Nothing trivial about Jesus

James accuses me of trivialising Christianity. I'm sorry if that's the way it came over; it wasn't the intention.

There is absolutely nothing trivial about Christ. It wasn't trivial for God to become man and then to take the punishment for man - just because he loved us. "This is love, not that we loved him but that he first loved us. " Could there be anything less trivial?

When it comes to religion and the church though, we're on less certain ground. I said in my earlier post that Catholics had been objecting; following more thorough research, it appears to be one Bill Donohue who is primarily responsible for drawing the attention of the world to the chocolate Jesus. (My apologies to innocent Catholics.)

I read a transcript of a television interview he did - Hey, good luck with him.

In another of his posts, James refers to humanists and I'm not sure if he means me. In case it's not clear, I am a reborn, evangelical, charismatic Christian.

Back to the chocolate Jesus, I've spent some time this afternoon reading up about it, and, no matter how I look at it, I can still find nothing offensive or obscene about it.

What I do find offensive is poverty, child abuse, homelessness, greed, hunger, violence, the parading of a tortured man before a crowd baying for his blood.

That's obscene.

xxxx

It's certainly not an easter egg

While blog-browsing, I noticed a comment on someone's blog about the chocolate Jesus sculpture that has caused a storm of protest in New York.




Following complaints from Catholics, primarily the Catholic League, the exhibit has been withdrawn.



It is sad that most times when Christians are in the news it is because they are protesting about something - whether it's a chocolate Jesus or Jerry Springer, the Opera - or arguing amongst themselves about gay clergymen or whose way is best.


If they really want to protest about something why not speak out against the traffiking of children for the sex trade? Or the children made to work on cocoa farms - for the chocolate we enjoy? I can't help thinking that God cares more about that than he does about a chocolate effigy.


I don't even know exactly what the protestors are upset about. Is it that the sculpture is made of chocolate (a material like any other) or that Jesus is portrayed nude and anatomically correctly? Would they have preferred him to be sexless?


Unlike Action Man, Jesus was a real man. That was the point of it: that God became man and as a man went to the cross. He died for me, and, heaven help us, for the Christian protestors - and the artist.


I wonder if there've been any protests about these chocolate treats from www.chocolatefantasies.com


The chocolate crucifix will cost you $4.50, while a chocolate Mary or Jesus (haloed head only) is $5.50.



Postscript: as a bit of a pedant, I've found myself most disturbed by the fact that both CNN and FoxNews, in their online reporting of the story, have called it confectionary.

xxx