Moneyslane clergyman leads protest over 'blasphemous' show

THE minister of Moneyslane Free Presbyterian Church led a protest against a production of Jesus Christ Superstar by Newry Musical Society at Newry Town Hall.

Rev Daniel Henderson alongside the ministers of Mourne Free Presbyterian Church and Mount Merrion FPC (Belfast) described the Rock Opera as being a “blasphemy against the Lord Jesus Christ”.

The local production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ was directed by David Cunningham.

It ran nightly last week from 12–15 March and starred local actors.

However, Rev Henderson says the whole production “makes a mockery of the Saviour and the Bible record of His life”.

“The entire performance from start to finish portrays Jesus Christ as a mere man that is in a sinful relationship with a prostitute and the Opera refuses to acknowledge that He rose from the dead on the third day.

“The storyline depicts Jesus Christ as being a burnt-out celebrity that went to the cross in order to keep His fame.

“The production, from start to finish, is offensive to Bible-believing, born-again Christians and, as local Free Presbyterians, we felt it was our duty to raise a voice of opposition against something that tries to mock the Lord Jesus.

“Let me be clear. Jesus Christ was not a ‘Superstar’. Jesus Christ is Saviour. He came to this world to die upon the cross so that we could be saved from our sins - and the Bible says: ‘For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved’.”

Rev Henderson, who joined Moneyslane Free Presbyterian Church four months ago, was born in Liverpool before his family moved to Yorkshire eight years ago.

He started his ministry training Whitefield College of the Bible in Belfast four years ago.

Several attempts were made to contact Newry Musical Society yesterday (Monday) and messages left, however, calls went unanswered.

Meanwhile, Rev Paul Hanna, of Mount Merrion FPC, estimated that around “45-50 Free Presbyterians of all ages, including four ministers from local churches” gathered on the footpath opposite the main entrance to the town hall to mount their “hour-long vigil”.

“Specially prepared Gospel tracts [along with other relevant materials] were distributed to patrons as they entered the building.

“Many commented on our presence and many of those actually thanked us for the printed material as well as the conversations we were able to enter into.

“Some who took the Gospel tracts, entered the building and actually came back outside to thank us for the information given to them. Surprisingly, only one of those to whom we spoke to were openly antagonistic towards our protest, most notably, one of the principal actors from this blasphemous production (Judas from the ‘show’) made a point in engaging with us and attempted to defend the production.

“Our crowd of concerned protesters were, however, despite the cold air, in fine voice. Led by Rev Daniel Henderson of Moneyslane FPC, we sang hymn after hymn, but rather than voices weakening, the volume actually seemed to get stronger and stronger as we raised our voices towards Heaven.”