Well, They Did Say Jesus Was Hung on a Cross… April 15, 2010

Well, They Did Say Jesus Was Hung on a Cross…

By Guest Contributor
April 15, 2010

This painting of a crucified Jesus at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Oklahoma is making some people really upset.

I can’t understand why…

Artist Janet Jaime modeled the art after the San Damiano Cross:

See? Just abs.

But that’s not stopping others from seeing what they want to see:

Molly Jenkins said she attended a funeral at the church recently and immediately noticed the crucifix.

“I was appalled at the sexualization of Christ,” said Jenkins, who is not Catholic.

…

The crucifix hanging at St. Charles Borromeo resembles other San Damiano crucifixes except for Jesus’s abdominal area, which is noticeably more pronounced than on similar crucifixes.

I find it hilarious that this is the first non-child-raping story I’ve heard about the Catholic Church in weeks… and it’s still about a penis.

(Thanks to Kimberly for the link!)

Previous Post
An Atheist's Memorial Service
Next Post
Officially Leaving the Catholic Church: The First Attempt
Browse Our Archives
What Are Your Thoughts?leave a comment
  • Kimpatsu

    I find it hilarious that this is the first non-child-raping story I’ve heard about the Catholic Church in weeks… and it’s still about a penis.
    IOW, the RCC is full of dicks…

  • Tim

    Priceless.

  • I don’t see what all the fuss is about. Its just a little S&M, Christian style. There’s nothing new about that. Though I’m more into Leather Nuns myself.

  • codemenkey

    ah ha! now i know why they call it a glory hole…

  • Slickninja

    I think I finally understand the Passions of Christ…

  • Okay. Jesus was a man. Therefore, he had a penis and testicles. Grow up, pearl clutchers.

  • Gary Parsons

    What gives ? Two different pictures . First picture , Four people under his arms . In second pic , five people under his arms . Still , I think artist meant to draw abs . But would like to see a close-up of first pic for myself .

  • codemenkey

    some people just have a hard time appreciating art.

  • Lifer

    I didn’t even notice it until I saw the second picture and did a comparison.

  • Parse

    Well, I’ve heard of Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior, and Jesus Christ, Vampire Hunter, so I guess Jesus Christ, Porn Star, isn’t that far off.

    (I mean, seriously. If he were really that… well-endowed… I’m sure he would have at least considered it.)

  • Deiloh

    The King of Glory indeed!

  • Alex

    I wish I had abs like that!

  • codemenkey

    @Parse: credits include: holey communion, the second coming…

  • As an illustrator, I say that the criticsa are not just “seeing what they want to see”. While it was likely unintentional, the artist screwed up and made a penis and scrotum. Artists should always step back for just a moment and view their work upside down, in a mirror or at least from afar.

    Though it’s still not as bad as the designer of the Arlington Pediatric Center logo, though.

  • SoonerHumanist

    Maybe it’s just me, but if I were a Catholic I’d be more worried about the glorification of masochism that the crucifix represents than about the illusory, possible, maybe presence of a penis and scrotum which you really have to be looking for to notice.

    Of course, seeing as I have the ability to spot masochism and am willing to call it what it is, I wouldn’t be a Catholic or even a Christian in the first place.

  • Isn’t an erection a usual effect of a death via crucifixion (asphyxia)?

  • Thegoodman

    Wow, did you see the proportions on that thing? No wonder he was a leader. That guy was walking around with truly epic proportions of swagger.

  • Greg

    SoonerHumanist – glad to see it’s not just me.

    My first thought when I saw the picture was it must have been something about showing too much blood or something.

    Hmmm – I’m sure someone will take that sentence the wrong way… 🙂

    I think anyone that sees a penis and a scrotum is obviously either sexually repressed, or sexually obsessed.

    😉

  • Andrew

    This just shows how backwards Oklahoma is: in 2010, they’re still making Byzantine-style crosses. Giorgio Vasari is rolling in his ultra-biased grave.

  • Jeff B.

    sexual repression and sexual obsession go hand in hand. In the case of the church, large priest hand in small alter boy’s hand

  • Aguz

    Man, I took me a loooong time to see what was supposedly “wrong” with the picture. People have some dirty minds. And catholics are the worst of them all apparently.

  • Siamang

    I guess prudes have dirty imaginations.

  • False Prophet

    American Protestants have zero appreciation for religious art that isn’t schmaltzy kitsch. That’s the one concession I’ll make to my Catholic upbringing–the art & architecture were always impressive. You do find that in older, mainline Protestant denominations, but definitely not these evangelicals and their mall-like megachurches.

  • well, if that is supposed to be Jesus’s junk, then he better get himself to a doctor or start doing porn. Jesus is hung.

    Sasquatch Jesus

  • I find it hilarious that this is the first non-child-raping story I’ve heard about the Catholic Church in weeks… and it’s still about a penis.

    I was able to keep from laughing until I got to this line. Now I have hummus up my nose. Thanks, a bunch, Hemant. 😉

  • Gar 67

    Hey What gives , Pictures are not the same . Pic one has four people under his arms . Pic two has five people . But even with that said , artist must have meant to draw abs . I would to like to be able to see a larger pic of the first pic for myself . I think artist is just a bad artist . ( how could you miss that )

    I hate to think someone was trying to pull a fast one here .That would only prove to make Atheist look bad .

  • Damond

    Lmao this is classic!!!

  • inmyhead9

    I think that it looks like a bunny. Now I have the Peter Cotton Tail stuck in my head and that is wrong in many ways. 😀

  • Miki

    Yeah, but why was no one concerned with the small pox on his knees?

  • Howiestun

    When Jesus comes – i won’t swallow.

  • idioteque

    These folks obviously have too much time on their hands. Funny, I kept looking at the icon and couldn’t see what was so terrible until the abs were mentioned– and even then I had to use a bit of imagination before it dawned on me. Sounds to me like they got too much sex on the brain…

    Good thing these upset Catholics have their priorities straight! “Idle chatter” indeed…

  • My mind obviously isn’t dirty enough. I didn’t get what the problem was until I read through the comments and saw the penis references.

    Of course, now that I’ve seen it… I can’t unsee it.

  • muggle

    He might have modeled it after the second painting but I’m willing to bet that “slight” alteration was on purpose.

    C’mon, people, who you kidding? That was way obvious. And funny as hell. I’m not that sexually obsessed.

    Are you sure this wasn’t a spoof of the original painting? It really seems that way to me. Does the original also have a skull under Jebus’ feet? It’s not shown.

    And the four people in the new painting are looking right at his, er, abs. Versus only one in the original doing so.

    I think someone conned the church instead of the other way around for once. Good one. Burn!!!

  • Damn! I now have a mental image of Jesus walking around with his flock with an erect penis. I wonder if that is how he gave the sermon on the mount…

    I must be sexually repressed because it didn’t take me long to see it. 🙂

  • Wasn’t Christ supposedly naked when he was crucified, anyway? Ok, so maybe he didn’t have a big fat boner at the time, but still, what’s the big deal?

  • ThilinaB

    seems rule 34 now includes the bible (i’m sure it already did before i just don’t want to google it to find out)

  • Ryan

    You gotta love Christians.
    They always have something to complain about.

  • turkey

    Here’s the original cross that the porny one was based on. There’s no skull under Jesus’s feet, 5 people, no one’s looking at His crotch…

  • idioteque

    So, a bit of perspective… Some Catholics have left this particular church because of what they perceive as “Jesus porn.” But many high ups in the Catholic church, including Rat-zinger himself covering up child rape isn’t so bad.

    Good to see they have their priorities straight.

  • So Jesus has a huge donkey dick and he’s the one getting nailed. What’s that about?

  • codemenkey

    Damn! I now have a mental image of Jesus walking around with his flock with an erect penis. I wonder if that is how he gave the sermon on the mount…

    didn’t the prayer go, “…thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me?”

  • JJR

    First time I saw this post, I didn’t get it. Only coming back a few days later and looking at it did it finally sink in and make me LOL.

    I guess there would be no controversy if he was flaccid, sans loincloth. I do think the artist meant those to be abs, but the expression on Jesus’ face is like “impressive, isn’t it?”

    and THAT’s what’s funny.
    Gives a whole new twist on “I am risen”
    (hat tip to D.H. Lawrence)

  • Kimberly

    The news.ok website is now reporting that the artist is going to modify the controversial crucifix. According to Mark Gilmore, a friend of the artist’s and an artist himself, the “genitalia” in the original work were “entirely accidental.” “She [the artist] is very serious about her religion and wouldn’t in the slightest possibility ever imagine wanting to sneak a pee-pee on to Jesus”!

  • CathyR

    Gary, these are two separate pictures. The top one is the crucifix in the Oklahoma church and the bottom one is the original San Damiano crucifix.
    That being said, I fail to see what all the fuss is about…Jesus was the Son of God according to scripture, and as such, he was a man (anatomy and all)! No one ever said Jesus was a eunuch. Must have been a really boring funeral service though as one could not be paying attention to anything or anyone other than this crucifix in order to discern anything “unusual” about it…but, leave it to a Bible Belt fundamentalist Protestant to make something out of nothing!

  • muggle

    Thank you, Turkey. Should have google image searched.

    Kimberly, I flat out don’t believe her. Either she’s lying (and who could blame her after the church’s anger) or she’s got some real issues going on in her subconscious.