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Jesus Christ: Flavor of the month

Monday, 15 March 2004 09:54 AM

From the Detroit News: What a trend we have in Jesus.

Even before "The Passion" hit screens, pop culture had reinvented the image of Jesus. Tabloid fashionistas such as Pamela Anderson, Ashton Kutcher, Ben Affleck and Lara Flynn Boyle have all been seen sporting the popular "Jesus is my homeboy" T-shirts.

Los Angeles-based clothing company Teenage Millionaire introduced the design three years ago. "We were looking at pop icons of the 21st century, and Jesus topped the list," says Chris Hoy, a partner in Teenage Millionaire. "(The shirts) appeal to the religious people and the hipsters alike."

The shirts present a friendly, down-to-earth image of Jesus, far from the tattered, crown-of-thorns wearing Jesus central to religious texts. They are a more mainstream way for people to support their religious beliefs, "rather than the classic crosses and traditional stuff," says Angie Muir, a manager at Urban Outfitters in Ann Arbor where the shirts are carried.

Read more from the article below, or click here to see the whole thing.

(Thanks to Agenda for the link.)

The message of Christ as homeboy is evidence society is moving from less of an organized religion view of Christ and more to a personal, spiritual view of Christ, says Vicky Thompson, author of “Jesus Path: 7 Steps to Cosmic Awakening” (Red Wheel, $16.95).

“It’s personally saying not that Jesus is my savior, but He’s my best friend and buddy,” Thompson says. “We have a huge population of unchurched people (in America), but often, they aren’t leaving spirituality behind. They still have a desire to feel a spiritual connection, but on their own terms. They’re embracing Christ, but from a different viewpoint.”

Rapping says at the same time people are supposedly embracing Jesus, their lifestyles are not reflecting that. “There isn’t a whole lot of morality to our everyday lives,” Rapping says. “For example, the divorce rate is not going down and adultery is not going down, but there’s a lot of lip-service being paid (to Jesus).”

She says the “Jesus is my homeboy” shirts are little more than the modern day equivalent of Che Guevara shirts, with people sporting them for fashion purposes but with little belief in what the figure actually represents.

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