Distribution of ‘Jesus’ film opposed by mainstream group
The Layman Online, August 27, 1999
A plan to distribute more than 300,000 copies of a Campus Crusade for Christ video titled “Jesus” in Rochester, N.Y., and surrounding counties has run into opposition from some mainstream Christians and Jewish groups.
Twenty congregations, most of them members of the Greater Rochester Association of Evangelicals, are trying to raise $760,000 to pay for mailing the video, according to the Associated Press.
But leaders of a mainstream Protestant-Catholic coalition, the Greater Rochester Community of Churches, oppose the mass mailing. “This is not a Christian country; it is a pluralistic, diverse nation,” she said. “In my view, I honor people of other faiths and religions and do not wish to convert them,” Mary Ellen Denio, a vice president of the organization, told the Associated Press.
Rabbi Alan Katz, chairman of the Jewish Community Federation of Greater Rochester, said he found the effort offensive. “By sending it into people’s homes, you are invading their privacy. It is very limiting and close-minded.”
But evangelicals defended their planned mailing. Arthur Brown, who heads the evangelical association, said the video has a timely message for a society he believes is searching for answers.
“The last thing we want to do is offend folks or hurt them,” Brown said. “We understand the sensitivity of people of different faiths. We’d like people to simply understand who Jesus is. Everyone has to decide for themselves what to do with this video.”
Brown said the association of evangelicals will include a response card with each video for those interested in learning more about Jesus.
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