|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| BIRTH OF A HERO? |
  Click here to see more of our Christmas stuff.   Let us know what you think of the poster on our discussion boards, or by emailing us.   How else has Jesus been pictured? For images of black Jesus, laughing Jesus and even a forensic reconstruction, visit our Faces of Jesus section. |
||||||
| Across the UK this Christmas, advertising posters will be encouraging people to think about the meaning of the season, and maybe even try going to church. But the posters don't show baby Jesus gurgling in a crib, watched over by shepherds and kings in the cosiness of a stable. Instead they show him in eye-grabbing red, and the poster is like a call to revolution. Click here to see the poster at a bigger size. The poster reads: "Dec 25th. Revolution begins. Celebrate the birth of a Hero." It's about as far from "Away in a manger" as you can get. So what's it all about? |
 |
||||||
| The revolutionary Jesus Chas Bayfield works with the Churches Advertising Network, the agency which created the poster. He explains why they abandoned the traditional image of baby Jesus in Bethlehem and went for something close to Che Guevara instead. "We wanted to take Jesus out of the nativity play and portray him as a modern day hero. The poster shows the Christ of Christmas as a baby, but also as the revolutionary he became." Chas also worked on a similar poster for Easter a few years ago, showing Jesus as a grown-up revolutionary – click here to see it. Most of the revolutionaries of the 20th century used violence to achieve their aims and caused the deaths of millions of people. So why show Jesus in revolutionary red? Says Chas Bayfield: "His attitudes and behaviour were revolutionary. He treated women with respect. He spent time with thieves, conmen, hookers and the disease-infected underclasses. He was defiant, yet loving. He was an outlaw, seen as a political agitator, a man hunted and hated by the authorities. His revolution was one of love, respect and hope. In everything he did, Christ was a revolutionary. We wanted to contrast Jesus with the revolutionaries of the 20th century, to make people reconsider what makes a person revolutionary." Tom Ambrose, who helps run the network which distributes the poster, believes that the revolutionary message of Jesus isn't something which is stuck in the past, but which continues today. He says: "The church doesn't exist to proclaim a list of 'thou shalt nots'. It exists so that people will discover the love of God and of their neighbour, and, through this shared quest and enjoyment of love, proclaim the coming of God's kingdom. It is a revolution we still need." The poster is appearing on advertising hoardings and railway stations during the Christmas season, and local churches will also be using it in their publicity for carol services and other special events. What do you think? Join in discussion on our community boards, or send us a comment by email for inclusion on this page. |
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
