Netflix has just released a “gay Jesus” Christmas special called The First Temptation of Christ.
The Brazilian comedy group Porta dos Fundos (which literally translates to “back door”) appears to have a real hang-up about our Lord and Christianity in general. Last December the group released The Last Hangover on Netflix, a movie that blends Christ’s Last Supper with his disciples and The Hangover into a night of drunken debauchery where Jesus disappears.
This year, in this new Christmas special, Jesus turns 30 and brings his gay boyfriend home to meet Mary and Joseph.
Already, 1.14 million Brazilians have signed a Change.org petition asking Netflix to remove the movie.
Here’s a reviewer’s description:
The setup is that Jesus (Gregório Duvivier) attends his 30th birthday surprise party with his boyfriend Orlando (Fábio Porchat). The party, thrown by José (Rafael Portugal) and Maria (Evelyn Castro), has a number of high-profile biblical guests, including God (Antonio Tabet), which prompts plenty of debate about parental rights and responsibilities as Christ grapples not just with his parentage but with his own spiritual journey.
The real story here is how Christians are reacting… Some are signing petitions, others are praying for the souls of all involved, most of us are rolling our eyes and moving on with our lives — because that’s what Christians do. We don’t lop off people’s heads, which is why it is always open season on us, which is to our credit.
Personally, I wouldn’t sign a petition or call for a ban on this — or anything. If you want to live in a free society and country, you have to grow a thick enough skin not to care about this stuff. But that doesn’t mean I’m not taking notes…
If you’re a satirist, you satirize everyone equally.
If you’re a bigot, you single certain groups out for mockery and place others off limits.
In this way, lazy, cowardly garbage like The First Temptation of Christ is useful — it exposes who the bigots are, and if this so-called comedy troupe wants to produce a “Gay Mohammed” special for Ramadan and Netflix wants to stream it, I will take it all back.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.