This is a contemporary image of Jesus reportedly produced by a Catholic priest. I find it disturbing on multiple levels. By comparison to this, the "Buddy Christ" unveiled by Cardinal Glick (George Carlin) in the movie Dogma is at least an honest parody of what Hollywood sees as having occurred in the American church in the aftermath of Vatican II.
But the picture on top takes itself far too seriously, and in its attempt to be winsome, portrays Jesus with the studied casualness, off-center buckle, open collar and rolled-up sleeves of an effete metro-sexual male making his pick-up moves. Sad-to-say, so much of the contemporary faith being the etiolated and denatured thing it is, this sort of cruising hook-up Jesus probably closer to home for many Catholics than we'd like to imagine today.
The whole thing is redolent of H. Richard Niebuhr's quotable description of theological liberalism: "A God without wrath brought men without sin into a Kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a Cross." -- H. Richard Niebuhr, The Kingdom of God in America
[Hat tip to L.V. and E.E.]
That's the same guy who 'scared' the Roman governor's wife despite being bound and beaten? The one who worked up enough anger to whip a room full of merchants? Who rose from the DEAD? Before whom pugnacious St. Thomas fell prostate: 'My Lord and my God'? Gimme a break.
ReplyDeleteOr maybe it's just a long haired Jewish guy in a purple shirt?
ReplyDeleteNothing more.
I would have gone with Carpenter's overalls, a Kepha (i.e. Yarmulke), a Jewish Star of David and tzitzit.
Or ditch the overalls (too 70's) & just go full blown Frum.
"Christ didn't come to earth to give us 'the willies.'"
ReplyDeleteHe left that to the USCCB.
=)
ReplyDeleteLooks like a bad rendering of a 1970s Barry Gibb with a 1999 cell phone.
ReplyDeleteHe has a sort of "Elvis" look in the facial features, perhaps the priest-artist was a fan?
ReplyDelete