Posted on 02/26/2010 1:44:19 PM PST by NYer
.- Bishops in India have responded to the publication an image of Christ in a children's textbook that shows Jesus holding a beer in one hand, a cigarette in the other, and the word "Idol" beneath. Although "deeply offended," the bishops said they are against seeking an "anti-blasphemy law" in the country.
A statement from the Indian bishops, who holding a bishops' conference meeting in Guwahiti until March 3, was issued on Thursday. "We are deeply offended by the blasphemous image of Christ used on school books and on posters," they said in the statement published by Fides. "We feel sad and indignant for this act of sacrilege. We support the legal actions taken by the government in the states of Meghalaya and Punjab, towards the perpetrators. "
The image was originally found in textbooks in the city of Shillong, which is located in the state of Meghalaya. Protests and unrest resulted from the posting of enlarged images in the streets of several Punjabi cities. The state of Meghalaya is preparing a lawsuit against the publisher, Skyline Publications, while the state of Punjab looks to prosecute the groups responsible for the printing and distribution of posters.
In their statement the bishops took their appeal to a higher level, asking the central government to promote, protect, and defend respect for religious symbols of all communities of believers throughout India."
An apology issued last week by the publisher claimed that the photo was included in textbooks due to "human error." The bishops acknowledged the apology and said they hope such an error would never repeat itself in any publication in India.
Commenting on the possibility of an "anti-blasphemy law in Meghalaya, the Indian Church stated its opposition. Such an article already exists in the country's penal code which establishes penalties for those who "hurt the religious sentiments of people," they noted.
The bishops added that a new anti-blasphemy law could possibly be exploited by fundamentalists against Christians, as has occurred in neighboring Pakistan.
Ping!
Was it this one?
IDOL
Anti-Catholic bigotry is world-wide. The little contingent here on FR is just a tiny segment. Most of it is Marxist/moslem.
F A L S E I D O L
I have a hunch Jesus probably enjoyed the occasional beer.
Freaking hindus. Polytheistic pagans.
Oh, I apologize to hindus then. You’re probably right.
And cheers to you, elpadre!
I don’t know about that, I think wine was alot more popular in that area back in the day. Bible doesn’t mention beer to much :/
Do some Googling. Apparently in Jesus’ time they did drink some form of what we now know as beer.
Oh yeah.
Wine. Not beer.
The BBC published the offensive image. I wonder if the published the Muhammad cartoons?
Try to find a image of muhammad smoking with a beer in his hand.
Sadly certain section of Christian youth responded by resorting violence and burning vehicles. It gave an opportunity for Hindu fundamentalist organisations like the VHP to incite people. A curfew was declared but now there is normalcy.
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