School nativity plays which prefer Elvis to Jesus (WAR ON XMAS - BRITISH FRONT)
Found this while Googling "Elvis Nativity." (Heh...don't ask...)
From a UK blog called "Christmas Starts With Christ." Mr. Blur might even find some "Whackjobs" material in here:
Netmums, a website and network for parents, has just released the results of a survey which shows that the original Bethlehem story of Christmas is being edged out of school nativity plays across the UK...
Many schools are abadoning the story of Jesus’ birth by adding extra characters to the plays – such as Elvis, aliens, fairies and spacemen – and ditching carols in favour of pop songs...
Dr Don Horrocks of the Evangelical Alliance says, ‘This is either extreme political correctness or perhaps it reflects a nation too embarrassed to face up to its Christian heritage and the radical challenging message of the Christmas story. We are acknowledging Eid and Diwali in a country with an overwhelmingly Christian tradition, but we seem to be frightened of mentioning Jesus Christ...’
Says Francis Goodwin, of Christmas Starts with Christ, ‘I’m sorry, but not surprised, to hear this story. The UK has become the most secular nation in the West as one of our surveys show that 51 percent of adults did not think that the birth of Christ has any meaning for their Christmas; perhaps many of our teachers are among this 51 percent.’
http://christmasstartswithchrist.com/blog/entry/school_nativity_plays_which_prefer_elvis_to_jesus#sthash.TMzk0odJ.dpuf
= new reply since forum marked as read
My mother is a big Elvis fan. (Though she didn't much appreciate one of my gifts to her - Greil Marcus' book "Dead Elvis."
I was looking thru her Elvis library and came across the sleazy tell-all book "Elvis - What Happened?" Written by 3 of Elvis' gofers/dick-holders (and a ghostwriter), after the 3 were unceremoniously fired. Since the job description "gofer/dick-holder" doesn't include much of a retirement plan, they made some quick money with the book. Which, as it happened, was published just a few days after Presley died.
Like many celebrities, Elvis eventually came to believe his success descended from...A Higher Power. Along with that came the belief that he could do faith-healing, and belief in all sorts of woo, from psychic powers to UFOs following him around.
Being Elvis, he put some...unusual spins on those beliefs:
He started talking about Moses and he says, his voice still like a gospel preacher: "Moses, that white-haired son-of-a-bitch, comes running down from this big mountain. Now his damn hair had turned white because he had seen the Lord, and those things can happen when you see the Lord. Anyway, he came on down from the mountain, and how he got down was the burning bushes directed his ass on down..."
Sonny (West) recalls that the Bible teachings were really a scream, but nobody dared laugh. Presley was deadly serious.
"Now whenever he mentioned Jesus, he would just say aside: "Now Jesus, he was getting it on with Mary, the woman at the well, you know, Mary Magdalene. It ain't in the Bible but it's true. She got stoned but Jesus took care of her and they traveled around a lot together."
Red West recalls: (Elvis) would say, "Jesus said he was old and of age and he fell ass backwards in the dust." Later on, after we got together, we would laugh our heads off because it was hysterical."
