Mary And Joseph In Bed Spark Anger In New Zealand

You may recall those 50's and 60's TV shows where husbands and wives had twin beds. Obviously, it was far too controversial to show them sharing a bed (Rob and Laura Petrie, Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, anyone?). A billboard showing Joseph and Mary in bed together, meant to spark discussions on Christmas, has instead sparked outrage in New Zealand.

The billboard shows Joseph and Mary sharing a bed, looking somewhat sad, both shown semi-nude. The caption reads: "Poor Joseph. God is a hard act to follow."

The billboard was put up by the St. Matthew-in-the-City church. Archdeacon Glynn Cardy said the church meant to challenge a "fundamentalist interpretation of Christ's birth." "What we're trying to do is to get people to think more about what Christmas is all about. Is it about a spiritual male God sending down sperm so a child would be born, or is it about the power of love in our midst as seen in Jesus?"

The St Matthew-in-the-City church is Anglican. Cardy added that the split on love - hate was about 50 / 50. However, one person had threatened to tear down the billboard. They have not, as yet, received a huge number of input on the matter: so far only 20 emails and phone calls.

Perhaps agreeing with the one protester above, the Catholic church joined those against the billboard. They accused the Anglican church of disrespect, as a Catholic church spokesman, Lyndsay Freer, said "It's flying in the face of our 2,000-year-old beliefs."