DJesus vs Rambo Jesus. Fake blasphemy vs. real blasphemy. Parody vs indignation. It's all here in the latest SNL controversy. Who will stand and who will fold?

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Taking the facetious portrait of Christ as a hard-line avenger and going a step further to poke fun at the style of a filmmaker may not be blasphemous, but the big CR is having none of it: for years, Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association has touted a kind of   Rambo Jesus   - a Messiah who will come back to kick ass. He's also an ardent NRA supporter and rip-snortin' vigilante. So why is his AFA (American Family Association) upset at SNL for DJesus Uncrossed? (See video below). Is he just warning SNL, or is the man actually salivating at the possibility that DU will come to pass?

Also from the AFA:

WARNING!!! This NBC video contains offensive material!!!Advertisers sponsor vicious anti-Christian skit. Probably the most anti-Christian skit in the history of television! Decide for yourself. Watch the ENTIRE video!   Click here. This e-mail will reach NBC: <Email address removed">. Companies which sponsor the on-line version of this video include: JC Penny - Penny is blocking our e-mails. Try sending an e-mail directly from your e-mail to <Email address removed">. K-Mart and Sears - owned by the same company. Send your email to   Email address removed">.Target - Call   1.800.591.3869. You can also call your local store and ask for the manager. Get involved today! Help stop the anti-Christian bias in the media. Join with 50,000 other pastors!   SIGN THE STATEMENT!   Be part of the solution, not the problem. If you have already signed, please forward this to fellow pastors.

Blasphemy Fake - Blasphemy Real

Blasphemy may be in the eye of the beholder, but when it impacts the well-being of others, it becomes a matter of national concern. In this case,does a comedy skit/video impact as many people as the portrayal of the Messiah as a deadly force to be reckoned with? 

The depth of the blasphemy and its origins have to be considered: a tangential spoof by a comedy show vs. a sincere (albeit it skewed) portrayal by a religious group promoting family values is what the Djesus Uncrossed controversy may boil down to, making groups like the AFA look more than a little hypocritical.  The scriptural passage "I come with a sword" has been used to promote the image of a vengeful Jesus, quite different from the "Meek and Mild" taught to previous generations. It is used to instill fear into the hearts of evildoers and quell any images of love and compassion. The kumbaya crowd is duly appalled, but the paranoid and self-righteous are pleased. 

Which is what groups like the AFA seem determined to do: give their people the right feel indignant and justified with the wrath of the Second Coming.   

So the point of blasphemy remains: which is fake and which is real? 

Who Will Come To SNL's Defense?

Of course, not all Christians are p*ssed off. From   Religion Dispatches :

And the award for Jesus Outrage That Totally Missed The Boat goes to the American Family Association for its   outrage   over Saturday Night Live's mockery of Quentin Tarantino. Yes guys, it's a mockery of Tarantino for the silly historical revenge fantasy kick he's been on with Inglourious Basterds and the recently released Django Unchained.

Undoubtedly, both sides of the punditry aisle will be out in full force: Bill Maher come immediately to mind, since his   Religulous   was, in its own way, blasphemous. But the force of groups like the AFA might bring some tsk-tsks from usually liberal sources. 

Whatever the backlash, it will be very, very interesting.

  For another look at "Rambo Jesus" go to this   OpEd article . 

Authors Website: http://sacredcowsmakethebesthamburgers.blogspot.com

Authors Bio:
Rev. Dan Vojir is has been writing/blogging on religion and politics for the better part of ten years. A former radio talk show host (Strictly Books €" Talk America Radio Network) and book publisher, Dan has connected with some of the most interesting people of our time: Steve Allen, William F. Buckley, Alan Ginsburg, Armisted Maupin, Anne Rice, Grace Slick, Bishop John Shelby Spong, Patricia Nell Warren, and Betty White.

He is also an ordained minister in the ULC and has studied extensively on the subject of the Bible and homosexuality. Additional articles can be read on his blog, The Devil and Dan Vojir.

Future goals and activities: a new ministry focusing on reaching personal spiritual levels without the outside influence of proselytism or evangelism called The Church of the Inner Preacher. This ministry will be included in a new website The Devil and Dan Vojir.

Vojir's main goal: to root out hypocrisy in religion and politics. "If only one person is saved from being killed or bashed by inane bigotry, then I'll have accomplished what I was put on earth to do: To Live and Help Live."
http://sacredcowsmakethebesthamburgers.blogspot.com