A Christian activist has lost his bid to use blasphemy laws to prosecute a top BBC executive over the decision to screen "Jerry Springer-The Opera", a musical many Christians found offensive. Stephen Green of Christian Voice had gone to the High Court in London to try to overturn a decision by a district judge not to allow him to pursue his case against BBC Director-General Mark Thompson and Jon Thoday, the musical's producer. But judges Anthony Hughes and Andrew Collins decided that the show did not contravene blasphemy laws. "The play had been performed regularly in major theatres in London for a period of nearly two years without any sign of it undermining society or occasioning civil strife or unrest," said Hughes. "There had been no violence or even demonstrations." Green joined protests against the BBC in 2005 over its decision to air "Jerry Springer-The Opera", which he has said likened Jesus to "the perv in a nappy". The BBC's decision led to a record number of complaints from viewers, and ignited debate in about freedom of expression and whether artists should be allowed to tackle sensitive issues, especially religion. The show, based on American television host Springer's brash talk show, depicts Jesus being referred to as "a little bit gay" and features Eve attempting to fondle his genitals. Civil liberties group Liberty, allowed to make a written submission during the case, called the country's blasphemy law outdated and "ripe for repeal", and argued that the offence of blasphemy violated the European Convention on Human Rights. It said the last successful prosecution using blasphemy law was brought by Mary Whitehouse in 1977 against Gay News for publishing a poem about a Roman soldier's love for Christ.
There is such a thing as blasphome laws? Still? Wow that's interesting. You'd think they'd learn not to blantantly insult the patron of a religion after that whole Denmark thing though.
Thats only for cases where hundreds of thousands of people start rioting and killing each other protesting against the images. Helped along by a lot of lies of course.
