Posted on 12/28/2013 11:33:49 AM PST by Steelfish
Church Nativity Scene Replaces Jesus with Bloody Trayvon Martin
By Russell Goldman
Dec 28, 2013 HT trayvon nativity nt 131227 16x9 608 Church Nativity Scene Replaces Jesus with Bloody Trayvon Martin
John Zachary created a Nativity scene for Claremont United Methodist Church that employs a figure of Trayvon Martin as a commentary on gun violence. (David Allen/Daily Bulletin)
A California church sought to make people think about the repercussions of violence, by replacing the baby Jesus with a bloody sculpture of Trayvon Martin in a nativity scene.
What they got instead were threats.
The crèche outside the church Claremont United Methodist Church in Claremont, Calif., includes a mannequin wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with blood spilling from its chest and pooling on the ground.
Jesus was born at a highly violent and political time and today, we still live in highly violent society, said the Rev. Dan Lewis, a pastor at the church. The nativity scene isnt meant to incite anger, it is mean as an artistic expression It is meant to be thought provoking.
For eight years, the church has used art at Christmastime to make statements about hot-button social issues, including works about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, homelessness, imprisoned single mothers and the rights of immigrants.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
I hope you have, or will, find a church that is good for you...
the most dangerous “heresies” I believe today include:
1. putting anything (including “community organizing” or “social justice” or whatever) ahead of God (I am not saying a church shouldn’t be interested in improving the earthly lives of people, just that it maintain priorities while doing so)
2. becoming too money-oriented (constant fundraising, ornate palaces or high lifestyles or heavy spending by those in charge, etc.)
3. preaching to please the audience (approving continued sinful lifestyles or even endorsing or blessing them, teaching “free” or “cheap grace” whereby nothing is expected of the parishioners in terms of how they is to lead their lives...or the “magical salvation formula” whereby a few sprinkles, or even a few quick dunkings, allegedly result in the conferral of perpetual grace with zero response or change or improvement in one’s morality or ethics, preaching anti-Semitism or otherwise not showing support for the Jewish people the Church is grafted into as family, preaching anti-Whitey sermons like at a certain infamous Chicago “church” we’ve all heard about, or preaching a whole lot of love while not demonstrating it from the pulpit or as a church community, etc.)
lot of things to avoid these days, for as Jesus taught...Matthew 7:15, 16; ... Matthew 7:23.
But there are a number of “good” churches to be found, too.
Keep looking around, please, if you perchance haven’t yet found one. You’ll be glad you did. Very glad.
Best,
fhc
I notice the kneeling Virgin Mary is still in the picture but no view of the goats, shepherds, sheep or cows.
This is an in your face blasphemy. Try portraying Mohammed or any of his clan who actually were butchered and we’ll have Clinton apologizing all day and night.
Never mind, “What difference does it make”
This depiction actually sums up the truly rotten state of our nation. They systematically infiltrated the schools, took over the colleges, and them spread their poisonous tentacles into the professions and most important onto the judiciary. America will never be the same. Sad but true.
He's actually a Montana State University grad who got his divinity degree at Iliff in Colorado. However, the Claremont School of Theology, which is right next door to the Claremont First United Methodist Church, trains many, if not most of the Methodist clergy in Southern California and is a hotbed of far-left radicalism.
No wonder some people think Christians are a little “off”.
‘A California church.....’
a CALEEFRONKEE’ Church, you say?
Did they have him jumping out from behind a bush and attacking one of the wise men?
You are right. Replacing Jesus with ANYBODY is total sacrilege and it being done at a “a church” is an abomination.
These are Satanists, not Christians.
Yeah, right.
FU Rev!
It has provoked some thought in me alright, but not in the direction to which I’m sure they intended.
Of course, it is ‘little kid’ Treyvan, and the lambs, etc are all silhouettes. Honestly, we've passed by this thing over and over again for nearly a month, and neither my wife or I figured out it was supposed to be a fake nativity. We simply assumed it was the typical liberal Claremont (we've never had a racist incident we didn't fake) display.
All in all, our first thought when we heard the controversy was ‘gosh, least Christians won't blow up the church over the display’ and ‘wonder when they'll put up a headless Mohamed?’
Oh, wait, did I mention this display had been there for nearly a month? Obviously the church wasn't getting the attention they desired, so in my old press e-mail account, lookie what's there - a PR news release from the church about the ‘nativity scene.’ Least they decided to wait until the day after Christmas to send it out.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.