{"id":106,"date":"2009-10-09T08:09:00","date_gmt":"2009-10-09T08:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/omeoflittlefaith\/2009\/10\/american-jesus-art.html"},"modified":"2009-10-09T08:09:00","modified_gmt":"2009-10-09T08:09:00","slug":"american-jesus-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/omeoflittlefaith\/2009\/10\/american-jesus-art.html","title":{"rendered":"American Jesus Art!"},"content":{"rendered":"

This blog has been<\/span> fascinated<\/a>, appalled<\/a>, and otherwise dumbfounded<\/a> in the past by Jesus art, which is rarely inspirational and often inappropriate. Today we have a whole new painting to discuss.<\/p>\n

Behold: Jesus, the Founding Father of America and He Who Apparently Dictated the U.S. Constitution from On High<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

Besides the idea of a glowing Jesus founding his own nation in the form of the U.S. — and the existence of Satan crouching in front of Alexander Hamilton (see right side of the picture)<\/span>, and the lawyer greedily counting his $100 bills right out there in sight of the Son of God (see bottom right)<\/span> — there are two other awesome things associated with this painting, which is by artist John McNaughton<\/a>.<\/p>\n

1. McNaughton has helpfully provided<\/span> an interactive mouse-over feature<\/a> where you can view, up close, each of the America-representing people in the painting. Some are symbolic. Others are prominent figures from our nation’s past. Along with these close-ups, we get the artist’s thoughts behind their symbolism. For example, see the mommy and baby to Jesus’ right? The lady holding her palm up? According to the artist, “She holds her hand out which has two meanings. First, she is recognizing Christ and second she is releasing her son to come forth and touch the Constitution. A mother’s role in raising up the next generation is immeasurable.”<\/p>\n

2. The brilliant minds<\/span> at Shortpacked!<\/a> recognized some silliness in some of these descriptions (really!) and created their own interactive mouse-over feature, with brand-new captions and descriptions. It is worth viewing because it is very, very funny. For instance, see Abe Lincoln down on one knee to Jesus’ left? Their description: “He was the 16th president of the United States. He led the country through the Civil War and was assassinated in his second term of office. He also totally wants to start a barbershop quartet with Washington, Adams, and Hamilton.” Look at the artist’s version<\/a> first, then head here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I’m sorry. I’ve gotten in trouble before for making fun of someone’s heartfelt attempt to express something about Jesus via art. But this is just too unintentionally funny. I mean, the evil college professor is clutching a copy of Origin of the Species<\/span>! (It represents, according to the artist, “the liberal left’s control of our educational system.”) The Supreme Court justice is weeping for his sins! All the black heroes are hidden in the back! And Davy Crockett is wearing a coonskin cap!<\/p>\n

Too. Many. Jokes!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This blog has been fascinated, appalled, and otherwise dumbfounded in the past by Jesus art, which is rarely inspirational and often inappropriate. Today we have a whole new painting to discuss. Behold: Jesus, the Founding Father of America and He Who Apparently Dictated the U.S. Constitution from On High Besides the idea of a glowing…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,41,29,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art","category-funny","category-jesus","category-snark"],"yoast_head":"\nAmerican Jesus Art! - O Me of Little Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/omeoflittlefaith\/2009\/10\/american-jesus-art.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"American Jesus Art! - O Me of Little Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This blog has been fascinated, appalled, and otherwise dumbfounded in the past by Jesus art, which is rarely inspirational and often inappropriate. 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