more people offended - who would think

Here in the US, our freedoms get stripped from us ever so slightly that we don't realize it is happening. Well, most people don't. We have become a nation that is so blinded that we never stop to realize the freedoms that are enjoyed by others.

A prestigious religious art competition in Sydney, Australia has stirred up quite the controversy with this (among others) image.




Might I first congratulate the artist! By stirring up such debates, you are for certain headed towards a successful future as such. And although I wouldn't choose to decorate my home with this piece I do truly appreciate it. The fact that it has stirred so many emotions proves it a success.

As with most controversy, it is religion based. For some reason this subject remains taboo in a world of everything goes...which is ridiculous to me.

Those yelling the loudest over this work are those offended by the relationship between Osama and Jesus Christ. That is funny to me. Every Sunday people put on their Sunday best (actually I don't think they put the effort forth anymore) and go sit among others who believe that they will be saved because they believe and then go home and beat their children, cheat on their spouses, lie, steal and abuse themselves.

What exactly do they believe? Well... That Jesus Christ loves every one of us, good or bad. That God created us all in His image. That we should not judge others, as He will judge us. That we were all given free will. And whatever else they are told they have to believe.

So what if an artist has depicted Osama bin Laden in a double print that morphs into Jesus. So what. If we believe what we preach then these are the facts:
- Jesus loves Osama bin Laden
- he (Osama bin Laden) has a soul, just like everyone else created in His image
- he (Osama bin Laden) will be judged in death, just like everyone else
- he (Osama bin Laden) has made choices, mostly bad, but they are his choices to make

FREEDOM OF SPEECH - The word speech in the First Amendment has been extended to a generous sense of "expression" -- verbal, non-verbal, visual, symbolic. It is bad enough when government gets in the way of this (and other) so-called freedom, now we are turning on each other.

We have been told what to think, believe, do, say and support for so long that when an independent thinker comes along, he/she is condemned...by all of the hypocrites, and by that I mean Catholics, and everyone else who thinks they are the perfect being.

People are offended. Offensive simply means not pleasing. Alright, so not everyone is pleased with this art image. But is their anything anywhere that doesn't offend somebody? How about if instead of Osama bin Laden the artwork had shown a more accepted, well liked respected figure...Brad Pitt or Bill Gates or Oprah or any celebrity (other than Mel Gibson of course - He's already proven to be way too controversial for those religious folks)? Would it have been as big a deal? Probably. You know why. Not because people take offense to using such an evil person when creating religious toned artwork but because people can't believe, imagine or accept the fact that we all have different opinions on what is offensive or not.

It is art. It is an expression. It is a right.


Maybe all of these critics/people wold be happier with this image?