The Shofar is the ancient trumpet which called the people of God to prayer, repentance, sacrifice and war.

SPRINGER OPERA REARS ITS UGLY HEAD AGAIN

Dated 29th January 2009

A musical described as 'filth and blasphemy' which died on its disastrous theatre tour in 2006 is to be exhumed.

A group of students at St Andrew's University plan to stage Jerry Springer the Opera as part of a arts festival called 'On the Rocks' running from 19th to 26th April.

The blasphemous show, written by militant atheist Stewart Lee, features Jesus Christ as a nappy-wearing sexual deviant, describes Mary as a victim of rape, says the birth of Jesus was because 'the condom split', ridicules the sacrament of holy communion, scorns the crucifixion wounds of Jesus, casts Almighty God as an ineffective old fool who needs Jerry Springer's shoulder to cry on, and finally presents Springer as an alternative saviour. It is awash with sexual depravity and disgusting language.

When the show went on its 23-week tour in 2006, Christian campaigners leafleted the audience at virtually every show at every venue, and some venues saw leaflet campaigns weeks in advance, informing theatre-goers just how dreadful it was. As a result of the bad publicity, only one theatre ( Newcastle ) was even one-third full, every theatre lost thousands of pounds, and the producers, Avalon, lost £500,000. Stewart Lee said the show was 'ruined' for him. Perhaps audiences did not want to be evangelised on a night out, or perhaps they did not wish to sit through an evening of filth. Either way, the Christians gave God the glory for the wreckage.

St Andrew's is the birthplace of the Scottish Reformation, where Patrick Hamilton, George Wishart and Henry Forrest were martyred for their faith. It was desecrated in December 2004, when students staged the blasphemous play 'Corpus Christi' in the Crawford Arts Theatre (now 'the Barron'). The play casts the Lord Jesus and His disciples as a gang of homosexuals, with all the promiscuity and depravity of that lifestyle being portrayed in gutter language.

Christian Voice mounted a witness for every performance of the play. The treasurer of the Crawford resigned, a matinée was cancelled and despite the heavy security there were protests, including a proclamation of the Gospel, inside the theatre.

Stephen Green, National Director of Christian Voice, said today:

'St Andrew's University is fast building a reputation as a place where civilised behaviour has been forgotten. Ridiculing Jesus Christ will bring shame and God's judgment on what should, with all its history, be a devout seat of learning, not a cess-pit.

'If this show cast Mohammed as a sexual deviant, it would never see the light of day. But those staging Jerry Springer the Opera are too cowardly to have a go at Islam. They know that Christians do not resort to violence and they think they will get away with it.

'However, God is big enough to look after Himself, which should fill all concerned with fear. There are no atheists on a sinking ship; it is all, "God save us!" But if God can work miracles of deliverance, He can also bring judgment against the wicked.

'Quite apart from the insult to the Lord Jesus Christ which staging this show is all about, it also hurts Christian people when their Lord and Saviour is ridiculed. It is just as if a member of our own family were insulted. Civilised people do not set out to insult and hurt others. But Britain is changing, and the Ross/Brand affair was just one example of the sad fact that people in our society are becoming daily more crass, more coarse and less interested in the feelings of others.

'How long will it be before the message that it is now acceptable in Scotland to insult people's religious beliefs reaches the terraces of Ibrox and Celtic Park?'

'We must pray that this show is cancelled, but if it is not, may the Lord bring Christian people out on the streets of St Andrew's to witness and evangelise at all the events during the 'On the Rocks' arts week. If many sinners repent and turn to Jesus Christ, some good will yet come from this evil.'