Eat It, Just Eat It

You could not invent a real-world story more illustrative of the point that the worst thing about religion is the right to non-criticism that it appears to think it deserves - than the Life Size Anatomically-Correct Chocoloate Statue of Jesus that is being put in a street level gallery for one week - and the huff it's putting some Catholics into.

Bill Donahue of the Catholic League lets loose:

“As I’ve said many times before, Lent is the season for non-believers to sow seeds of doubt about Jesus. What’s scheduled to go on at the Roger Smith Hotel, however, is of a different genre: this is hate speech. And choosing Holy Week—the display opens on Palm Sunday and ends on Holy Saturday—makes it a direct in-your-face assault on Christians.

“All those involved are lucky that angry Christians don’t react the way extremist Muslims do when they’re offended—otherwise they may have more than their heads cut off. James Knowles, President and CEO of the Roger Smith Hotel (interestingly, he also calls himself Artist-in-Residence), should be especially grateful. And if he tries to spin this as reverential, then he should substitute Muhammad for Jesus and display him during Ramadan.

And:

The Roger Smith Hotel will rue the day it sought to declare war on Christian sensibilities.

The religious pedestal, wherever it appears, must come down.

Bill says the artist and gallery are "lucky that angry Christians don’t react the way extremist Muslims do when they’re offended—otherwise they may have more than their heads cut off." What's the point here? Sure, and I'm lucky that I don't get shot in the subway. Is the Catholic League suggesting that they kinda like that "Right to Riot" that "muslim extremists" enjoy? Are you jealous in some way?

"He's not wearing any clothes at all," said Debbie Charan, 40, of Queens. "Why would they want to do something like that?"

Update: PZ Meyers, not surprisingly, has little patience for the outrage either. He note Bill's quote:

Catholic League head Bill Donohue called it "one of the worst assaults on Christian sensibilities ever".

...and remarks, himself:

Come on, Bill, get over it. Shouldn't Abu Ghraib have been "one of the worst assaults on Christian sensibilities ever"?