Outside the Claremont United Methodist Church is a nativity scene with a bleeding Trayvon Martin. The California Church has turned their nativity scene "into a piece of art that comments on our times" for the last seven years.
John Zachary, the artist, told me the acquittal in July of George Zimmerman, who fatally shot the 17-year-old African-American in 2012, struck him as a worthy subject for Christmas comment.
For one thing, the backdrop to the Christmas story is the slaughter by King Herod of all infants in Bethlehem, a barbarous attempt to kill the Messiah.
Zachary described that when looking for pictures of Trayvon "one of the teenager lying dead on the pavement particularly tore at him. 'What if Jesus was lying there bleeding to death? I was kind of thinking of that,' Zachary said."
The title of the nativity "art" is called " 'A Child is Born, a Son is Given,' the wording outlined in red formed from a pool of blood at Trayvon’s feet."
The Church's pastor, Sharon Rhodes-Wickett, said the scene was hard to to look at.
"I found this year’s hard to look at. It’s hard to look at a young man who’s shot and bleeding to death. But even though I’m uncomfortable with it, that’s the point," Rhodes-Wickett said. "We have to take a look at the violence."
Response to the display has been "muted."
http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/12/26/Church-Displays-Bleeding-Trayvon-Martin-Nativity-Scene
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It is Free Speech.
Don't like it.
But truth_seeker is right. It is free speech.
The job of art is to make people think.
Exactly, and it makes this member of the public think the artist is an idiot.
For one thing, the backdrop to the Christmas story is the slaughter by King Herod of all infants in Bethlehem, a barbarous attempt to kill the Messiah.
Yes it is. We all have to deal with things we don't like to enjoy the things we do. But.... If you don't want religion in politics, don't put politics in religion.
It's a political statement in what is conventionally one of faith.
It is Free Speech.true and the answer to this fool is more free speech aka mockery and derision
It is Free Speech.
Since this church is obviously making a political statement, shouldn't lose their 501 3 c status because free speech in a church getting tax breaks is limited to statements other than political. :pondering:You may see the death of Trayvon Martin as "political" but many do not.
It is Free Speech as exercised by an abject moron, outside a Church possibly filled with abject morons.
Morons also have the right to free speech. Just ask the White House or Ms. Pelosi or Ms. Wasserman-Shultz. :tongue2:
As long as it was not paid for with public funds - what's the harm?
Given that, wouldn't it be far more appropriate to have an "artistic" work depicting a doctor performing an abortion?