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Transsexual Jesus sparks protests |
Friday, 06 November 2009
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"Jesus Queen of Heaven", a play by and starring transsexual Jo Clifford began its five night run embroiled in controversy this week.
Its short run at Glasgay! - an arts festival which celebrates Scotland's gay, bi-sexual and transsexual culture - has upset Scottish Christians who have branded the depiction of Christ as a transsexual ‘totally blasphemous'.
Brandishing placards saying "Jesus, king of kings, not queen of heaven" and "God: My son is not a pervert" around 300 protesters picketed on Tuesday outside the Tron theatre where the play is currently being staged.
Further condemnation from the Christian Institute and The Catholic Church prompted Glasgay! organizers to issue a statement. "Jesus, Queen of Heaven is a literary work of fiction exploring the artist's own personal journey of faith as a transgendered person. "Glasgay! supports the right to freedom of expression and offers audiences a diverse view of LGBT life. This work is not intended to incite or offend anyone of any belief system however we respect your right to disagree with that opinion." In an interview with Herald Scotland Clifford defended her work saying prejudice has no foundation in the Bible, and revealed that she is in fact a regular churchgoer herself. "Being transsexual, I think an awful lot about where prejudice comes from" she said. "I would say about 95% of the play has the most profound respect of the gospel and the figure of Jesus. I really have no wish to offend anybody, which means that it is a big shame that everyone has taken great offence. That was genuinely not my intention." Jesus, Queen of Heaven concludes tomorrow evening at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow.
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Gary Cosby writes articles for social networking sites.
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