The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence respond to the Dish's criticism:
Rail against the supposed grief we cause believers and wrap yourself in self-righteous anger if it makes you feel good- it’s your shtick and in these tough times I know you need a paycheck. But for the love of every young LGBTQI kid out there trying to find a way through this cruel world, please stop carping on about how events like Hunky Jesus “empower every religious right prejudice about gays.” Bigotry like that is irrational and self- generating. They hate us because we’re GAY, Andrew, period.
Not all of them "hate us". A majority of Americans actually support our right to marry – the kind of progress this display of raw, unfunny bigotry threatens to undo. And really, it's now LGBTQI? I guess they needed a vowel. A final round of emails on the matter:
Part of your distaste for one act was "depicting the Passion of Jesus as a sado-masochistic act (which is entirely voluntary rather than the brutal torture Jesus suffered)." I have to say, Andrew, that I always thought a large part of the theological point of the Passion was that it was freely chosen?
Not enjoyed, certainly, but entered into as a willing sacrifice. Now, surely these ribald homos are not the first ones to make the connection between Christian martyrdom and S&M. From self-flagellating monks to Mel Gibson, there has been a very prominent strain of Christianity with an unwholesome, even prurient fixation on Jesus' physical suffering, and a rather morbid desire to share in it in hopes of expiating a sinful nature. It's such a widespread phenomenon that it's become cliche. The joke might not have been funny, but it's also not new or unique, and digs into the ways that religion can be perverted by its own practitioners.
For that matter, why is a "Hunky Jesus" contest not a valid critique of Western Christianity's obsession with portraying Christ as a fair-skinned, light-eyed handsome man, or a spiritual husband and lover? You get a lot of this from the Evangelical side of things, especially.
One of your previous correspondents was correct on one count – this is no more offensive to most Christians than South Park is. Though Matt & Trey are superior in terms of wit and satirical thrust, when you boil it right down, blasphemy is blasphemy. Whether it's "making fun" or "making a point," they both profane what billions hold sacred. Any differentiations are mere matters of taste.
I have to say, also, that I think it's ironic that you'd make such a big deal out of this tacky spectacle when I am currently sitting here in Tennessee contemplating the recent passage of two (1, 2) anti-gay laws (in addition to the previous Constitutional ban on gay marriage), which seem to have been passed just to make damned sure we Southern queers know just how unwanted we are.
Mutual understanding, tolerance and compassion are always called for, but I can well understand how a lot of gay people might be feeling particularly hostile towards fundamental Christianity right now, and perhaps feeling like laughing at a symbol of oppression is maybe better than doing something more hateful or direct.
The symbol of oppression is not Jesus. He obviously opposed all oppression and to mock him rather than his misguided followers is to miss the entire point, and to alienate large numbers of Christians who are gay-friendly. Conflating all religious people with hate is something some of us have struggled against for years – because it is not true and it is entirely counter-productive. And really, you think this kind of spectacle will help us gain ground in Tennessee? It surely confirms every anti-gay bigot in their prejudices. Another writes:
I mentioned to my wife last week how surprised I was to see so many sarcastic tweets and status updates referencing Easter, something I hadn't noticed before. I agree; the tendency on the left (and this is pretty much where I sit politically, by the way) to associate a loud minority of American Christians with the entire membership of the world's largest faith system is pretty stunning.
I also agree with your reader re: Bill Maher (although not about you appearing on his show): He was never interesting to me, a comic who seems to equate petulance with being clever, but his attacks on religion pushed me all the way toward boycotting him. I've heard him praise MLK, a man who literally — literally — was defined by his Christianity. Take the minister out of King and he doesn't exist for us and never would. And yet MLK, according to Maher, must have been mentally ill.
I belong to a small mainstream Protestant church in a blue-collar neighborhood. We have two gay men on Session (i.e., the governing board of our church). One of our deacons is a lesbian. This is not unusual, either, in the various churches I've attended; the statistics alone (percentage of population calling themselves Christians, percentage of Americans who favor gay marriage, or voted for Obama, etc.) should give these people the pause they'd surely consider when it comes to Muslims who don't want to bomb us, for example.
I'm not sure how my Christian community would react to Hunky Jesus. I was just saddened by it, therapeutic or not.
The Dish 