.
RAMI
RAMI
The Intolerance of Tolerance
What better way to demonstrate the intolerance of tolerant people.
Ooops! Sorry, my unsolicited opinion is showing.
Nancy Cole
"You may be what you resolve to be."
T.J. Jackson
That...
...is not an unwarranted observation, actually, that the act of being "tolerant" tends, in a way that your local Hindu yogi or local Buddhist priest, would likely be very happy to explain, to make one intolerant of a different group, the "intolerant". And thus is the cycle of karma complete, action and reaction. ^__^ (And no, I'm neither Hindu nor Buddhist; it's just interesting to me.)
What a silly, unnecessary mess. Has any good come to anyone because of it? That's actually a serious question, rather than a dismissive, rhetorical one. I hope that >someone< is seeing a benefit to their lives as a result of this. Otherwise, this play, and the mentioned theater-in-news-media as accompaniment are sadly beyond even the far bounds of Tragedy. ._.
-Liz
-Liz
Successor to the LToC
Formerly known as "momonoimoto"
Being a Christian
...I'm not offended at all, understanding from my perspective that the creator of the Universe can handle badly written satire. It does remind me of when I worked with pre-teens in a treatment center. They'd walk around the unit saying and doing things that called attention to themselves and then get angry and say, "What are you looking at?" like DeNiro in Taxi Driver. It may provoke thought, but will likely evoke anything but sympathy for their cause. Too bad.
She was born for all the wrong reasons but grew up for all the right ones.
Possa Dio riccamente vi benedica, tutto il mio amore, Andrea
Love, Andrea Lena
And as always...
...should this message be deemed inappropriate; if any of the opinions expressed therein be considered offensive, as always, the secretary will disavow any knowledge of my actions...and I will accept with understanding any need to remove this comment ...Good Luck, Erin.
da da dada, da da dada, da da, dada, da da dada.
She was born for all the wrong reasons but grew up for all the right ones.
Possa Dio riccamente vi benedica, tutto il mio amore, Andrea
Love, Andrea Lena
Not necessarily a religious dispute.
... maybe they were just theatre critics? Nobody said the play was *good*...
Okay, okay.
Quite often an artist *intends* for their art to provoke controversy, and would be disappointed if it did not. The protesters sang hymns and waved signs. Candles and placards. Not torches and pitchforks. So, only moderate success on that front.
And *nobody* can tell me the organizers could not have predicted a protest. Of course they did. And they went ahead and did it anyway. Probably made sure it was at a theatre that would have lots of room for a mob in front. And they probably had their press releases all primed and ready to fire. This is just a performance on another level, theatre of the media.
Doubt
Everybody seems to be jumping to conclusions without evidence.
I haven't seen the play. I don't know if it is satire or a serious attempt to portray Jesus as relevant to the LGBT community.
I don't think anyone else here knows that either.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Maybe it depends
upon how secure you are in your faith. If my local churches knew what I really believed, they would probably form a long queue to burn me at the stake. Having said that, it does seem that some faiths allow, and even encourage, questions about the nature of the deity, whereas others seem to demand strict adherence to a rigid set of rules.
I have not 'come out' where I live because (a) some so-called peace-loving religious people might get violent, (b) people who read the 'Daily Trash' might assume that I'm a child molester, have sex with animals and should, like all 'non-normal' people, be exterminated, and (c) I am just a retired woman trying her best to get on with her life against odds that most people don't have to face.
Am I offended by this drama in Scotland? Not in the least; my God is bigger and stronger than that of petty-minded humans. If he/she/it or them weren't, I wouldn't believe in him/her/it or them. It shows how limiting language is; we can't find a suitable word to describe a spirit being that is all-gendered and none.
Susie
The Last Transition of Christ
I'd really have to see the play before I knew what its intentions were. Seems like every play or movie about Jesus that's a little speculative gets protested. The Last Temptation of Christ was supposed to be this horrible, blasphemous film according to the protesters, who didn't have to actually watch it to know this (?), and yet I thought it was a moving exploration of the paradox of Jesus, fully human yet fully divine. And to the guy who wrote the book (Kazanak-something-or-other) fully human meant possibly even f*cking on occasion, which they probably knew was going to raise some howls from certain Christians but I don't think this was Marty Scorcese's intent in making the film, which in its way seemed very reverent. So this play about a t.g. Jesus may be the same sort of thing. A Christ that can empathize with both male and female has a certain appeal, although I think the traditional male Jesus managed this just fine. He had a big heart...
~~hugs, Laika
Well shit, I guess it really CAN happen here..,
.
Kzan...
Nikos Kazantzakis, famous Greek Cypriot and writer. Wrote Zorba the Greek and Ascesis: The Saviors of God as well as many others.
He was a very religious man, and touched on how religion intersects with everyday life in many of his writings.
The Last Temptation (It only became The Last Temptation of Christ in the movie, since the producers assumed that their audience would be flummoxed by any attempt at subtlety) is in fact an attempt to reconcile the divine with common flesh, and implicit in the Dogma that Jesus was subject to every human temptation. Not to spoil anything, but his "marriage" is revealed to have been only a temptation in the end, a vision for which he thanks God, because only complete redemption is efficacious.
Most of his critics have apparently read nothing of his works beyond the dust jackets, and one suspects they moved their lips while reading.
Cheers,
Puddin'
-----------
We came from an abyss of darkness;
we end in an abyss of darkness:
the interval of light between one
and another we name life.
--- Nikos Kazantzakis, Ascesis: The Saviors of God
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
Simply unbelieveable
This is bringing some very bad tasting attention to the trans community. Something we can do without.
Khadijah
Again, Doubt
You should hide? Then I should take this site down. Seriously.
No one knows enough about this from the news reports to judge its true effect but if the attention of people who oppose one's views cannot be born then one might as well live under a rock.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Jesus Queen of Heaven
The particularisation of Jesus and Mary has a long history in the Church, from La Virgen de Guadalupe, various Black Madonnas popular in Africa, to countless others. Before we assume that any particular vision is "blasphemous," it would pay to look more carefully. If Mary can appear to anyone in the garb and guise of the common humanity of the one vouchsafed such a vision, if Jesus is likewise able to impress upon every beholder his essential similarity to his or her own suffering and life, why not, other than generalised contempt for gay, lesbian, and transgendered people, allow this particular vision to flourish? Is Christ demeaned through portraying him as Black? As Chinese? Is Mary? Is the transsexual author of the play automatically precluded from seeing in the Passion of Christ and the Mother of God any similarity or applicability to her own life?
What's up with that?
Cheers,
Puddin'
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
Open mockery of Jesus
I believe I am pretty open minded. I even saw the Rock Opera, "Jesus Christ Superstar", and found that it thrilled me, but even then I knew that it was not church fare. At that point, I did not even see God as being real.
I do think that this play is an open insult to the churched. Being Muslim, I don't think they should have done it but to go further would in my opinion be declaring myself to be a helper of God, and in my faith, he has none.
I am not generally involved in the GBLT community, because I think that much of what they do is a bit over the top for me. They obviously wanted attention and they got it.
Khadijah
I disagree...
But so what? I respect Gwen's intelligence and don't have to agree with her on everything. I would much rather come back to BCTS this afternoon and find the site up and full of lively comments and neat stories than try to convince everyone that I'm right, and by so doing discover I'd started the flame war that killed this site. That would be some pretty heavy karma to have to work off...
~~hugs, Laika
Well shit, I guess it really CAN happen here..,
.
Your kind demeanor
...It's been nice to see that the different perspectives, backgrounds and opinions regarding this post have turned into a fascinating discussion, in spite of the caveat of "don't talk about religion," which usually is sound advice. That everyone has remained civil and sensitive while expressing a wide range of views is heartening. Jesus didn't use any qualifying adjectives or adverbs when he said, "Come unto me, all who are burdened and heavy laden and I will give you rest." Thank you all.
Possa Dio riccamente vi benedica, tutto il mio amore, Andrea
She was born for all the wrong reasons but grew up for all the right ones.
Love, Andrea Lena
Truly fascinating.
I never cease to be amazed at the things that engender such passion among the religious. I have nothing to add to the conversation.
Seriously, why so serious?
God gave me a sense of humor, and I have to believe He's big enough that He can take a joke, too.
Is this REALLY worthy of a serious debate?
If you can't laugh at yourself, somebody else will.
Okay with me.
Was Glasgay! trying to tweak Christian noses? Almost certainly. The message of the play may have been gentle or in-your-face, but having Jesus as a transsexual had to be a provocation. Did they pick the "easy" target, i.e. Christianity instead of Islam, as the article refers to? Sure. Doesn't mean that Glasgay! wouldn't have attacked Christianity anyway, but they must have known that the worst reaction they would get from attacking that particular faith would be a peaceful protest, which they may well have wanted in the first place.
There are two points the article brings up that disturb me:
1) The message of the protester that it's unfair that it's open season on Christianity when other faiths are protected is valid, but I hope that protester is seeing the right end of the stick and isn't asking the government to protect Christianity against "blasphemy." I not sure at all if that that was the case, but if it was, then Glasgow, we have a problem.
If free speech means having the right to say whatever you want say -- unless it offends certain protected others -- it's not much of a freedom, is it? If a theory, philosophy, government, religion, or "ism" can't stand to be openly analyzed and criticized, it's almost certainly based on shaky ground.
2) "Festival organisers said it had not intended to incite or offend anyone." While that is almost certainly B.S., that's not the point. The language is very much like a legal phrase, saying what is required to avoid government intervention. Incitement by showing a TS Jesus? Ridiculous. Offending someone is a CRIME?
Yeesh! Scary stuff!
Aardvark
"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."
Mahatma Gandhi
"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."
Mahatma Gandhi