The discussion in class about how Jesus is portrayed in art reminded me that there is a manga series that exists called "Saint Oniisan" that had some OVAs made for it also known as "Saint Young Men" in which Buddha and Jesus go on vacation together to 21st century Earth, and go through normal everyday activities while trying to hide who they are.
It is rather interesting to read and watch to see how someone who isn't Christian views Jesus.
HE'S
SO
"KAWAIII"??
Is it really okay for Jesus to be so "kawaii"...
Is it really okay for Jesus to be so "kawaii"...
This brings to mind the question of how you would take a perception like this. Are you offended by how he's portrayed? Or do you find it something you can find humor in? Is this material offensive or a tasteful parody?
An even better question is would Jesus take offense to this? Or would he find it a humorous representation of himself? How would he feel about us enjoying it? I've grown up being taught that God has a sense of humor, but where would He draw the line? Do you think God has a sense of humor? Where do you think He draws the line?
In the manga and OVAs there are a lot of fun jokes and remarks in reference to both Buddha and Jesus' stories.
Though it begs the question, are these jokes fun and tasteful or should the way in which they're being executed be taken as an offensive jab because they're dumbed down from their original more serious spiritual meaning? Or is it okay to make fun tasteful jokes or "dumb down" stories from the Bible?
In Saint Oniisan Jesus has a blog, is this an offensive joke, or do you think Jesus would actually use a blog if he had come to us in this day and age? I would think Jesus would not, because I feel he's more of a personal relater and he'd rather speak to people in person than make blog posts.
Water into wine
Jesus walking on water
The parting of the red sea
In Saint Oniisan Jesus has a blog, is this an offensive joke, or do you think Jesus would actually use a blog if he had come to us in this day and age? I would think Jesus would not, because I feel he's more of a personal relater and he'd rather speak to people in person than make blog posts.
(especially if those blog posts don't relate to his teachings)
Reference joke about "followers"
In Saint Oniisan Jesus is portrayed as cute and with an "innocent" air.
Do you think this is an accurate, offensive, or non-believer perception of Jesus? We have no way of knowing how Jesus acted aside from the passages, and while reading something he said or reading a way he acted can tell us one thing, it's another thing to be able to perceive how he would act if he were standing right in front of us interacting with us and the world and objects that surround us. I feel Saint Oniisan does not portray Jesus correctly. It's a fun take on him, but I'm not so sure it really connects with Jesus, who he is or what he's about.
Dude, this was an awesome blog. I've never heard of this anime/manga before and it totally sheds a new modern light on this topic of images of Jesus, one that connects to me personally.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I want to bring up concerning this is I wonder how much the creators of this manga learned about Jesus himself as they were making this art. They obviously had to study the Bible, but more than that, they had to think long and hard about Jesus and how they would portray him as a character. How exactly would he act in given? Facial expressions? Any good artist would look to the original for at least hints as to how to develop this character.
I totally believe that God would use something as goofy as this (and even controversial in a lot of ways) to teach an individual more about himself.
Not saying we should watch it for /Bible study/ purposes, of course. x'D But it does make you think, and isn't that worth something?
Yes I totally agree with you. :)
Delete*Also the idea that Jesus would interact and maybe even get along with someone like Buddha, showing him the same love and interest as a human as Christ did everyone else. Very thought-provoking.
ReplyDeleteCertainly so, however it might have to deal more with the "universe" of the show, in which all gods of all beliefs exist and interact, there was mention between Jesus and Buddha as they were discussing their vacation that they should bring gifts for the gods of Japan because it would be rude to not.
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