LOS ANGELES, CA – April 14, 2006 – Blogs are buzzing over gay Jesus art as Easter approaches.
Debate was sparked by JesusInLove.org, a new website featuring gay and lesbian Christian art. The Easter controversy has focused on an image with a sign saying “faggot” on the cross above Christ.
“Every time a gay gets bashed, Jesus is crucified again,” said Kittredge Cherry, lesbian author and founder of the new website. “The anti-gay movement uses religion to justify discrimination, so even atheists can see the value in uprooting homophobia from Christian tradition.”
While most applaud the website, some right-wing Christians have objected with online posts such as “That is sick and disgusting. We need to get on track with eliminating the choice of homosexuality.”
On the other hand, some gay visitors posted critiques such as, “I don’t understand why any gay person would support, let alone condone organized religion.”
Artists who dare to put the Easter story in a queer context have had their work destroyed -- if they can find a way to exhibit it at all. Now these powerful images are available for all to see at JesusInLove.org.
A high-tech slide show takes visitors through the Easter story from a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender viewpoint at http://jesusinlove.org/prayf.php. It includes the following:
*The crucified Christ is labeled “faggot” in a painting by Becki Jayne Harrelson.
*The female Christ dies on the cross while her purse is looted by the Pope, a businessman and a terrorist in a work by Sandra Yagi.
*The dead Christ is revived by a female Holy Spirit in Harrelson’s “Resurrection.”
*The risen Christ approaches hand-in-hand with his male lover in “Jesus Rises” by F. Douglas Blanchard.
“The Easter story is important for LGBT people. It tells us that God suffers with us, and it offers the promise of rebirth and redemption,” Cherry explained.
A recent review of JesusInLove.org by online magazine QueerDay.com called the site “a rather heavenly idea.”
JesusInLove.org features work by six contemporary American artists and an impressive links page that connects with many other artists worldwide who picture Christ as gay or female.
The history behind the queer Christ is fleshed out in a variety of new books listed at JesusInLove.org. The site also offers a sneak preview of Kittredge Cherry’s forthcoming fictional autobiography of the queer Christ, “Jesus in Love.”
For more information, contact JesusInLoveInfo@aol.com or visit http://jesusinlove.org/prayf.php
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