New candy coated in blasphemy?

[davidinalameda]

http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/news/ci_2623488

A symbol of Christianity that sits atop church steeples, dangles from necks and hangs on walls is now ending up in the mouths of the faithful, over the objections of some religious officials.
A mass-produced chocolate cross is being sold this Easter by Russell Stover Candies Inc. in about 5,000 stores nationwide, which experts say is apparently a first for a major American company.


However, not all Christians are happy about it. Chomping on a chocolate cross can be offensive to some, said Joseph McAleer, a spokesman for the Roman Catholic diocese in Bridgeport, Conn.

[Zenlitened]

1. Anything that offends anybody should be banned!

No exceptions! :sarcasm:

:D

(edit to add new non-denominational sarcasm smilie)

[crispini]

3. I find that offensive!

Please ban yourself! ;)

[Zenlitened]

9. Self-banning? Isn't that considered a sin?

:dilemma:     <-- Hey, look! My first use of the new smilies!

:woohoo:     <-- Hey, look! My second use of the...

...

[bertha katzenengel]

2. Eating a chocolate cross is more offensive than cannibalism?

Ever hear of transubstantiation? It's when that little wafer and sip of wine actually ARE the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ when you eat them. :scared:

[CanuckAmok]

5. Tom Lehrer:

First you get down on your knees,
Fiddle with your rosaries,
Bow your head with great respect,
And genuflect, genuflect, genuflect!

Do whatever steps you want, if
You have cleared them with the Pontiff.
Everybody say his own
Kyrie eleison,
Doin' the Vatican Rag.

Get in line in that processional,
Step into that small confessional,
There, the guy who's got religion'll
Tell you if your sin's original.
If it is, try playin' it safer,
Drink the wine and chew the wafer,
Two, four, six, eight,
Time to transubstantiate!

So get down upon your knees,
Fiddle with your rosaries,
Bow your head with great respect,
And genuflect, genuflect, genuflect!

Make a cross on your abdomen,
When in Rome do like a Roman,
Ave Maria,
Gee it's good to see ya,
Gettin' ecstatic an'
Sorta dramatic an'
Doin' the Vatican Rag!

[TlalocW]

8. Which is why my new snack cracker aimed at Catholics

will be a big hit - JeezIts!

TlalocW

[bertha katzenengel]

10. You'll have tough competition from mine:

I Can't Believe It's Not Jesus!

/blasphemy

[TlalocW]

15. Will that be a butter that we can spread on JeezIts?

If so, I have a suggestion, make it a grape jelly, and we can say it transubstantiates (sp?) into the plasma of Jesus when you eat it with the body of Jesus in the form of JeezIts.

TlalocW

[bertha katzenengel]

17. ew -- you win

:LOL: is that a smiley?

:bounce:

[crispini]

11. LOL nt

[Kat45]

4. I'm Christian, and I have no problem with chocolate crosses. n/t

[JohnKleeb]

12. Same

There are soooooooo many other things that are worse than that.

[Book Lover]

13. And the article further states

that these are being developed for the Hispanic market in the US; obviously the crosses are not insensitive in that market.

[Zenlitened]

14. But apparently others do have a problem with it.

Shouldn't production of chocolate crosses cease, then?

[seriousstan]

16. Should we discontinue everything that some others have problems with?

Here's a short list...

guns
short skirts
profanity
liberals
conservatives
fence straddlers

...shall I continue? SOMEONE has a problem with EVERYTHING.

[Zenlitened]

Sorry, I should have made use of the new sarcasm smilie.

:sarcasm:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=2922460&mesg_id=2922460

[the_spectator]

18. I'm not a Christian

but Russell Stover doing this chocolate cross thing I find to be so funny, because it's so laughably WRONG - what's next, "crunchy frog"? Some bright young executive's career is going to crash and burn on this one. People should not want to "eat the cross" on so many different levels.

I guess maybe a hard-core anti-"Papist" protestant could maybe groove on it to be kind of a statement like busting up Catholic religious figurines and chalices like Martin Luther on a bad day or maybe a John Knox.

But except for him, no-one should want to eat the cross.

[Zenlitened]

20. Apparently, some people DO want to.

... Kansas City-based Russell Stover, the third-largest American chocolate manufacturer, said it is targeting some of the most devout Christians — Hispanic Americans.

What's patently wrong to one person may seem perfectly harmless to another, I suppose.

[the_spectator]

22. Yes I guess I'm just surprised and

am not knowlegeable enough about the world - you learn something new every day. Did not see the posts about the Hispanic tradition on this before I posted.

[davidinalameda]

29. you've never had a chocolate frog

it's a Harry Potter item

I think they're crunchy--not real frogs of course

[jonnyblitz]

26. you are? WHO KNEW..

:P :hi:

[SnowGoose]

6. I wonder if the crosses

are hollow, like the bunnies were.

Those who aren't christians would probably find the irony delicious!

Bada-bing!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

7. Last Easter I found a pic of a chocolate Jesus

and it wasn't from the cover of Tom Waits' album either. It was clearly manufactured for cannibalistic Christians everywhere.

The Church teaches that during the Communion segment of the Mass, the wine and bread (or host) becomes the body and blood of Christ, and is then consumed by the faithful. If people can do this every Sunday, why would anyone have a problem with chocolate crosses?

[the_spectator]

21. Yes but its two sepate things.

The story is you're supposed to be eating, in one way or another (if only symbolically) the body and blood of Christ - not the cross he was nailed up to.

Plus, "the Cross" is THE major symbol of Christianity, isn't it? It sits up there with pride of place in just about every church, it's what symbolizes the whole faith -- you're not supposed to sit there and destroy the cross through eating.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

23. Consider hot cross buns, please

...invented by monks.

[the_spectator]

25. nice point, hadn't thought of that

But stll, when the cross is just a simple X where two little lines of frosting cross, rather than a free-standing structure, I guess it just doesn't seem as bad.

[KitchenWitch]

19. I think we ALL need to lighten the fuck up

If you do not like chocolate crosses, do not buy them. If enough people decide not to buy them, Russel Stover will no longer make them.

[the_spectator]

24. After having read the article -

The article actually never claims that this eating of the cross is an Hispanic tradition - only that Russell Stover is "targeting" Hispanic Americans with it. It will have some INGREDIENTS that are traditional for Latin American candy, but it's an entirely open question. It may still be, if not probably, that RS is going out on a limb with this one, and making something up by themselves to see how it will fly. I like this final quote in the article from the President of Russell Stover, a Mr. Ward:

"Ward said Russell Stover considered making other traditional images out of chocolate but eventually opted not to.

"A molded Jesus, for example, would not be a good call and a cross with Jesus on it wouldn't be a good idea either," Ward said.

Yep, I think a full-embodied crucifix of chocolatey goodness would have been about the worst too, Ward. You're going to need enough luck with the one you went for.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

27. While I don't really care one way or the other,

the fact remains that this is just one more nauseating example of a business cashing in on a faith that discourages materialism. If it's a failed venture it will serve them right.

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

28. I like to start with the ears,

and work my way down.



What?