A play which portrays Jesus as a transsexual has faced strong criticism, ahead of its launch at a publicly-funded LGBT festival in Northern Ireland, it was reported in mid-November.
The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven is part of the Outburst Queer Arts Festival in Belfast, and is advertised with the tagline: ‘Jesus is a transsexual woman. And it is now she walks the earth’.
In a letter to the Belfast Telegraph, church leaders from across Belfast have called for the performance to be cancelled. The letter stresses that biblical teaching clearly portrays Jesus Christ as the eternal Son of God.
Under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act, public bodies such as the Arts Council have obligations relating to promoting ‘good relations between persons of different religious belief, political opinion or racial group’.
The council, a non-departmental public body of the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL), allocated a total of £45,500 to the Outburst Queer Arts Festival for 2014–2015.
Additional funding came directly from DCAL, the Department for Social Development and public bodies including Belfast City Council. Private sector finance was provided by Lloyds Bank Foundation and Belfast’s Europa Hotel, among others.
