OH, dear, they’re off again! Catholics and Anglicans in Australia are in a snit over a very funny nativity TV commercial created for electronic goods retailers Betta Electrical which depicts the baby Jesus tossing crap gifts back at the three wise men.

The words “Give a Better Gift” then flashes across the screen.
Christian leaders immediately branded the ad as “tacky and offensive”.

Huffed senior Sydney Anglican bishop Glenn Davies:

The gifts that the wise men were giving were appropriate for a king, so the notion that Jesus would reject them is absurd. Obviously this company wants to get the divine seal of approval on their goods but I can’t imagine it will help them sell anything.

Julieanne Worchurst, marketing manager at BSR Group which operates more than 170 Betta Electrical stores, said the ad was “intended to be a tongue-in-cheek and humorous approach to the gift giving season”.

We accept that this could have been seen as offensive, but that was not the intention at all. The ad was never intended to upset or disrupt people’s Christmas.

Ms Worchurst said while the company had received just two complaints from viewers, the ad would be pulled if community outrage to the campaign grew.

Earlier, the makers of energy drink Red Bull annoyed Catholics with a Christmas campaign ad in Italy, in which the product is presented to the baby Jesus by a fourth Wise Man.

See our earlier report and video here.

Meanwhile, Borders Bookshop has discovered that muscular Christians do not like jokes – especially if they are at their expense.

The bookshop has earned the wrath of the religious by giving away a greeting card with the slogan “O come all ye faithless” to people who bought Richard Dawkins’ book The God Delusion in the run-up to Christmas.

But the Rev Jonathan Edwards, general secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, displayed his hair-trigger sensitivities by labelling the idea as “crass”, saying:

Borders wouldn’t do this to any other religious festival. I am quite sure that Borders intended their Christmas card as a joke. However, I personally find it an ill-judged and insensitive joke.

He continued by wheeling out the old argument that Christians are singled out for mockery:

Christians have always been used to being punch bags but I would have hoped that, in a society in which we are seeking to show respect to all people and beliefs, we might have grown out of this kind of nonsense.

He was supported by Justin Thacker, head of theology at the Evangelical Alliance, who said

It won’t surprise me if this spectacularly fails. Christmas still holds a high place in people’s hearts – I think a lot of people will be offended by it.

Borders have responded to the criticism by issuing a statement which said it “did not intend it as anti-Christian or a swipe at the Christian faith”, and said that it “apologises to any of our customers who feel it was that”.

The bookshop described the card as a “continuation” of the debate on atheism that had come as result of the book. They said, “Our customers are intelligent, curious people who enjoy exploring all types of books and music. Naturally, some of the thousands of books and music selections we carry could be considered controversial or objectionable depending on individual views, tastes and interest. However, Borders stands by its commitment to let customers make the choice.”

The Evangelical Alliance’s Thacker added:

I think the atheists will love it because it’s bashing Christians around the head. It’s another thing to take a Christian festival and abuse it. Borders wouldn’t do this to any other religious festival. Borders have made a strategic mistake and Christians will boycott it.

http://www.freethinker.co.uk/?p=391

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CNNJlNUMWE