Great outrage among people over a dubious “art exhibition” in the diocese of Carpi in Italy. Blasphemy, according to the angry crowd’s accusations. The organizers say it was a misunderstanding and even reveal their actual motives in their official statement.
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Exhibition closed early
In Carpi, Italy, a kind of state of emergency prevailed around the local diocese of the Roman Catholic Church. An “art exhibition” took place in the church of Sant’Ignazio and was closed unscheduled last Wednesday. The exhibition was actually planned until June 2nd, but there was obviously a lack of acceptance. The paintings exhibited in the Catholic Church not only rejected the people, but even made them angry. The reason for the early closure of the exhibition was the high cost of security and the health of the “artist” Andrea Saltini (Source).
Blasphemous depiction of Jesus
The main trigger for the angry crowd was a certain image. It shows Jesus Christ completely naked, lying on the ground, and a man bends over it, his left hand on Jesus’ stomach, his right hand not visible and his head above the pubic area. You don’t need much imagination to suspect oral sex. This was obviously also the view of the outraged people who declared open protest. The diocese shows images of the “art” on its website (Source).
The main accusation made by the angry crowd was blasphemy. At the end of March, a man attacked one of the exhibits with a knife and paint spray. The “artist” Saltini was present and intervened. A scuffle ensued resulting in injuries.
Those responsible for this exhibition are ignorant of the protests. Accordingly, the particularly controversial image was not about the head of the man bending over Jesus, but rather his left hand. This hand presses against Jesus’ ribcage and is said to be the Roman centurion Longinus. According to legend, he stabbed Jesus in the side with a lance after his death. The picture shows Longinus breaking one of Jesus’ ribs.
Provoked outrage
As obviously blasphemous as this entire exhibition is, the “judicial appearance” of the outraged people is superfluous. One wonders when churchgoers in both Roman Catholic and major evangelical institutions will realize that these proclaimers of a strange message have nothing to do with the Gospel.
Whether it’s the exhibition in Italy, Jesus hanging on his head and surrounded by two skulls in St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, modeled on the Turin Cloth (Source), Austria, or the “queer exhibition” in the Protestant church of Sankt Egidien in Nuremberg (Info) they all reveal the actual slander and mockery of Jesus Christ by the churches that claim to be Christian.
However, such blatant blasphemies and mockery of Jesus Christ do not require any intervention from people such as protests, destruction or even attacks on people. One can immediately assume that such provocative exhibitions want to kill two birds with one stone. An angry and raging crowd only shows the self-righteousness of people. Sinners rebel against sinners. The “famous” splinter in the other’s eye, while a whole beam is wedged in your own eye. In simple words: keep your feet still, God knows how to handle this and He will handle this.
The “fantastic” Longinus
Whether the “artist” in his self-absorption when creating the controversial image did not realize the interpretation presented by the public and whether it was actually intended to have Longinus’ left hand break Jesus’ rib or not makes no difference at all. Because the official, almost apologetic explanation doesn’t make it better, in fact it makes it worse.
In fact, a Roman pierced the side of Jesus Christ with a spear. John 19:34:
“But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.“
However, is there anything about a centurion in this verse? No, but a soldier. It was also the Romans who immediately after Jesus’ death unanimously proclaimed, in Matthew 27:54:
“Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.“
It was the captain and other Roman guards. But where does the name Longinus come from, because in the Roman Catholic Church the centurion Longinus is even a “saint”? This name does not appear in the 4 Gospels, nor in the Acts of the Apostles. It was only in the course of the 4th century that the Roman Church came up with the idea of incorporating the stories of the apocryphal “Gospel of Nicodemus” as teaching. Without further ado, they gave the “soldier” described in the Bible the name Longinus and promoted him to captain. The spear he used was from now on the “Holy Lance”. This centurion was automatically the one who proclaimed the knowledge of Jesus’ divine sonship. The other Romans, according to Matthew 27:54, appear to no longer exist.
In short: Longinus is a Roman Catholic legend.
The actual blasphemy
Now those responsible declare, to put it bluntly, “You’re all art philistines! It’s not a depiction of oral sex, just a broken rib!”. It is precisely this statement, which cannot be interpreted like the depiction shown, that represents actual blasphemy. Subtle and barely noticeable by people in their outrage. How much Catholic teaching allows us to recognize this remains to be seen.
The Spotless Lamb
After the 9th plague on Egypt, God commanded His people Israel to slaughter an unblemished, male, one-year-old lamb. The blood of the Lamb was to be smeared on the outer two doorposts and the lintel in order to be spared from the 10th plague, the death of the firstborn. The lamb was not only a symbol of Jesus Christ, but also the template for the annual Passover festival. God had a special ordinance for this, Exodus 12:46:
“In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof.“
The psalms also speak of the future Jesus Christ. This is what it says in Psalm 34:20:
“He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.“
The apostle John knew exactly what was at stake when the legs of the two thieves crucified with Jesus were broken, but Jesus’ legs were spared. The apostle raised the intact legs after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in John 19:36:
“For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.«.“
The intact bones of the Savior after His self-sacrifice are recorded in writing at least at the time of the 10th plague on Egypt.
What is the official statement from those responsible for the art exhibition?
“His left hand breaks a rib.“
While the interpretation of the representation can certainly be disputed, the official statement cannot refute the denial of Jesus Christ. It’s obvious. Therefore, it is better to stop “indignation” and instead pick up the Bible for self-study. This makes it easier to recognize the subtle traps when you have a “cool” head.
Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
Psalm 34:14-15
Bible verses from King James Version
