A show that recently went on air on Adult Swim has drawn outrage from Christians because of its depiction of Jesus Christ as a foul-mouthed, pot smoking thug. Black Jesus, which started airing on August 7 in the 11 pm time slot, is a 30-minute-long comedy series produced by Aaron McGruder.
“The series finds Jesus living in present day Compton, CA on a daily mission to spread love and kindness throughout the neighborhood with the help of his small but loyal group of downtrodden followers,” a description of the broadcast from Adult Swim outlines.
When the trailer for the show portrayed Black Jesus clad in a robe and wearing sandals, as constantly using profane language and smoking weed alongside his disciples, it led to much opposition from conservative viewers. Gerald Johnson, who plays the part of Jesus in the violence-laden series, is also seen walking around with bottles of wine and beer in his hands, while repeating, “You get all the money [expletive] with me.”
Since the show went on air, Christians across America have complained about it being highly offensive and barely humorous and have demanded that Adult Swim cancel it.
“The garbage that passes for entertainment continues to disturb us. Even the three-minute trailer was too vile to watch, with multiple uses of the f-word by the actor portraying ‘Black Jesus.’ Christians and anyone who believes in respecting faith must come together to make sure this program never airs,” said Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association.
“Christians must take a stand and not be silent. Networks like Adult Swim continue to mock Christianity, and we will not stand for it. Christians should no longer sit idly by and allow this blasphemy to continue without speaking up in protest. ‘Black Jesus’ is another attempt to distort the truth about Christianity,” said Monica Cole of the group One Million Moms.
Both conservative groups have alleged that the network targeted Christianity only because Christians are perceived as tolerant individuals. They went on to say that the channel would not have dared to make a similar series mocking Islam in fear of violent reactions.
“There is no way that this show would be aimed at the Jewish or Muslim community. We are demanding an immediate retraction of this show and a public apology to the Christian community at large. ... We will fight this and any other program that seeks to demean our values, our Savior and our beliefs,” wrote Pastor David Rodgers in a letter to Turner Broadcasting, the parent company of the channel that airs Black Jesus.
AFA as well as One Million Moms are campaigning for Christians in the country to demand that Turner Broadcasting cancel the show.
Photo Credits: Charisma News
