The Devil Incarnate; the BBC?

[Heurismus]

Opinion Piece: The BBC is the ‘Devil’?

I need not remind you that there is a hole in God’s fence and that sheep are running wild much to the alarm of all safety conscious motorists. Yet again an incident has occurred which leaves freethinkers and rational believers wondering where it will end. But there is a sinister side to this event that shows clearly how corrosive to our culture fundamentalist Christians could become. That they may protest peacefully is their right, and that they are part of our culture is essential. But in my honest opinion their spiritually motivated assault on the BBC has left the distinct impression of an organised assault by Christianity itself. Surely that can’t be God’s wish for we are all his children and we were created in his image after all.

Well who could it be that is doing this, is it really Jesus Christ, or could it be led by some scurrilous politicos against an institution that dared to question the direction in which Archbishop Tony of Downingbury St and his crooks, sorry staff, wished to take ‘his’ British ‘flock’. I really don’t know, but the questions still arise as every day the Archdiocese of Tony’s mind seems to be loosing its grip on reality. I can’t help thinking he has just returned from consulting Pharoh, but then the satirist in me always sees connections that are not there. Whatever the ‘truth’ of this, the latest news shows that the plague of locusts is on its way and the early arrivees are already here and munching. Time to get the DDT out I think, but perhaps not just yet.
Of course the mini plague I am writing about manifested itself in a 'godly host', or mob, yelling ‘no more blasphemy’ ad nauseam outside the kingdom of darkness that the whole world knows as the British Broadcasting Corporation.

A spokesman for this ‘flash flood mob’ stated quite categorically ‘we are not for censorship? But it turns out that these locusts are attempting to censor the BBC from showing Jerry Springer-The Opera which ‘features a nappy-wearing Jesus who admits he is "a bit gay"…and which has ‘sparked a record 5500 complaints, a television watchdog said today.’

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11875336%255E1702,00.html

We now find that there have been threats against BBC staff and that a legal attempt is to be made to stop the broadcast. No censorship of course, none of these Christians would hurt a fly and they certainly aren’t lying about it either.

I would like to put one of my quotes from the BHA forum here, but there too we find a legal 'assault' to gag or hinder Britons freely associating with each other, so I can’t.
But I will merely leave you with this: when will Moshe part the Atlantic and lead his people back to the land of Fred Phelps? Please dear God take them home and put them back in their pens.

[Toto]

This is an interesting issue that always seems to come up around publicly funded art.

Is the objection to the program based on blasphemy or some general sense of decency? Or can the two be separated? The obscenities in the play would not allow it to be shown on American TV as is.

Jerry Springer the Opera website (http://www.jerryspringertheopera.com/jerry_opera.html)

Here's Reuters (http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=650463) on the issue:

Christian protesters have set fire to their television licences outside the BBC's London offices as outrage spread over the public broadcaster's plans to air a profanity-laden musical.

In the award-winning London show "Jerry Springer -- The Opera", viewers can watch a diaper fetishist confess all to his true love, catch a tap dance routine by the Ku Klux Klan and see Jesus and the Devil locked in a swearing match.

Michael Reid, a pastor and self-styled bishop who organised the peaceful demonstration ahead of the airing on Saturday evening, called the musical "filth".

"The use of foul language together with mocking Jesus Christ and portraying him wearing a nappy with sequins is highly offensive to Christians and we felt that it was totally wrong," he told Reuters on Friday.

He said the BBC would not risk upsetting minority faiths like Islam or Buddhism.

"Because we are Christians they think we are fair game for any insults," he added after dozens of people burned licences.

The spat, which has made front page news in the tabloid press, comes less than a month after hundreds of angry Sikh protesters stormed a theatre in Birmingham and forced it to scrap a play depicting sexual abuse in a Sikh temple.


Other Christians like the play (http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/news_syndication/article_05017springer.shtml)

Get a life over Jerry Springer opera, say Christians -07/01/05

As some Christians burn their TV licences in protest, Christians connected with the West End hit Jerry Springer – The Opera have hit back at claims by church and media pressure groups that the show is blasphemous and should be banned from the BBC.

"Believe me, this show would never have got to where it is today if it was simply about blasphemy and bad language," actor David Soul (who plays Springer) told BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning. “I'm a Christian and I certainly don't see it as blasphemy at all.�

BBC Director Mark Thompson, who is facing unprecedented pressure to cancel tomorrow night’s screening, added: “I am a practising Christian but there is nothing in this which I believe to be blasphemous.�

. . .

During the musical’s second half Springer, castigated for the ordeals his guests suffer gets to interrogate Satan, Christ, Adam and Eve, the Virgin Mary and God about who is really to blame for the mess of the world. In the resulting row God wryly sings, “It Ain’t Easy to Be Me.�

But Springer absolves himself of the chaos he convenes, backing his mantra “I don't solve problems, I just televise them� with the claim “There is no wrong or right. Everything is holy.�

. . .

Guardian columnist Giles Fraser, who is vicar of Putney and lecturer in philosophy at Wadham College Oxford told Ekklesia that he hasn’t seen Jerry Springer – The Opera. But on the general issue he commented: “I'm offended by the implication that, as a Christian, I am a humourless over-sensitive wimp whose faith requires special protection. I'm offended by always being classed alongside the offended.�

[JGL53]

"Believe me, this show would never have got to where it is today if it was simply about blasphemy and bad language," actor David Soul (who plays Springer) told BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning. “I'm a Christian and I certainly don't see it as blasphemy at all.�

David Soul, who plays jesus in the play, is a christian. He says that the show is not blasphemous.

Well, fuck - that's good enough for me. Unless god comes down out of heaven and says otherwise, that should bloody well settle it. The protesters should just bugger off - and maybe go find a nice quiet garden in which to bang their bibles or hump each other or whatever.

[Pantera]

Is the objection to the program based on blasphemy or some general sense of decency? Or can the two be separated? The obscenities in the play would not allow it to be shown on American TV as is.

I suspect that it’s a bit of both, combined with a significant not-very-hidden agenda behind some of the ringleaders. Certainly some Christian groups over here are reasonably good at mobilising their members to complain to TV stations about anything they deem to be offensive, and alledgedly blasphemous porgrammes do often recieve numerous complaints (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3327039.stm).

However, one of the other main driving forces behind the protests appears to be The Sun newspaper (owner: Rupert Murdoch), which is Britain’s most downmarket, and therefore best-selling, tabloid. Some relevant articles

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005010636,00.html

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005010645,00.html

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,31-2005010512,00.html

This story needs to be seen in the context of a long-running vendetta against the BBC on the part of the Murdoch press in general and The Sun in particular, which is not unrelated to the fact that the BBC is one of the major competitors to Murdoch’s Sky TV. The BBC’s royal charter is up for renewal soon, and at issue is whether the corporation should continue to be funded by the TV licence fee (effectively a tax on TV sets), or whether it should have to make some or all of its money by the usual commercial routes. Murdoch would obviously prefer the latter, and in the run-up to the decision we can expect a lot more stories and campaigns aiming to cast the BBC in as poor a light as possible.

Anyway, the Sun’s articles seem to concentrate less on the alledged blasphemy than on the fact that the show allegedly contains 8000 swear-words. Incidentally that is a dishonest claim as well as an absurd one - apparently the number was arrived at by multiplying the number of swear-words in a song by the number of people singing it.

Here's the BBC website's own take on the matter

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4147801.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4152433.stm

[Toto]

Another article (http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/80256E4E00384246/httpPublicPages/102072589335173D80256F810048164A?opendocument)

{EA = Evangelical Alliance (http://www.eauk.org/index.html) }

The EA’s head of theology, the Revd Dr David Hilborn, who saw the stage show before Christmas for the organisation, said that the musical was "massively" more foul-mouthed than the original television programme it sought to parody. It was "quite transparently blasphemous", he said.

Yet it was also clever and literate. "Indeed, the very professionalism and artistry which has won it so many awards make it the more disturbing phenomenon from a Christian point of view," he said in a review published on the EA website on Wednesday.

. . .

Mark Dunnington, a member of EA, said: “The Christian community should not stand by and let this happen, especially in the light of the protest by the Sikh community about the Sikh play in Birmingham.�



So they can't let the heathen Sikhs get one up on them in the censorship department. :rolleyes:

[Heurismus]

He also implied that 1 million Christians equaled 74% of the population; I'll leave you to decide the levels this man will descend to in his 'me'ssianic crusade.

But here for your delectation is part of a proud policy statement; again I leave you to make your own minds up.

Anyway the Christian Crusaders have The Rapid Response Unit??? Which this 'flash flood mob' belong to. And don't forget, Today Britain Tomorrow the World.

Task Force Plans

Perhaps the most important of these was the new unit set up under the leadership of Dr. David Hilborn to prepare short statements on issue of urgent concern facing evangelicals around the world. Called the 'Rapid Response Unit', this group will draw on the expertise of people in various countries when major, immediate, theological matters of relevance to evangelicals on the global scale surface, especially in the form of requests from the WEA constituency or its leadership. Matters of concern should be addressed to the WEA International Office in the first instance. Offers and nominations of names of people with suitable expertise, interest and ability in this kind of work are invited. (Please contact Dr. Hilborn direct at the UK Evangelical Alliance)

http://www.worldevangelical.org/tn1003.html

[MollyMac]

The latest poll from the BBC's Religion and Ethics section:

Is the BBC right to broadcast Art programmes which could offend those with a
religious belief?

Here. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/news/)

[Heurismus]

:mad: 10:06pm (UK)
BBC Bosses under Protection after Springer Opera Threats

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3978087

'A BBC spokesman said tonight: “Roly and a number of other BBC staff and their families have been the subject of a large number of abusive and unpleasant calls.�

Private telephone numbers of those concerned were posted on a campaign group’s website.' :mad: :mad: :mad:

[Ninasgrandpa]

Well, I thought it was funny.

[Bold]

Yes, I was ROFL.

And I can't see that it was that offensive to Christianity. OK, so (a fictional) Jesus admits being 'a bit gay'. What does it mean to be a 'bit' gay anyway? Like Julian Clary??? (A camp but straight comic)

And he wasn't wearing a nappy (diaper) - it was more like a satin loincloth. But the same actor was wearing a nappy in the first half.


The director and co-writer is Stuart Lee of, if you remember, Lee and Herring - This Morning with Richard Not Judy - a daytime TV spoof comedy show with excellent religious satire.

[Anglican]

The director and co-writer is Stuart Lee of, if you remember, Lee and Herring - This Morning with Richard Not Judy - a daytime TV spoof comedy show with excellent religious satire.

"Ahhh... but consider the lily!"

[Heurismus]

"Ahhh... but consider the lily!" :notworthy

Thanks guys, I'm still smarting a little.

I'm not seeing threats that aren't there, but having encountered some very very strange 'Christian' groups from Northamptonshire down to Sussex these idiots don't realise that this is precisely not the time to assault the state with their pathetic march on immorality. They are automata for another group which is co-ordinating a sustained crusade against us heathen British.

I did turn back on to the programme and found what remained entertaining and under normal circumastances I would have watched to find out what the bruhaha was all about. But I couldn't when I found this out...

'A senior manager, who did not wish to be named, told The Sunday Telegraph that a number of small children received the phone threats.

He said some threats were made during the three-minute silence for the tsunami victims.'

Obviosly calculated to show their brand of 'Christianity' with its Phelpsian thrust, their accounts and financiers should be monitored, like using congregtions to buy houses, gaining charitable tax breaks and then selling them on to finance further attacks on a secular society. The fact that they are barmy doesn't belie the fact that they are very shrewd and certainly look down their noses on Muslims and Hindu's-I've heard their slurs, even against Black Christians of Caribbean origin, and as far as I'm concerned incitement to religious hatred is part of their tactics, to stir up further discontent. 'And some Muslims' I'd like to know who?

This is what Hilborn said... “Dr Beckford has a stereotypical view of evangelism. He seems to imply that fundamentalism and evangelism is the same thing and that simply is not true.� Mr Hilborn said. He added: “It is fine for Dr Beckford to make a programme about his own personal journey in terms of examining the Bible, but when you are talking as academic, standards of research and balance need to be met. I hope his new documentary shows a higher level of balance than his previous one.� Well it did and it was a good programme. But here is one source...

http://www.blackbritain.co.uk/News/details.aspx?i=1078&c=uk&h=Robert+Beckford+Defends+Controversial+New+Documentary

The fact that honest academics are targets too is beyond the pale for me.

[MollyMac]

I have just received this message from a felllow member of an egroup I belong to and am pasting it here it case anyone wants to follow suit"

The religious right have orchestrated this campaign against the BBC
showing "Jerry Springer the Opera".
Why don't we orchestrate a campaign supporting the BBC in its
stance.

Can all members of this group call the BBC Duty Office on
08700 100 222
to complement the BBC on its stance against the religious right.

I used to work there and I know that every call will be logged and a
report circulated all round senior management at the BBC.

[Lucretius]

I didn't watch this show on TV and doubt I would ever go the the theatre to watch it ,but what I found funny was the Christians complaining that Jesus is shown "wearing a nappy" ,which turns out to be a loincloth
Have NONE of these Christians ever looked at a a statue of Jesus on the cross ?
Certainly looks like a nappy/loincloth to me :)
And again he uses the word "gay" ,gay can mean according to it's original meaning happy so maybe it's the Christians who are putting their sexual connotation on this :)

[Heurismus]

I didn't watch this show on TV and doubt I would ever go the the theatre to watch it ,but what I found funny was the Christians complaining that Jesus is shown "wearing a nappy" ,which turns out to be a loincloth
Have NONE of these Christians ever looked at a a statue of Jesus on the cross ?
Certainly looks like a nappy/loincloth to me :)
And again he uses the word "gay" ,gay can mean according to it's original meaning happy so maybe it's the Christians who are putting their sexual connotation on this :)

Repressed sexuality is certainly a factor in this, but I'm not qualified to comment on something I haven't fully examined yet. And I have been researching this aspect, including paedophilia attached to religion, for several years.

The point here is not to scandalise, but genuinely look at the roots of child abuse throughout history, and not just in religion. The human mind repressed can manifest some of the most abhorrent actions in the deluded, nay insane, notions that a giant human in the sky wants to smack you everytime you disagree or try to break free. Hellhouses TM and 'Christianity' TM are but one aspect of the 'monolithic confusion' of belief and they are in effect calculated to destroy people's minds. However I digress, your observations are relevant and are outward signs of the irrationality of hatreds now being generated by these 'village idiots'.

PS Thanks Molly for the contact info.

[Ninasgrandpa]

I have just received this message from a felllow member of an egroup I belong to and am pasting it here it case anyone wants to follow suit"
The religious right have orchestrated this campaign against the BBC
showing "Jerry Springer the Opera".
Why don't we orchestrate a campaign supporting the BBC in its
stance.

Can all members of this group call the BBC Duty Office on
08700 100 222
to complement the BBC on its stance against the religious right.

I used to work there and I know that every call will be logged and a
report circulated all round senior management at the BBC.


Done

[MollyMac]

Done
Cheers. When I called I got a nice chatty lady who mentioned that since it was broadcast there's been an equal number of calls praising the BBC for broadcasting it as there has been calls complaining about it.

[Heurismus]

Cheers. When I called I got a nice chatty lady who mentioned that since it was broadcast there's been an equal number of calls praising the BBC for broadcasting it as there has been calls complaining about it.
Well I talked to a very nice, but rather phased sounding Scotsman, so thank you Molly. Especially now the likely British death toll in the Aceh disaster is unfortunately expected to be over 1 thousand. I'm really proud that these are my fellow countrymen and women who were making obscene phone calls during the Europe wide 3 minute silence.
Forgive them Lord for they know not what they do. And this is a very special message to our beloved countryman The very very reverant Dr. David Hilborn,

For the children and families your followers threatened and to the memory of all who died in the Aceh disaster; Dum Tacent Clamant!

[Albion]

I'm not seeing threats that aren't there, but having encountered some very very strange 'Christian' groups from Northamptonshire down to Sussex these idiots don't realise that this is precisely not the time to assault the state with their pathetic march on immorality. They are automata for another group which is co-ordinating a sustained crusade against us heathen British.

Which group do you mean by "other group"?

[Heurismus]

Which group do you mean by "other group"?

Firstly I will ask what your interest is in this?
Secondly, the 'group' I refer to is in the thread.
Thirdly, I will ask what is your opinion?

I am a member of wider organisation looking into the phenomena which we are now observing, and the fact remains that there is a psychological war being played out beneath the surface. Not conspiracy theory, but observed fact. Any agent provocateur who attempts to muddy the waters will be ignored as there are some very serious consequences attached, and legal ones at that.

[Clutch]

It's easy to forget just how huge the furball over Life of Brian was in the U.K.

The Brits produce some of the most scathing and unconstrained satire ever; but then once in a while they surprise you with spasms of panicked propriety on a national scale.

[Heurismus]

It's easy to forget just how huge the furball over Life of Brian was in the U.K.

The Brits produce some of the most scathing and unconstrained satire ever; but then once in a while they surprise you with spasms of panicked propriety on a national scale.

You are right we don't generally panic over furballs, they naturally get coughed up and become great moments in the history of comedy like LoB, now a worldwide favourite. The propriety is about keeping the varieties of Christian god out of the equation in order to protect other religions from a 'moral supremacy' that doesn't exist. 1 million Christians amounting to 74% of the population is an absolutely absurd claim and propaganda like this from the 'storm troopers' of 'Christian' theology should be countered. We will not allow religious bigotry to limit the freedom of speech in this country. If it ever happened our society would be as repressive as that of Charles Bradlaugh's day.

Here is the latest bulletin from the National Secular Society ( not the 'normal schutze staffeln') :)

As you will see it is very comprehensive and contains contrary viewpoints too.

http://www.secularism.org.uk/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=205&Itemid=28