DeviantArt Bans Ben Heine for Blasphemy

This article was written from a satirical standpoint in the days before Paliban Daily became Secular News Daily. It has been edited; edits are struck through or placed in brackets. The permalink has not been changed. – Mike

For months, all the nation’s true Paliban — Christian conservatives — have worked behind the scenes to shut down DeviantArt. This week, they had a first success. Ben Heine has been banned for blasphemy!

Che Guevara's Message

Seems Heine went a bit too far, even for DeviantArt. He learned about Pope Benedict’s comments about condoms helping to spread AIDS in Africa. In response, Heine created the below image to put up on DeviantArt:

We’ve used the censored version. The uncensored shows this long-haired black “Jesus” wearing a condom on His Holy Wood . . . and I don’t mean the cross!

Well, this was enough for DeviantArt. They’d been hearing daily from fundamentalist Christians around the world about their users’ attacks on religion (that is, expressions of political free speech), and had decided to start enforcing their Terms of Service:

19. Conduct

You agree to be subject to and to conduct yourself in accordance with the deviantART Etiquette Policy.

. . .

You agree not to use the Service:

to upload, post, or otherwise transmit any material that is obscene, offensive, blasphemous, pornographic, unlawful, threatening, menacing, abusive, harmful, an invasion of privacy or publicity rights, defamatory, libelous, vulgar, illegal or otherwise objectionable;

Well, this piece hit on all counts! It’s offensive (to Christians). It’s blasphemous, suggesting that Jesus was a Jheri-curled priapic black dude. It’s vulgar, showing such things, and it’s also “otherwise offensive” to Bible-believing Christians, suggesting that “God is Love”, when the Bible clearly says that God is not some vague “warm fuzzy” concept, but the Creator of the Universe and He who will decide upon your eternal reward or unending torture at Judgment Day. God is the Cosmic Santa Claus, only instead of a lump of coal in your stocking, you get thrown into the fireplace. Forever.

They made an example of Mr. Heine, and banned him from the site! [Link updated to Google cache of page - MD]

Congratulations, Christians! You have made a first step toward removing filth from the world! Except this drew even more attention to it . . . Oops.

Update: Good news. We have received word of a new website, http://www.BlasphemArt.com, which purports:

To collect and display artworks in all web-compatible forms — visual, audio, written word, other? — which challenge any or all religions. These works will be called blasphemous by some. We call them political speech.

[The blasphemart.com site appears to no longer exist. - MD]

Will fundies erupt in outrage, seeing defeat snatched from the jaws of victory like this?

Update, 10/23/2010: Ben Heine has returned to DeviantArt. He has chosen not to share with us the terms of his reinstatement.

Please feel free to download them if you feel as strongly about free expression as we do.

Related article: http://freethinker.co.uk/2009/05/16/condom-jesus-too-deviant-for-deviant-art/

Related articles:

1. Nimocks: Bans on Interracial Marriage Were Wrong Because They’re Discriminatory, But Bans on Same-Sex Marriage A.O.K.
2. Blasphemy Contest! Enter Now!
3. Atheist Ireland Challenges New Blasphemy Law
4. Russian “blasphemy trial” works get published
5. Pakistani governor killed for opposing blasphemy laws

Jenny Donati is webmistress and co-editor of Secular News Daily. Jenny is an outspoken secularist who believes firmly in the separation of church and state. She demands evidence to support arguments, and holds herself to the same standard. She doesn't write about herself in the third person . . . but there's a first time for everything.

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