Christians Angry over size of Jesus's Wang

RELIGION - Christians have warned of a backlash of art world vandalism, following a decision to halt a private prosecution of a Gateshead gallery which exhibited a statue of Jesus with an erection.

Warning signs at the doors to the gallery warned of the exhibition's contents - which included dozens of plaster figures including ET and Mickey Mouse, all with erections.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) ruled that there was "no case to answer" for the Baltic Art Gallery which displayed the foot-high plaster statue as part of an exhibition by controversial Chinese artist Terence Koh.

Devout Christian Emily Mapfuwa, 40, of Brentwood, Essex, said the show, entitled Gone, Yet Still - was offensive to her faith and instructed her lawyers to seek a private prosecution against the gallery. She argued the Baltic would not have dared depict Mohammed in such a way.

Lawyers for the Baltic Flour Mills Visual Arts Trust had been bracing themselves for a trial by jury over the case until the CPS decision.

Ms Mapfuwa's supporters warned it could lead some people to destroy similar art works.

Christian Voice national director Stephen Green said: "This decision urges Christians to create public disorder if we want a similar case to proceed in future. We are naturally reluctant to do that and it puts us in new territory. On the other hand, there were those at the Baltic Centre who wanted to take matters into their own hands and I have warned Anita Zabludowicz that her statue will not survive being put on public display again."

Ms Mapfuwa's private prosecution started at Gateshead Magistrates` Court in July. It alleged that an offence of outraging public decency had been committed by exhibiting a statue of Jesus Christ with an oversized erect phallus at the Baltic during its September 2007 - January 2008 show.

One would hope Christians would learn to respect other people's opinions instead of just trying to sue whenever they are displeased with what they see.

Imagine if they had seen Victoria Van Dyke's "Guns, Sex and Jesus" series...