Just in Time for Holy Week…Gay Jesus
Every Holy Week, we get the same ol’ thing. First you take a great heaping spoonful of stupid publicity seeking artist, add in a dose of outraged Christian, spice it up with some feigned surprise from the artist that anyone could possibly be offended, and finish it off with some smarmy calls for tolerance.
Fox News reports:
A college student’s production of a play in which Jesus is portrayed as the “King of Queers” has outraged residents in a Texas town that fancies itself the Cowboy Capital of the World.
Just in time for Easter, Tarleton State University is playing host to a student performance of Terrence McNally’s 1998 play, “Corpus Christi,” which depicts a gay Jesus performing a same-sex wedding for two of his apostles.
And though Jesus washed the feet of his disciples in the traditional biblical narrative, his character (called Joshua) in the play shows Judas the full extent of his love, kissing the son of perdition at Pontius Pilate High School’s senior prom.
It’s all too much for some residents of Stephenville, Texas, who say there’s far too much passion in this Passion play. They are pressuring the university to call off the Saturday performance, which has already been moved ahead eight hours to an 8 a.m. start time to help head off protests.
Look, the only reason to put on this play is to get publicity and have your friends call you “brave” or “edgy.”
But dude, being the edgiest guy in the Cowboy Capitol of the world isn’t all that great? OK? So there might be some wasted effort here.
Here’s the artist throwing in his shock that anyone could possibly be offended by Jesus hanging on a cross with the sign “King of Queers” above his head:
The production is a class project for student-director John Jordan Otte, who said in a written statement that he chose the play to “bring people together” and help gain acceptance for gay Christians, who he said often feel alienated from their churches.
“It is being said often that this play is a direct attack on Christians — their faith and their deity. It simply is not true,” wrote Otte, 26, who said he is a devout Christian.
“I am not attacking anyone in choosing this play. I want people to see and understand another side to faith. I want us all to know that unconditional love means just that — unconditional — and I believe tolerance is a key message in this play.
Give me a break. “The Music Man” brings people together. This play ticks people off. You know what? Just admit that you didn’t do it for some “We are the World” sentiment, just say that you’re job prospects as a dramatist coming out of Tarleton State didn’t look so great and your life looks pretty much downhill from here so why the heck not throw a little temper tantrum and make people notice you. Well congratulations. Print out the story. Frame it. And keep boring everyone you know for years to come with how edgy you were in college. And you know what, after a few years all those people who’ve heard the story from you like twenty times are going to start feeling sorry for you…like we already do.