Germany Bible museum stages play featuring transgender Jesus, enraging conservatives
The Frankfurt-based Bibelhaus Erlebnis Museum also set up an exhibit claiming there are LGBTQ themes in biblical studies.
Just in time for the “War on Christmas,” conservatives are outraged over an exhibit at a Bible museum in Germany that claimed there are LGBTQ themes in Biblical studies, and hosted a performance of a play presenting Jesus as a transgender female.
The special exhibit, “G*tt w/m/d,” first opened in June and recently closed on Dec. 19 at the Bibelhaus Erlebnis Museum, exploring “the diversity of gender identities from biblical and modern times.”
Three parts of the exhibit advertised on the Bibelhaus website include a statue of the goddess Asherah, an image of “The New Adam” imposed over an LGBTQ rainbow flag, and a statue of Conchita Wurst, the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest champion and the drag queen persona of Austrian singer Thomas Neuwirth.
“Even in biblical times 3,000 years ago it was clear: The fertility of the soil, animals and people depends on the gods,” the exhibit’s blurb on Asherah reads. “A deity can do both — beget and give birth.”
The museum also notes that figures of Asherah could be found in many households within Judea and Samaria, in part due to the various deities that were worshipped by different empires — Assyrians, Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, and others — who conquered what is now present-day Israel, the birthplace of Jesus.
Regarding “The New Adam,” the museum’s description of the exhibit reads: “Created in God’s image, Adam is the blueprint for each of us. What does that reveal about people in themselves, about God and much more importantly: about ourselves? The alchemists of the Middle Ages found a beguiling answer: God’s image is both male and female, in the origin, when it all began, and finally in the future.”
The Bibelhaus also hosted the play The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven, a play written by the English transgender author Jo Clifford, in which biblical stores are “reimagined by a transgender Jesus,” on Dec. 15.
“I had been brought up a a Christian and taught that when you’re unsure of what to do, you should try to think, ‘What would Jesus do?’ I thought, ‘Well, what would Jesus do if Jesus came back to earth now and was me, a trans woman? What would she do and what would she say?'” Clifford said in a 2019 interview explaining the origins of the play.
While the exhibit has been open since the summer, conservatives have all too eager to pounce on the condemnation train, noting the proximity of when the play was performed to Christmas.
Evangelist Franklin Graham, the president of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, balked at the very concept behind the exhibit.
“The idea that there is a LGBTQ theme in the Bible is a lie. When homosexuality is mentioned in the Bible, it is sin—rebellion against God and associated with His judgment,” Graham, the son of the late televangelist Billy Graham, told Fox News. “Any suggestion that Jesus Christ is transgender is not only false, it’s just sick. This is simply man trying to bring God down to his own level.”
Related: Brazilian comedy troupe behind “gay Jesus” Netflix special is fire-bombed by right-wing group
“The Bible doesn’t leave any confusion or uncertainty over how God has revealed Himself to us,” Graham added. “This is why any effort to describe Jesus Christ as transgender must be condemned as a profane perversion of the Scriptures.”
Other conservatives also blasted the museum’s choice to house the exhibit, calling it blasphemous. Ken Ham, the CEO and founder of the conservative Christian organization Answers in Genesis, which operates the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter, tweeted: “It’s an ‘Anti Bible Museum.'”
He then quoted the Bible, writing: “‘Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons’ (1 Timothy 4:1).”
It's an 'Anti Bible Museum.' "Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons" (1 Timothy 4:1). https://t.co/6qc6Ep2ZVY
— Ken Ham (@aigkenham) December 19, 2021
Lt. Steven Rogers, a former Republican candidate for governor of New Jersey, former police officer, and Fox News guest commentator, tweeted: “These people have lost their minds…. A Bible museum in Germany hosted a play that presents a transgender Jesus Christ as a male who identifies as female. Warning: An assault on man is one thing; an assault on GOD, HE will deal with them.”
These people have lost their minds. Media:A Bible museum in Germany hosted a play that presents a transgender Jesus Christ as a male who identifies as female. Warning: An assault on man is one thing; an assault on GOD, HE will deal with them.-Lt
— Lt Steven Rogers (R-NJ) (@LtStevenRogers) December 17, 2021
Another Twitter user wrote: “This issue isn’t going away soon, and it isn’t limited to sports. Church leaders need to be prepared to give an answer.”
This issue isn't going away soon, and it isn't limited to sports. Church leaders need to be prepared to give an answer.
Germany Bible museum puts on play presenting Jesus as transgender, weeks before Christmas https://t.co/X84t42YRcR #FoxNews
— Adam McClendon (@Adam_McClendon) December 17, 2021
See also:
Mr. Gay World 2021 gives up title, accuses competition of “unlawful” conduct
Chris Pappas, gay New Hampshire congressman, gets engaged to boyfriend
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
