Hard Act To Follow
No, this isn't one of those spams advising you to beef up your meat to amaze the girl in your life. It's a billboard outside St Matthew-in-the-City Anglican Church in Auckland, New Zealand. At least it was until a miffed parishioner defaced it with yellow paint. Naive Archdeacon Glynn Cardy thought the poster would promote religious debate, but it has caused outrage among the faithful. Its message "Poor Joseph. God was a hard act to follow." reminds me of the Ancient Greek myth of Danaë's being impregnated by Zeus in the form of golden rain; another hard act to follow. Joseph's mournful countenance suggests he's having second thoughts about his wife's fantastic explanation for her pregnancy.
posted by Unknown @ 19.12.09
2 comments
2 Comments:
Given the history of GOD IS DEAD books from the 1970's and the very fact that wildly unorthodox ideas have been bandied about at least at Protestant U.S. and Canadian seminaries for the past 100 years or so, is this billboard really so surpising in our modern day and age? The stated purpose of the new billboard was to stimulate discussion -- well it certainly did that in abundance -- in a society that is largely at best a Christmas and Easter only group of churchgoers. Christ's blessings to you at this holiest of church festivals. ron welker, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Hi, Ron
Thanks for your comment. The painting seems to have stimulated fury, not discussion, and has already been defaced. Some Christians seem shocked at the very idea that Mary and Joseph had any kind of sex life. They were husband and wife.
Happy Christmas to you too.
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