Gay Jesus play angers Australian church leaders

[Ban Hammer 13,347]

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A controversial play that depicts Jesus being seduced by Judas and conducting a gay marriage for two apostles has been condemned by church leaders ahead of its opening in Sydney.

The Anglican Bishop of South Sydney, Robert Forsyth, expressed his outrage at the plot of "Corpus Christi" on Sunday, calling the play "historical nonsense."

"It is deliberately, not innocently, offensive and they're obviously having a laugh about it," he told the Sun-Herald newspaper. "I wouldn't want to go and see it. Life's too short."

Set to open on February 7 as part of Sydney's annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival, "Corpus Christi" depicts Jesus and his followers as gay, and ends with Jesus being crucified.

Despite critical acclaim, the play provoked protests and bomb threats when it was performed in the United States.

Playwright Terrence McNally received a death edict, or fatwa, from a UK-based Islamic group, which declared it blasphemous when the play ran in London in 1999.

McNally, who is gay, has said he wrote the piece to explore parallels between Christ's persecution and the rejection he faced as a young gay man growing up in Texas.

Sydney Mardi Gras organizers describe it on the festival Web site as "a play that speaks out against inhumanity by providing a witty, contemporary interpretation of Jesus' life" . Director Leigh Romney, who is staging the work in Australia, rejected accusations the play mocks Christ.

Rowney said that as a Christian himself, he was keen to provoke debate.

"I wanted this play in the hands of a Christian person like myself to give it dignity but still open it up to answering questions about Christianity as a faith system," Rowney said.

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[eric&gen 0]

What more do gay people want they have gay rights they have gay bars and they have there own rainbow stickers logos gay channel geez enough is enough.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

People take these things way too seriously.

In my personal, opinion, it sounds rather stupid. Whether or not Jesus was gay (or had leanings that way) is really irrelevant to his story isn't it? That wasn't his message at all...

I mean... are there any stories in the bible about Jesus getting down and dirty with anyone?

[almaty 19]

i agree..the message was revolutionary.....

[Amby 490]

I'd pay to see the play

[Alex+R 0]

People take these things way too seriously.

In my personal, opinion, it sounds rather stupid. Whether or not Jesus was gay (or had leanings that way) is really irrelevant to his story isn't it? That wasn't his message at all...

I mean... are there any stories in the bible about Jesus getting down and dirty with anyone?

Did you read the article? It explains that the play draws parallels between persecution of gays and Jesus' life. It's by Terrence freaking McNally, for gosh sakes. I don't think it's some sophomoric joke.

[Scott & Lai 12]

People take these things way too seriously.

In my personal, opinion, it sounds rather stupid. Whether or not Jesus was gay (or had leanings that way) is really irrelevant to his story isn't it? That wasn't his message at all...

I mean... are there any stories in the bible about Jesus getting down and dirty with anyone?

Jesus said he came not to abolish the Law of Moses, but to fulfill it. Since homosexual relations are explicitly forbidden in the Torah, a question of Jesus' "leanings" would certainly be relevant to his message.

There was a time that homosexuality was called "the love that dare not speak its name." Now it is "the love that won't shut up."

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

There was a time that homosexuality was called "the love that dare not speak its name." Now it is "the love that won't shut up."

That's actually pretty funny

[Peikko 1,575]

So the parallel is persecution? Seems reasonable.

It's hardly news though, this play was written in 1997.

[Ban Hammer 13,347]

There was a time that homosexuality was called "the love that dare not speak its name." Now it is "the love that won't shut up."

That's actually pretty funny

So the parallel is persecution? Seems reasonable.

It's hardly news though, this play was written in 1997.

tell that to yahoo.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

People take these things way too seriously.

In my personal, opinion, it sounds rather stupid. Whether or not Jesus was gay (or had leanings that way) is really irrelevant to his story isn't it? That wasn't his message at all...

I mean... are there any stories in the bible about Jesus getting down and dirty with anyone?

Did you read the article? It explains that the play draws parallels between persecution of gays and Jesus' life. It's by Terrence freaking McNally, for gosh sakes. I don't think it's some sophomoric joke.

It says that - but it also says something about Jesus being seduced by Judas. Without seeing the play, I'm assuming they mean sexual seduction.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

So the parallel is persecution? Seems reasonable.

It's hardly news though, this play was written in 1997.

True. We had the story in '99. Now its the Aussies turn. Something irrelevant to talk about, rather than real issues.

I mean, the US economy is up $hits creek and people would rather talk about mindless $hit.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Aah no wonder my paddle turned brown.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Jesus said he came not to abolish the Law of Moses, but to fulfill it. Since homosexual relations are explicitly forbidden in the Torah, a question of Jesus' "leanings" would certainly be relevant to his message.

Are there any stories that establish Jesus' sexuality, or indeed where he addresses or otherwise deals specifically with homosexuality in the bible? Just curious.

[Scott & Lai 12]

Jesus said he came not to abolish the Law of Moses, but to fulfill it. Since homosexual relations are explicitly forbidden in the Torah, a question of Jesus' "leanings" would certainly be relevant to his message.

Are there any stories that establish Jesus' sexuality, or indeed where he addresses or otherwise deals specifically with homosexuality in the bible? Just curious.

There is nothing to indicate that he disagreed in any way with Moses regarding homosexuality, nor that he violated the Torah in that regard, neither in the New Testament, nor in any contemporary historical referrences. On the contrary, he said that not a letter of the Law would pass away till it was fulfilled, thus putting his stamp of approval on what it contained, including the prohibitions against homosexual acts. There is also not a word suggesting he had relations with anyone till the revisionist Gnostic writings two centuries later (and I'm not sure that they had anything quite like that, either).

It is also of note that our categories of "gay" and "straight" were unheard of in the Bible or in the larger ancient world. Homosexual acts were spoken of, but there wasn't the concept of categorizing people by sexual "orientation" that we have today.

Edited January 21, 2008 by Scott & Lai