'Pornographic' Jesus sculpture protested at London Shabbat service

The strangest story about Jesus and art since the chocolate messiah is this one involving a Jewish art collector in London and a statue she owns "depicting Jesus with a phallus."

An advocacy group called Christian Voice has been up in arms over the "blasphemous" and "pornographic" sculpture, and has added a clock to the top of its home page counting:

Time which billionaire Jewish art collector (and friend of the Chief Rabbi) Anita Zabludowicz has had to destroy her blasphemous, pornographic statue of Jesus Christ with a phallus attached, since getting it back from the Baltic Centre in Gateshead at 6.00pm on Saturday 20th January 2008.

Christian Voice has written letters to the chief rabbi and distributed fliers outside the synagogue as people should up for minchah last Shabbat. Christian Voice's leader explained:

“Just as the sin of Achan in taking a valuable but accursed thing from Jericho brought judgment on the whole community of Israel, so his [Mr Zabludowicz’s] actions and those of his wife, in clinging on to this valuable but accursed statue, is bringing the slur of blasphemy against the whole Jewish community.

“The rest of the council too are complicit in his and Anita’s continuing scorn for the One whom Christians hold most holy of all, and that includes the Chief Rabbi, who appears to have told them to ‘Carry on blaspheming’.”

(Hat tip: Bintel Blog)