Church Nativity scene with gay figures vandalized

AP via SFGate ^ | 12/29/11

[SmithL]

CLAREMONT, Calif. (AP) -- Southern California authorities are investigating vandalism of a church's Nativity display that includes depictions of gay and lesbian couples.

The damage at Claremont United Methodist Church occurred late Saturday or Sunday morning.

. . .

Claremont police Sgt. Jason Walters tells the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin it's a hate crime.

[airborne]

"...Nativity display that includes depictions of gay and lesbian couples."

What, no sheep and their lovers?

Claremont police Sgt. Jason Walters tells the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin it's a hate crime.

I'm guessing the Sgt. is a fellow fudge packer.

[Cvengr]

His wife, Anita, said she and her husband "expect controversy. We want to cause people to think and consider that a blue-eyed baby Jesus is not everyone's idea of God."

First, it isn't a Nativity Scene.

Nativity, as the name implies, is associated with the place, circumstances, and time of a birth. The display were three sets of adult couple silhouettes, one a man and woman, another of two men, and another of two women (or so the silhouettes appear).

Somebody toppled the two same-sex silhouettes, which might have been caused by any number of reasons, including wind.

The accusers are claiming over $3000 in damages, but that isn't apparent from the photographs.

Additionally, the time of the alleged incident could not be tied down to closer than 11am XMAS eve and 9am XMAS Sunday at a Church.

The inability to place a time on the incident on XMAS and XMAS eve at a Church seems to speak volumes to their true devotion, along with the above quote.

Who knows, maybe it was supernaturally caused by demons. Even demons have morals.

[Jack Hydrazine]

You can’t do that to characters dressed fabulously for flair and sparkle!

[RichInOC]

Vandalism is bad, mmkay?

Having said that...

1. Calling that display a nativity scene is absolutely absurd.

2. Saying those panels sustained three thousand dollars damage strikes me as crossing over the line that separates “that’s absurd” from “that’s a lie, and it’s an absurd lie at that”. I flatly doubt you could cause three grand worth of damage to those things if you burnt the suckers.

3. I hate to monger stereotypes (well, normally), but they interviewed the lady pastor on camera, and she looks pretty much exactly what you’d expect the middle-aged lady pastor of a church that would put that display out front to look like. Ah, the female clergy...where even the straight ones look lesbian.

4. Dear Claremont UMC: The Seventies called. They want those silhouettes back.

[rottndog]

For the past six years, church member and artist John Zachary has designed and built a scene on the church's front lawn. The scene has had controversial themes before, but this was the first about gay couples.

Zachary said the artwork suffered at least $3,000 worth of damage. The exhibit had three panels that weighed 600 pounds each.

His wife, Anita, said she and her husband "expect controversy. We want to cause people to think and consider that a blue-eyed baby Jesus is not everyone's idea of God."

Anita Zachary said she was upset by what she perceived as a lack of community outrage.

"I want to believe Claremont is a rather liberal community ... that's what's most upsetting is that people aren't outraged. My opinion is just that the community doesn't seem to put its money where its mouth is."


Expecting controversy....upset by lack of outrage...

Yup...all the mixin's of a staged hate crime here. Sounds like they tried to get attention with their display in the first place...and when no one took the bate, created some of their own.

[Cronos]

These guys are going way tooo far. Everything is about their sexuality, everything boils down to that -- it's like Freud gone mad

[xzins]

Our west coast regions are notoriously liberal, but they are also very, very small in terms of membership.

At the same time, though, their bishops are of the same mind as most of our US bishops, with the exception of some of the southern bishops.

It is our overseas bishops + some southern bishops who are keeping this denomination from going apostate overnight.

I don’t see a happy future with the UMC. It is as likely to lose its candlestick as to keep it.

[mware]

So, where is the Christ Child?

Are they really claiming THIS to be a Nativity Scene????

[Cronos]

That is sad, and I have argued in the past that it is better to stick within the UMC and fight it out and save it from sinking, but this “nativity scene” just about changes my mind — at least that community there is no more than a liberal “get-together” — there is no Christ-child, but gay-couples holding hands....

[NELSON111]

“Come out of her, my people...” - Rev 18:4

[massgopguy]

I look at the silhouettes of the two girls and am reminded,”It isn't like in the movies.” And since they are silhouettes, how do we know they are not walking AWAY from Jesus?

[Hebrews 11:6]

There may be a precedent for this kind of event:

1 Samuel 5:1-4
"After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then they carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained."