A new Netflix Christmas Special titled ‘The First Temptation Of Christ’, which shows Jesus Christ in a gay relationship and Mary as a weed-smoker, has
A new Netflix Christmas Special titled ‘The First Temptation Of Christ’, which shows Jesus Christ in a gay relationship and Mary as a weed-smoker, has angered millions all over the world, who have signed a petition demanding its withdrawal.
‘The First Temptation Of Christ’ was created by Brazil-based YouTube comedy group, Porta dos Fundos (which translates to Back Door). The 46-minute Christmas Special depicts a weed-smoking Mary, and shows how Jesus comes home to attend his birthday party with a male friend.
So far, about 1.8 million people have signed an online petition calling on Netflix to remove the piece and take action against the producers for their ‘alleged insensitivity toward Christians.’ The film sees Jesus and a friend named Orlando arriving at Mary and Joseph’s house who are throwing a birthday party for their son. Jesus tries to downplay his relationship with Orlando, who hints the pair are more than just friends.
The movie description on Netflix reads: “Jesus, who’s hitting the big 3-0, brings a surprise guest to meet the family. A Christmas special so wrong, it must be from comedians Porta dos Fundos.”
Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of conservative Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, took to social media to denounce the satirical special. He wrote: “We support freedom of expression, but is it worth attacking the belief of 86 percent of the population?
Marco Feliciano, a conservative evangelical pastor who is president of the Brazilian Legislature’s Commission on Human Rights and Minorities, tweeted his disdain for the special.
“Christians and non-Christians have asked me to take action against the irresponsible members of Porta dos Fundo. It’s time we took a collective action — churches and all good people — to put an end to this,” the tweet reads in English.
The petition had yet to reach its goal of 3 million signatures by Monday afternoon. One commenter — who claimed to cancel their Netflix subscription entirely in protest — wrote: “No one is obliged to believe in Jesus Christ, but we demand respect for our beliefs. Whoever disrespects my God does not deserve my money.”
Henrique Soares da Costa, the Catholic bishop of Palmares, called for Christians to cancel their Netflix subscriptions.
Porta dos Fundos, which has more than 16 million YouTube subscribers, hasn’t been fazed by the criticism. Instead, it tweeted out a second petition calling the special “tragic” and “sad.”
“Porta dos Fundos values artistic freedom and humor through satire on the most diverse cultural themes of our society and believes that freedom of expression is an essential construction for a democratic country,” the group, which has produced religious satires for years, said in a statement.
The group’s last Christmas special, “The Last Hangover,” won the International Emmy Award for best comedy web television special.
Similarly, Aposte Johnson Suleman, the general overseer of Omega Fire Ministries, has called on Christians to unsubscribe and delete their accounts on Netflix, an American streaming service, over its movie that depicted Jesus Christ as a closeted homosexual.
In a series of tweets on Sunday, the cleric rallied all true Christians to delete their Netflix accounts in his condemnatory tirade.
“Delete Netflix app on your system. Unfollow them if you are a true Christian. The movie ‘gay Jesus’ is an insult to Christianity and abuse to our sensibilities. We stand to condemn it and all it stands for. Mad people,” he wrote.
He also urged all believers of Christ on earth to boycott the movie-streaming giant if they go ahead with the “rubbish”.
“We have 2.5 billion Christians on earth, if Netflix goes ahead with this rubbish, we should boycott them. That movie is evil, it’s not right and it will not stand,” he wrote.
The pastor also predicted the fall of Netflix by saying the release of the movie is the beginning of its end.
“The glory of present-day cinema is Netflix. But since they have decided to blaspheme, its crash is inevitable. You want to do a film ‘gay Jesus’? Its the beginning of your end. We are not cowards cause we are tolerant,” he added.
Also, former presidential aide, Reno Omokri called on all Christ lovers to delete the Netflix app in protest to their insensitivity.
“If Netflix releases the gay Jesus film, I urge all #RenosNuggeteers around the world to delete the Netflix app and cancel their subscription. If you fail to do this, you can’t claim to love Christ, His Father, or me, their servant. The other day, a misguided woman used Scripture as an ashtray. Now, Netflix, a film about a gay Jesus. Would they do that to the Quran? Do NOT take advantage of Christian’s tolerance. We choose non-violence. Not that we can’t be violent!”
