A church advertisement showing Jesus with big breasts and makeup has sparked outrage among believers.
The bizarre ad for the church was released by the National Church of Iceland whereas people behind it defended the idea and insisted that the ad’s goal was to “emphasize diversity” rather than to hurt believers.
In the advertisement for Sunday School, Jesus Christ is seen wearing a dress and dancing in front of a rainbow as children are playing and singing in the background. He is also depicted with big breasts and makeup on his cheeks.
While the ad has been deleted from Facebook after it sparked outrage, it will still take weeks before it is removed from buses in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland.
Following the backlash, the National Church appeared to have defended the ad in a statement in which they insisted the image was supposed to “emphasize diversity.”
“The 2020 Assembly of the National Church regrets that the picture of Jesus in a Sunday school advertisement has hurt people. The goal was to emphasize diversity, not to hurt people or shock them,” the Church stated.
As the Church’s media representative, theologist Petur Georg Markan, claimed, it is important for Jesus to be depicted in different forms to cater to “all sorts of people” that live in the modern society.
“In this one, we see a Jesus who has breasts and a beard. We’re trying to embrace society as it is. We have all sorts of people and we need to train ourselves to talk about Jesus as being ‘all sorts’ in this context,” Markan said.
“Especially because it’s really important that each and every person see themselves in Jesus and that we don’t stagnate too much. That’s the essential message. So this is okay. It’s okay that Jesus has a beard and breasts.”
Replaced!