‘O little town of Beck-lehem’ damaged in attack
-13/12/04
Waxwork nativity figures of
‘O little town of Beck-lehem’ damaged in attack
-13/12/04
Waxwork nativity figures of Posh and Becks dressed as Mary and Joseph have been damaged in an attack, Madame Tussaudís has said.
The controversial figures were removed and their nativity scene closed off because of the vandalism, the Londonís tourist attraction has confirmed.
A spokeswoman tonight said: ìThere was some damage caused to the figures of David and Victoria by a member of the public earlier today.
ìThe figures have been removed and the scene has been closed.î
The star-studded nativity scene at Londonís Madame Tussaudís with Posh and Becks taking centre stage was greeted by anger from some senior churchmen, while others gave it a guarded welcome.
The nativity tableau depicting Victoria and David Beckham as Mary and Joseph (described by the Scotsman newspaper as (“Oh Little Town of Beck-lehem”) has been called ìa nativity stunt too farî.
Some church leaders, however, gave a guarded welcome to the waxwork attraction.
Bringing the gold, frankincense and myrrh are the Three Wise Men from the west rather than the east are Tony Blair, President Bush and the Duke of Edinburgh.
The three shepherds who complete the scene are non other than the bible-quoting gangster from Pulp Fiction, Samuel L Jackson; Hugh Grant – complete with a lamb in hand; and comedian Graham Norton. The sultry angel Kylie Minogue “strikes a seductive pose above the manger” according to Hello magazine.
The celebrity nativity scene was created after 300 visitors to the London attraction in October were asked which celebrities they would like to see in which roles.
They voted overwhelmingly for the Beckhams in the central roles. Tussaudís stopped short of putting a baby Beckham in the manger, however. The baby Jesus is a plastic doll of the type used in any school nativity play.
Rev Rod Thomas, spokesman for Reform, the conservative evangelical grouping, said that the tableau should not be allowed to undermine the serious message of the story of the birth of Christ. ìAnything that reminds us that Jesus came into the real world as a real human being is very useful at this time of year,î he said. ìBut anything that invites us to laugh at what God did is something that He will take very seriously. In the Ten Commandments we are told not to make any images of God. This scene shows how wise that commandment is.î
Arun Kataria, spokesman for the Church of England, said: ìIt is an original idea. But it is worth noting that none of the people who took part in the original was a celebrity.î
He admitted that there was some potential for evangelisation. ìIf it brings the nativity tableau to an adult audience rather than just to toddlers in a school, then that is a good thing.î
Roman Catholic bishops were initially reluctant to comment. A spokesman for one said he was concerned that the tableau might offend some Catholics. He said he was anxious to avoid saying anything that might exacerbate things.
However at the weekend the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales blasted the nativity scene, describing it as ìdisrespectfulî.
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-OíConnor said: ìTo have a very special part of Christianity depicted in this way and its most precious symbol, which is the coming of God into the world in Jesus Christ, seems to me to be not just disrespectful to Christians, it is also disrespectful to the heritage of Britain and also does damage to the culture of this country.î
The Vatican said that crib was ìif not blasphemous then certainly in very poor tasteî. A spokesman said that although contemporary figures had often been presented as onlookers in nativity scenes, to introduce celebrities as the main figures is ìquite another matterî. ìIn Naples there is a strong tradition of including famous contemporary figures in the Nativity scene ñ Maradona, the footballer, for example, or Princess Diana, or politicians and statesmen. But they are always onlookers.î
A Scotland Yard spokesman has said that there were no records of police being contacted in connection with the vandalism.
According to The Sun newspaper, a man in his 20s queued behind other visitors before repeatedly punching the waxwork figures and escaping into the street.
‘O little town of Beck-lehem’ damaged in attack
-13/12/04
Waxwork nativity figures of Posh and Becks dressed as Mary and Joseph have been damaged in an attack, Madame Tussaudís has said.
The controversial figures were removed and their nativity scene closed off because of the vandalism, the Londonís tourist attraction has confirmed.
A spokeswoman tonight said: ìThere was some damage caused to the figures of David and Victoria by a member of the public earlier today.
ìThe figures have been removed and the scene has been closed.î
The star-studded nativity scene at Londonís Madame Tussaudís with Posh and Becks taking centre stage was greeted by anger from some senior churchmen, while others gave it a guarded welcome.
The nativity tableau depicting Victoria and David Beckham as Mary and Joseph (described by the Scotsman newspaper as (“Oh Little Town of Beck-lehem”) has been called ìa nativity stunt too farî.
Some church leaders, however, gave a guarded welcome to the waxwork attraction.
Bringing the gold, frankincense and myrrh are the Three Wise Men from the west rather than the east are Tony Blair, President Bush and the Duke of Edinburgh.
The three shepherds who complete the scene are non other than the bible-quoting gangster from Pulp Fiction, Samuel L Jackson; Hugh Grant – complete with a lamb in hand; and comedian Graham Norton. The sultry angel Kylie Minogue “strikes a seductive pose above the manger” according to Hello magazine.
The celebrity nativity scene was created after 300 visitors to the London attraction in October were asked which celebrities they would like to see in which roles.
They voted overwhelmingly for the Beckhams in the central roles. Tussaudís stopped short of putting a baby Beckham in the manger, however. The baby Jesus is a plastic doll of the type used in any school nativity play.
Rev Rod Thomas, spokesman for Reform, the conservative evangelical grouping, said that the tableau should not be allowed to undermine the serious message of the story of the birth of Christ. ìAnything that reminds us that Jesus came into the real world as a real human being is very useful at this time of year,î he said. ìBut anything that invites us to laugh at what God did is something that He will take very seriously. In the Ten Commandments we are told not to make any images of God. This scene shows how wise that commandment is.î
Arun Kataria, spokesman for the Church of England, said: ìIt is an original idea. But it is worth noting that none of the people who took part in the original was a celebrity.î
He admitted that there was some potential for evangelisation. ìIf it brings the nativity tableau to an adult audience rather than just to toddlers in a school, then that is a good thing.î
Roman Catholic bishops were initially reluctant to comment. A spokesman for one said he was concerned that the tableau might offend some Catholics. He said he was anxious to avoid saying anything that might exacerbate things.
However at the weekend the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales blasted the nativity scene, describing it as ìdisrespectfulî.
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-OíConnor said: ìTo have a very special part of Christianity depicted in this way and its most precious symbol, which is the coming of God into the world in Jesus Christ, seems to me to be not just disrespectful to Christians, it is also disrespectful to the heritage of Britain and also does damage to the culture of this country.î
The Vatican said that crib was ìif not blasphemous then certainly in very poor tasteî. A spokesman said that although contemporary figures had often been presented as onlookers in nativity scenes, to introduce celebrities as the main figures is ìquite another matterî. ìIn Naples there is a strong tradition of including famous contemporary figures in the Nativity scene ñ Maradona, the footballer, for example, or Princess Diana, or politicians and statesmen. But they are always onlookers.î
A Scotland Yard spokesman has said that there were no records of police being contacted in connection with the vandalism.
According to The Sun newspaper, a man in his 20s queued behind other visitors before repeatedly punching the waxwork figures and escaping into the street.