Lord of the Dance
Church painting sparks outrage with 'X-rated' depiction of Jesus
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Church painting sparks outrage with 'X-rated' depiction of Jesus

A CHURCH painting of Jesus Christ has courted controversy for its seemingly explicit depiction of the Son of God.

The painting appears to depict Jesus with a huge penis that rises up from his abdomen and includes with it a rather large set of testicles.

Or at least, that is how it appears.

It's likely that whoever painted the picture at Santa Maria del Mar Catholic church in the village of Cabo de Palos, Murcia, in Spain had holier intentions.

The image depicts Christ on the cross with his arms spread in the familiar crucifixion pose.

Unfortunately, rather than depicting Jesus with a standard abdomen, a large phallic-like object can be found running across the stomach.

It hardly helps that the penis-shaped abdomen is accompanied by a circle at its base, divided into two parts. Was this intended as part of the abdomen or a giant belly button? It's unclear.

What is clear, however, is that the majority of Twitter seems to think it's a penis, after Spanish journalist Nieves Consostrina shared a snap of the offending image with her followers.

The image has been branded "comical" and "extravagant" on Twitter with one follower wondering aloud whether the image may have been photoshopped.

Ultimately, like all good pieces of art, this probably comes down to interpretation.