Obama as Lord and Savior

[cbayer]

http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/guest_bloggers/6656/obama_as_lord_and_savior/




As if Barack Obama’s presidential election was not confounding enough for conservatives, now they've got an Obama-as-Jesus meme to contend with.

Jamie Foxx referred to Obama as “our lord and savior” at the Soul Train Awards on November 8, and Michael D’Antuono's painting of Obama as Christ analogue (“The Truth”) is back on display. With a crown of thorns and arms stretched out to look as if he is on a cross, this painted Obama has riled the right wing punditry, from Glenn Beck to Bill Donohue.

Lost in the uproar are several historical points: first, this is not the first piece of art to depict Obama as a Christ figure; nor is this the first piece of American art to depict a black man as Jesus; and, finally, this is not the first piece of American art by a white individual that portrays an African American figure as God’s son.

Depictions of Obama as a messianic figure are nothing new. Since his emergence at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, Obama has become an icon of salvation. One statue had him in a robe, with a neon halo around his head; another had him riding a donkey just as Jesus had done for his “triumphal entry.” This kind of religio-political art left some conservatives wondering if Obama was actually the “anti-Christ.”

more at link

[Moonwalk]

1. I would love to see this Obama as Jesus Meme grow and grow and grow...

...especially if it casts the GOP as those trying to deny and crucify him Boehner can be Pontius Pilatus.

Wouldn't it be awesome if Christian GOP voters started wondering if Obama really is the second coming and they're on the wrong side? If they suddenly began to wonder if Fox News was being run by and they were being manipulated away from Jesus?

Ah, we should be so lucky

[intaglio]

2. You know that "Rapture Ready" already considers him the anti-Christ?

I can hear their cries of "Maranatha!" from here!

[pinto]

3. Art isn't always "comfortable". Sometimes that's part of the artist's point, imo. Remember this one?

Piss Christ is a 1987 photograph by the American artist and photographer Andres Serrano. It depicts a small plastic crucifix submerged in a glass of the artist's urine. The piece was a winner of the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art's "Awards in the Visual Arts" competition,[1] which was sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, a United States Government agency that offers support and funding for artistic projects.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piss_Christ