Church shock at Beckham 'Nativity'

[jobycom]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/12/08/beckhams.nativity.reut/index.html

Church leaders united on Wednesday to condemn a Christmas Nativity tableau depicting soccer star David Beckham as Joseph and his pop singer wife Victoria as the Virgin Mary.

Anglicans, Catholics and Presbyterians called the exhibit at Madame Tussaud's waxwork museum in London a new low in the cult of celebrity worship.

In the tableau, Australian pop star Kylie Minogue hovers above the crib as an angel while "Posh Spice" Victoria lays her shawled head tenderly on Beckham's shoulder.

Tony Blair, George W. Bush and the Duke of Edinburgh star as The Three Wise Men. The shepherds are played by Hollywood star Samuel L. Jackson, British actor Hugh Grant and camp Irish comedian Graham Norton.

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Comment from Vatican: "You cannot use contemporary personalities as the central figures of the Nativity ... And it becomes worse, if that were possible, if the people may be of questionable moral standing," he added.

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I love two things: first, that they tell us what we cannot do, as if they own the religion, and second, their erroneous statement about people with questionable moral standing. I guess he means Bush. But even so, the Church believes that their sacrements are valid even if performed by the most lowlife child molesting priest, but the Nativity is defamed by less than holy figures in it.

[russian33]

1. Glad to see some things still shock them.

[Wickerman]

2. Nevermind that Beckham, being one of the most recongizable

figures (outside the US, of course) of the last few years is an incredible "recruitment" tool. :eyes:

Hell, who knows, nothing sells like controversy. Maybe there is a method to their madness.

[UdoKier]

3. That is HILARIOUS!

Nothing sacrilegious about it. If anything, it's ridiculing their empty, phony, unfounded celebrity, not the nativity. Love it.

[jobycom]

5. That was my thought

It's parody on both sides. One, it mocks the cult of celebrity, claiming people worship them as gods, second, it mocks the Church for their attempts to popularize religion.

Hits too close to home for religious leaders, I guess. If this display wasn't saying something important, they wouldn't even comment on it.

[ceile]

4. Too f'n funny!!

Graham Norotn as a shephard?! * as a "wiseman"?

[Atlas Mugged]

6. Posh Spice as a "virgin"?

[jobycom]

7. She was once! nt.

[Bamboo]

8. Biblical characters are not as "real" as celebrities.

Dame Edna sacrificing Joseph,Spice Girls as horsemen of the Apocalypse(keep working Posh in)

[jobycom]

12. I don't know

We create mythologies around celebrities that usually have nothing to do with the real people, either. Britney Spears, Michael Jackson, Julia Roberts-- we know nothing at all about what these people are really like, but we create myths based on the few personal details that pop up, believing those details tell us something. The myth is more important than the reality, because it helps us to reveal ourselves.

Same with religious figures. I studied the Virgin Cult a lot in graduate school, even did my masters thesis on it. From a couple of lines about her in ancient texts where she is a minor player, Christians for 2000 years have developed libraries of details about her, none of which have anything to do with the scant historical details or even the religious details about the actual person. She is created just as celebrities are.

In fact, Britney Spears would have been the perfect Virgin Mary. We know nothing about either, but judge both as though we were their closest friends.

[Blue_Tires]

9. Zidane>Ronaldo>Beckham

[A Simple Game]

10. Would have been closer

if they switched the wise men and the shepherd's.

[NuttyFluffers]

11. And now i know which holiday cards i want to send.

I simply must find a picture of this, somewhere.

this picture on the cover and for the insides i'm thinking...
"Merry Festivus from the Blasphemous Heathens!" :evilgrin:

[Lisa]

13. here you go!

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/041208/photos_wl_uk_afp/041208165842_4el9q0rg_photo0


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/041207/482/lon80312071144


I especially like "The Three Not-So-Wise Men"

[NuttyFluffers]

14. bless you, now my greetings card program shall be used.

this is a wonderful, wonderful thing.

[Lisa]

15. you're welcome!

If you would like a wider selection, go to dailynews.yahoo.com and type in "nativity" in the Photos search option.

It looks like Tussaud's has a newer and more realistic W mannequin. Not an actual life cast, but someone's evidently been studying close-up photos of Bush's face .... it looks a lot more like him than the version they had back in 2002 (they painted a bruise on it after the pretzel incident!).

[DARE to HOPE]

16. The Owl worshippers hate the Church...

...and really do wish to destroy it.

I saw someone tonight post a reference to the Franklin Credit Union scandal. I do think that an earlier abusive mind control program put all their graduates/victims into several RC seminaries, with disastrous results .

And see what they are doing to Protestantism in this country through the declared supremacy of the Dominionist movement. Look sharp, everybody. The bulk of this country's Christians are NOT rightwing hateful political activists, try as they might to make us that way.

Those that go out in July to Bohemian Grove worship money and power as literal idols. And God fearing people, who truly march to a different drummer, are a threat to them.