Related
Translate
Previous entry: Executions of 3 Christians spark violence
Next entry: Exclusive Brethren hired me to ‘dig dirt on NZ PM’
Get RNB via RSS
 |
RNB's RSS feed What is this? |
Get RNB via Email
 |
 Subscribe by Email What is this? |
Follow: Twitter
Most Popular
This Week:
- Guyana’s Jonestown suicide site gets plaque
- Scientology practices ‘putting people at risk’
- Recession: Muslim schools in UK under threat of closure
- World’s oldest ocean-going passenger ship, ministry ship Doulos, to stop sailing
- Scientology’s feet held to the fire in Australia: Struggle between a church and the state
- 1-year prison term for man who participated in cyber attack on Church of Scientology Web sites
- Australian police take up complaints about Scientology
- Born in U.S., a Radical Cleric Inspires Terror
- ‘World’s biggest animal sacrifice’ begins
- Pakistan Militants Bomb CD Shop For Selling ‘Jesus Film’
UK: Channel 4 crucifies human corpse
More articles on this topic: MediaChannel 4 is to broadcast a documentary showing a human corpse being hung on a cross to depict Christ’s suffering.
Anatomist Gunther von Hagens will use a real body to show how people died when crucified in the 90-minute film.
The programme, Crucifixion, is already causing controversy, with Christians condemning it as blasphemous and one group threatening prosecution.
Although Channel 4 insists the body will not represent Christ specifically, a memo leaked to the Evening Standard states that it would indeed portray Jesus.
Von Hagens, who created the Body Worlds exhibits using his preservation technique of plastination, has been widely criticised for his work, which included an autopsy on TV in 2002. This is the first time he has touched on religion.
Offensive
Steve Jenkins, spokesman for the Church of England, said: “This will upset and offend a lot of Christians as it seems he is using the Crucifixion simply to grab attention.”
Christian Voice, which led the protest against broadcasting Jerry Springer The Opera, has announced it may prosecute on grounds of disrespect to Christ.
Director Stephen Green said: “This sounds gratuitously offensive and blasphemous. It could well be we would want to take some action against it.”
Crucifixion will be broadcast on More4. Filming has not yet started. A spokeswoman for Channel 4 said: “This is a science documentary, a history documentary on the anatomy after crucifixion. It will not be a specific representation of Christ.
But the production company making the film, Firefly, describes the portrayal as just that. In a document, Crucifixion was described as “a 90-minute film for More4 in which Gunther plastinates ‘Jesus’”.
Firefly has produced programmes such as the BBC’s The Thieving Headmistress.
Producer Nick Curwin warned employees to keep Crucifixion under wraps. They were told that the programme and otherswere “highly confidential.”
Despite Channel 4’s insistence that von Hagens’s work is educational, Mr Curwin also described the shock value of another programme, Gunther’s ER. He said: “Gunther-choppingupbodies-in-front-of-an-audience series was also commissioned.
Though he has only an honorary professorship, von Hagens uses the title and last year was fined for doing so.
In January 2004, German magazine Der Spiegel claimed he had used bodies from Chinese executions. He said he did not know where they had come from.
• Research into crucifixion has involved other scientists hanging cadavers to a cross, such as Pierre Barbet in the Thirties. The Royal Academy of Arts has a cast of a man on a cross – the corpse belonged to murderer James Legg, executed in 1801.
What You Can Do From Here
|
Read More Articles On These Topics
Share, Blog About, Bookmark, or Email This Article
Subscribe
Read Another Article
Previous entry: Executions of 3 Christians spark violence Next entry: Exclusive Brethren hired me to ‘dig dirt on NZ PM’
RNB Homepage with latest headlinesFind Related Information
Find Related Books
|
Share This Article
To share this page simply copy and paste one of these URL's:
