Wednesday July 29, 11:15 AM

Anger after Bible defaced in British gallery

Christians voiced anger and dismay on Tuesday (local time) after a Bible, which was part of an exhibition inviting viewers to add their reflections, was defaced with offensive, foul-mouthed scrawl.

Glasgow's Gallery of Modern Art has decided to put the Bible in a glass case after the exhibit - called Untitled 2009 and part of a show entitled Made In God's Image - was vandalised.

Artist Jane Clarke, a minister at the Metropolitan Community Church, asked visitors to annotate the Bible with stories and reflections, as a way of making it more inclusive.

But visitors to the gallery took the invitation a bit further than she had anticipated.

"This is all sexist pish, so disregard it all," wrote one person, while another described the Bible as "the biggest lie in human history". A third wrote: "Mick Jagger and David Bowie belong in here."

On the first page of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, someone had written: "I am Bi, Female and Proud. I want no god who is disappointed in this."

Clarke said: "I had hoped that people would show respect for the Bible, for Christianity and indeed for the Gallery of Modern Art. I am saddened that some people have chosen to write offensive messages.

"Writing our names in the margins of a Bible was to show how we have been marginalised by many Christian churches, and also our desire to be included in God's love.

"As a young Christian, I was encouraged by my church to write my own insights in the margins of the Bible I used for my daily devotions - this was an extension of that idea."

On Tuesday, over 100 people gathered outside the gallery to protest at what they said was vandalism.

Letitia Reid, a housewife from Glasgow, said the Bible should not be desecrated.

"As a Christian I am offended by this because Christians hold the Bible to be sacred. For it to be publicly defiled in this way is very offensive," she said.

- AFP

"Why are so many people leaving City New Life...?"

The question I was asked on Sunday morning as I was talking to an old friend in a shop in town.

"Why are so many people leaving City New Life...?"

I was shoe shopping with Kate, (Kate was actually shopping, I was just tagging along...) the girl behind the counter was asking the question because she had seen so many people leave Majestic over the years and was curious to what I thought.

I shared that possibly one of the reasons I believed people were leaving Majestic was because the church's ethos and vision was not compatible with that which Jesus shared during his ministry 2000 years ago.

She also shared that because she worked in a quite fashionable shoe shop, she was able to purchase shoes for half the retail value, meaning she had over 40 pairs of shoes. Most of which would have been over $100 each.

I thought about this question a little more when I got home, and I wondered how she would have felt if I challenged her on how many shoes she owned and could she justify them in the face of the thousands of local children who go to school each day without breakfast and lunches. (And even shoes...)

The reason I thought that question was probably a challenging one was because in an Image and Luxury styled church, sacrificing some of the more pleasurable things in life for the needs of the poor and vulnerable, to meet real and practical needs was not a high priority. The issue of social justice was further down the priority list that the attraction and promises and indulgences offered from the core values of the church itself.

Challenge:

How do I stop myself falling into the same trap?
How do I lead NABC away from the same trap?

Blaa blaa blaa...

First post in 3 months... What did you expect...