Jesus Loves Who?

Warning: I know this is a family-friendly blog, but this is an important, relevant, adult topic.  If you feel that the upcoming subject matter is too mature for minor children reading this blog (though I doubt there are any), then at least have this discussion with them yourself.

You have been warned.

On a bookshelf in my room sit a few Bibles.  I say a few because when you're in the ministry business, you get a few different translations as a matter of habit.  For example, my husband has a camouflage Bible (dubbed the Sportsman's Bible).

One of these Bibles is different from the others.  If you look closely, you should notice that between the Key Word Bible and the Women of Faith Bible is a small travel-sized Bible with hot-pink binding.  Its title may surprise you.

That's right.

This hot-pink and neon yellow book boldly proclaims "Jesus Loves Porn Stars" for all the world to see.  As you can see, it's complete with a mustached "star" in aviation sunglasses looking out over an apparent representation of the Sunset Strip (no pun intended).

"Jesus Loves Porn Stars" is the idea of Pastors Craig Gross and Mike Foster, founders of XXXchurch.com.  X3 (as it's commonly called) is an anti-pornography ministry that reaches out to producers, actors and others in the industry with the love and word of God.  They actually attend erotica conventions and set up a table with anti-porn books, t-shirts and other merchandise.  "Jesus Loves Porn Stars" was a slogan that X3 put on bookmarks, according to this Cox News Service article.  When the pastors noticed that Bibles weren't selling as well as the other merchandise, they decided to put the slogan on the cover of a Bible.  Now, "Jesus Loves Porn Stars" is the word of God for those the people of God tend to forget.

Or is it the word of God?  You see, when the pastors went to the American Bible Society, one of the oldest Bible printers in America, they said no.  So did a slew of other publishers licensed to publish Bibles.  The American Bible Society actually wrote a letter to Gross and said that the phrase was "misleading and inappropriate," according to an ABC News story.  Gross worked for months finding a publisher who would print the books for them.  They finally got permission from Navpress and Eugene Peterson, author of "The Message," the Bible translated into contemporary language.

What does that have to do with whether or not JLPS is really the Bible?  In the first place, "The Message" is the only Bible to have an author (not counting manga Bibles, children's story Bibles, illustrated Bibles or other obvious examples of paraphrasing or dumbing-down of scripture).  Secondly, because Peterson readily admits to paraphrasing some of the translation in order to be relevant to the world today ("contextualizing"), some critics claim that it is not scripture it all.  One critic went so far as to call it "a message from hell."  (To be fair, Peterson has downplayed "The Message" immensely.  In an interview with Christianity Today ("A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction"), Peterson said that he does not think "The Message" is a good translation for the pulpit, but rather for beginners who just need a way to understand what God is saying to them.)

Which takes me back to my original point.  People were outraged and offended that someone would put "Jesus Loves Porn Stars" on a (fake) Bible.  No, not people.  Christians.  Christians were upset that a theologically correct statement would be put on a Bible that beginners would understand.

How silly is that?  Someone came up with an idea to reach out to those who didn't know God, and he got criticized for it.  Would he have been criticized if he were reaching out to drug dealers or murderers?  No, he would've been applauded.  The church loves to make a big deal out of saving those sinners.  But because he's reaching out to people the church doesn't want to deal with, he's a horrible person leading others astray.

That was back in 2006.  Three years later, "Jesus Loves Porn Stars" is still going strong (again, no pun intended).  The phrase and image are on T-shirts, skateboard decks, bumper stickers, buttons and more.  X3 is still touring the country and attending erotica conventions.  In fact, Pastor Craig has travelled to colleges around the country in order to debate with Ron Jeremy, one of the best known "stars" in the erotica industry.  

Why is radical outreach such a big deal in Evangelical circles?  Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary when the JLPS Bible was first published, said "These younger guys seem to say that older evangelicalism is just out of touch.  In a rush to be relevant I think these guys have crossed a line that I would not cross and I would not commit."

I think that's the point, though.  Someone had to cross the line in order to reach the people living on the other side.  When that happens, a Christian's response shouldn't be "How dare you."  It should be "I'll join you."

If you or someone you know suffers from sexual addiction, please visit www.xxxchurch.com for accountability software, recovery plans and more.

Skateboard photo found at http://xxxchurch.civvies.biz/xxxchurch/home.php.

Other photos attributed to me.