The new, tattooed and gym-ripped Jesus by Stephen Sawyer/ART4GOD.com
FOR far too long – some believe – artists have portrayed Jesus as a wimp: a namby-pamby cuddling a lamb, or a blue-eyed sissy boy laying hands on adoring children.
This, some Christians believe, has to stop. Jesus needs to be butched up, and according to this report one man who is doing just that is Kentucky-based artist Stephen Sawyer, creator of Art for God.
Says Sawyer, 58:
I scarcely think Jesus could have overturned the tables of the money-lenders and driven them from the temple if he was a wimp. The model I use for my paintings is a surfer guy who’s built like a brick shithouse.
The macho Jesus movement has been bolstered by books like No More Mr Christian Nice Guy and The Church Impotent – the Feminisation of Christianity – and the trend, surprisingly, is gaining ground in the UK, where there has been a rise in the number of conferences and sermons aimed at men that present a more muscular version of Jesus.
As the Rev Eric Delve, vicar of St Luke’s, Maidstone, Kent points out:
Men are looking for action figures. That’s why they follow footballers.
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
August 30th, 2011 at 8:23 am
God isn’t going to like that tat:
Leviticus 19:28, “Do not cut your bodies for the dead, and do not mark your skin with tattoos. I am the Lord.”
August 30th, 2011 at 8:26 am
1 Corinthians 11:14 – “Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him?”
August 30th, 2011 at 9:11 am
Lunaticus 17:19 “Thou shalt always make the son of god look like a nice, white, middle-class Western bloke with blonde hair, blue eyes and pale skin and NOT like those horrid, swarthy Middle Eastern types who good christians don’t like very much at all.”
August 30th, 2011 at 9:25 am
Jason Statham IS Jesus Christ in ‘The Ressurecter’.
“He’s as hard as the nails in his palms.”
August 30th, 2011 at 10:51 am
We are supposed, according to christian mythology, to be made in the image of god yet it appears that christians want to remake god in our image. Wonder why?
August 30th, 2011 at 10:56 am
He’s a bit behind the times!
http://wallpaper4me.com/images.....10338.jpeg
Be sure that all you godfearin’ Christian folks set that pic as yer insperational, upliftin’ wallpaper!!
August 30th, 2011 at 11:11 am
I dunno, is it me or is there just a whiff of homoeroticism here? All this god of love and discipline for men seems to me to be edging to a lil bit of BDSM.
August 30th, 2011 at 12:44 pm
I agree AngieRS. Hair shirts, scourging, self flagellation – all good xtain stuff!
As for the feminisation of xtianinsanity: What these pseudo-macho types really mean is they don’t want women in their club.
August 30th, 2011 at 1:31 pm
AngieRS
Or for those who like their Jesus homoeroticism a little more overt:
http://according2g.com/wp-cont.....-Jesus.jpg
August 30th, 2011 at 2:01 pm
The same old approach. The current image isn’t working so let’s invent another. None of this has any connection with historical fact or any kind of reality. It is fiction produced by fiction writers.
August 30th, 2011 at 2:20 pm
Honestly. They’ll make him look Arabic next.
August 30th, 2011 at 2:32 pm
Here’s one that might might have more appeal for Eric Delve:
http://www.sportsbookveteran.c.....-Jesus.jpg
These artists have got to be having a laugh, surely?
August 30th, 2011 at 2:47 pm
“Men are looking for action figures. That’s why they follow footballers.”
Not sure someone who kicks a ball about on a field of grass and falls like a sack of potatoes every time someone comes within a foot of them while they’re in the penalty box is the kind of ‘action figure’ most men are looking for. Or that most men are looking for action figures to begin with. Though some of us sure would like a mint 1977 Luke Skywalker or an original Adam West as Batman. I’m pretty sure the type of people who really get excited by footballers aren’t actually allowed to be in this whole Christian club anyway, because they have vaginas or the gay.
I’ve always found the role model concept a bit weird and tortured. A certain type of adult seems to think that pretty much everyone else, but especially children, need a good role model to turn out as good as they themselves did. For some reason they don’t see themselves as ever being listened to or being able to set enough of an example and they try to pin the job on somebody else. But does anybody really ‘look up to’ footballers, actors, or anyone else with an uncritical eye and presume if they model themselves after x person they will turn out just fine? Even as a child I thought the idea of taking an individual, idolising them and thinking without reservation or equivocation “I want to be just like them” to be monstrously stupid.
Sure, I was impressed with Captain Picard’s diplomatic skill, grace under pressure, and capability to admit when he was wrong, but that didn’t mean I wanted to shave my head and pretend to be French by speaking with an English accent. I don’t get the idea of taking a character or individual and devoting yourself to trying to actively be just like them, but then again, I’m not religious.
And I’m pretty wimpy but I could still overturn some tables and shout at some money lenders if I had to. The idea that a guy who wandered around preaching and mooching off what others could give him to eat was able to make himself into an impressive physical specimen sounds both ridiculous and redundant. What exactly would having large muscles achieve for Jesus?
August 30th, 2011 at 3:09 pm
MMM, work that guy!
August 30th, 2011 at 3:23 pm
He’s got no genitals!
August 30th, 2011 at 4:08 pm
Heh, good pics!
By the way, John M White, if he’d had bigger muscles, shifting that cross around the city wouldn’t have been such a problem. Probably would have still wanted the whips though…
August 30th, 2011 at 4:09 pm
I think he’s wearing a pouch, Graham!
And just to demonstrate that the Muslims haven’t quite cornered the market in violent outrage:
http://gayspirituality.typepad.....art-s.html
August 30th, 2011 at 4:12 pm
This reminds me first and foremost of a story here some time ago in which a British church suggested that using some heroically masculine swords ‘n dragons images might attract more men and boys to sermons. (Was that where the Rev Delve quote came from?)
Historians will have a ball with this kind of thing a long time from now. Christians have for years been in a panicked state over the fact that people in the West are increasingly disinterested in, or unwilling to be dictated to by, their religion. Above we have yet another little example of how some of them seem to think that the solution lies in looking more powerful.
August 30th, 2011 at 4:32 pm
I’m straight (nominally anyway…) but I’d turn for this BuffChrist! A man’s son of man…
August 30th, 2011 at 4:32 pm
JohnMWhite – interesting post. I personally think that the role model concept definitely CAN work if you attempt to emulate an attribute that you greatly admire rather than try to base your life on somebody else’s or turn yourself into a clone of them. One might be inspired by this person’s accomplishments, passion or personality to put a bit more effort and courage into something in the same field – probably on a much smaller scale – that they are attempting. My own list of ‘role models’ if they can really be called that has been very short but there have certainly been times where I have thought ‘would *this person* just give up?’ or ‘*this person* had to tough out similar and look where they are now’ and gotten that little extra fire.
August 30th, 2011 at 5:18 pm
Strangely enough, the style of biblical Jesus that we’re so used to seeing, the northwestern European “biblical” Jesus, was the propaganda tool of centuries ago Catholicism. As Christianity rampaged across northern Europe, burning “pagan” places of worship, raping, slaughtering, and enslaving, they decided they could have an easier time of things if they presented a deity the locals could better relate to. As accustomed to it as we might now be, there’s nothing more bizarre than a northwestern European Jesus.
What the Catholics also learned, was that such paintings led to more “visions” within their communities. If you give someone a visual aid, then it becomes easier for them to imagine they’ve had a religious experience, because then they can actually picture what it is you’d like for them to have a vision of.
The “trend” of religious art which swept Europe centuries ago started thus and indeed produced some of the greatest masterworks the world has ever seen, however, religious art probably wouldn’t have become so popular in Europe, had Christianity not violently prevented the societies they lorded over from creating secular art – “violently prevented” often translating to “prevented at penalty of death”.
August 30th, 2011 at 5:27 pm
Stephen Sawyer has – on his website ( http://www.art4god.com/html/?go=photos- ) some family pictures including one of himself taken by someone he calls his “earth Dad”…I suppose that’s to distinguish him from his sky Dad.
I wonder whether he takes earth money or sky money for his pictures though?
August 30th, 2011 at 5:58 pm
So, our Lord and Saviour turns out to be a Muscle Mary. Has anyone told the Westboro Baptist Church?
JC looked much better before he grew the beard and lost the perm. http://blog.thebeaconbenefice......01225.html
August 30th, 2011 at 6:04 pm
Couple of thoughts:
Why does ‘weakling’ man = feminisation?
And why is ‘feminisation’ treated as an insult?
Okay, I’m being rhetorical; it’s ’cause these people are still living in the 14th century…
OT, but this is kinda interesting.
August 30th, 2011 at 6:18 pm
Graham Martin-Royle
Maybe no nads is an evolutionary problem with gods and holy spirits (whatever the feck they are!). After all, if daddy had to impregnate Mary without any physical contact (still counts as rape in my book), then old Jeebus probably inherited the old man’s genetic defect and didn’t have any balls either.
Which makes me wonder how god did get Mary up the duff. Presumably he just beamed those holy sperm in via remote control – a bit like heat-seaking missiles but much, much smaller.
Hmmmmmm. Then again, perhaps the whole thing is just a load of old bollocks?! (See what I did there?)
August 30th, 2011 at 7:44 pm
Here’s another good one from Sawyer’s site:
http://www.art4god.com/html/?go=product&id=15
Bet you didn’t know that Jesus was a member of the BeeGees!
August 30th, 2011 at 9:19 pm
Damn, he’s awful pale for someone born in the middle east.
August 30th, 2011 at 9:42 pm
I wonder if someone with artistic talents would do a similar pic of Richard Dawkins or AC Grayling. That could really start a trend.
August 31st, 2011 at 2:06 am
They could issue a Nu Jeesus in a fire suit, ready to put out the fire and brimstone, maybe in time for the 9/11 anniversary, that would keep the muzzies as happy little vegemites too. Nu Jeesus could be in leather with leotards and a bon bon, to keep the grannies happy. Nu Jeesus could have even more power than the first version. I mean, who needs to walk on water when you can get a jetski? And the water into wine thing’s not so important now, with homebrew so popular. The loaves and fishes trick would propbably be appreciated in Africa, but even the ol’ Jeesus couldn’t help there. There’s so much to do to update the image and attract some new blood. Perhaps, and here’s an idea, what about retiring the jeesus figure altogether and come out with a completely new model, based on the Govenator. The name “Arnie” has a friendly feel and I’m sure would attract fans of both the ex-govenor and “Happy Days”.
August 31st, 2011 at 7:02 am
Finally! A picture of Jesus I can masturbate to.
August 31st, 2011 at 7:06 am
Didn’t you see this one, Robster?
http://www.art4god.com/html/?g.....id=fireman
The poem is so moving!
August 31st, 2011 at 10:07 am
Oh, FFS, he’s the wanker who did the ‘Jesus & the Junkie’ painting…
http://www.art4god.com/html/?go=calvary
This shit is just beyond parody….
August 31st, 2011 at 3:27 pm
Thug Jesus has been created in the image of his followers. He doesn’t care about the poor and the meek. He doesn’t forgive. He just kicks ass and blows shit up.
September 1st, 2011 at 12:08 am
thug jeebus sounds awesome. too bad he doesn’t real.
September 1st, 2011 at 3:29 am
Hi barriejohn, Thanks! Is that a picture of jeesus “morphing” into a firefighter, or perhaps the jeesus is a ghost about to enter the fireman, bit like a parasite and use him as a host? I recon jeesus has lots of experience with the latter.
September 1st, 2011 at 6:47 am
I had a feeling Jesus was ripped.