Public High School Makes Blasphemous Play Mocking The Bible

A public school for middle school and high school students ignored protests and produced a play that mocks the Bible and the Christian faith. Pioneer Valley Performing Arts School put on a performance of The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, a play that portrays characters from the book of Genesis as homosexuals who kiss on stage,  features biblical figures in drag, references to bestiality and foul language. The production, carried out by a public school, is just another sign of the blasphemy of the God of the Bible that is becoming normalized and even praised in society today.

The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told is a play written by Steve Rudnick in 1998. In its story, rather than portraying, Adam and Eve, the first two humans created as recorded in Scripture, there is a homosexual couple named Adam and Steve. As stated in the school’s own description of the show:

“What if Adam’s partner in the Garden of Eden wasn’t Eve, but … Steve? In The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, two First Couples—not only Adam and Steve but also Jane and Mabel—experience life’s joys and perils from the biblical world to the modern day. This satirical comedy by Paul Rudnick (author of I Hate Hamlet and Jeffrey) is cheeky, raucously funny, surprisingly tender and ultimately wise as it dissects history, relationships, gay politics and the mystery of faith. A cast of ten will perform the two couples and other roles, including the Pharaoh, a paraplegic lesbian rabbi and a Stage Manager who is, after all, God.” (source).

The school is located in South Hadley, Massachusetts, a part of Northampton, which was nicknamed “Lesbianville USA” after the 2000 census showed more lesbians live there per capita than any other town in the United States.

To make a performance that distorts the account of the Bible and purposely seeks to promote what the Bible declares sin is disrespectful and blasphemous to the Christian faith. In an age where “tolerance” is constantly being preached in support of the gay community, there are few calls for tolerance to be shown to the Christian religion which disagrees with the homosexual lifestyle. Instead, direct, open attacks on the Christian faith are applauded and celebrated. In the case of this play, rather than just seeking to entertain, the school was out to make a statement:

In a release, theater department director Mike Arquilla said, “In my opinion, those who find offense with this play will do so because they believe that homosexuality is a sin. At PVPA, we do not believe that to be the case.” (source).

So speaking on behalf of all of the students, the head of the theater department made it clear that this a religious message being sent with the play and there would be no concern for anyone who was offended by this blasphemous display. The school received over 4,000 emails in protest and continued on with the show.
Principal Scott Goldman said cancelling the show was not  an option, saying in a statement:

“Allowing this [cancelling the performance] to happen would very much go against the grain of our unique, artistic, and intellectually rigorous PVPA community, and the larger Pioneer Valley community.” (source).

Prophesied Anti-Christian Sentiment

The Bible prophesied that as the end times approached rather than experiencing spiritual revival, the world would fall deeper into sinful lusts and rebellion against God:

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; – 2 Timothy 3:1-4.

Many people today have put their own ideas, desires and opinions above the Word of God. And in this, blaspheming the Christian faith is justified as “intellectual debate” or “allowing open communication.” But at its core, this is all sinful disobedience. Many public schools have used the excuse of promoting “free thought” to commit acts that are direct attacks on Christianity. Most recently, as Beginning and End covered, a Florida professor forced students to write the name of Jesus on a piece of paper, place it on the ground and then stomp on it. There is nothing “intellectual” in expressing hatred for a religion. There are certainly civil, respectful ways of discussing homosexuality in the Bible or the issue of gay marriage. Plays that make the figures in the Bible gay are not one of them.

Double Standard

It’s also interesting to note the double standard being carried out in public schools today. No school official at Pioneer Valley was worried about “separation of church and state” when it came to making a play that mocked the Bible. But when Christian students attempt to make mention of their faith in a positive light they have been silenced or punished. Consider some of the following examples:

• High School valedictorian Erica Corder was disciplined for saying in her 30 second speech “Jesus loves you much more than you know.” After the speech she was escorted to the principal’s office and told she would not receive a diploma. She was later required to write and email to all of the students and parents in attendance apologizing for her remarks which the principal told Corder were “immature.” In her email she was also required to write: “I realize that, had I asked ahead of time, I would not have been allowed to say what I did” in her apology.”  She filed a lawsuit against the school for its actions and portraying her as someone who disobeyed school rules. (source).

• Kyle Geawar, valedictorian of Fair Haven Union High School in Vermont was told by school principals that he was not permitted to say the name of God or Jesus Christ during his graduation speech. “It is a fine line here. Here’s freedom of speech and here’s separation of church and state,” Fair Haven Union High School principal Brett Blanchard said. “The line is generally the difference between proselytizing and personalizing.”Instead Geawar was required to make this school-approved statement: “I have always dreamed of speaking about God in front of my school as the valedictorian,” he said in his speech. “This was the message God gave to me, and I am not allowed to share it with you even though it is my testimony, the most important change my life has ever experienced, and the one thing that I stand for no matter what.” (source).

• The New York Court of Appeals upheld the New York City school district’s decision to ban all Christian nativity displays during Christmas season but permit a Jewish menorah, an Islamic crescent and star as well as Kwanzaa displays during the month of December. Robert Thompson, head of the Thomas Moore Law Center, which opposed the school district in the case called the decision “outrageous” and added: “Many federal courts are using the contrived endorsement test to cleanse America of Christianity. This unprincipled test allows judges to impose their ideological views under the pretext of constitutional interpretation. Thus, the majority opinion says it is legitimate to discriminate against Christians in the largest public school system in the country, with over one million students enrolled in its 1200 public schools and programs.This should be a wake-up call for Christians across this nation.”The dissenting judge in the case, in a 46-page opinion wrote: “It is my view that the policy of the New York City Department of Education to arrange for the children to celebrate the holiday season in schools through the use of displays and activities that include religious symbols of the Jewish holiday of Chanukah and the Muslim commemoration of Ramadan, but starkly exclude any religious symbols of the Christian holiday of Christmas, fails under the [Constitution], both on its face and as applied.”Judge Straub concluded, “I find it clear that the current policy and displays violate the Establishment Clause insofar as a reasonable student observer would perceive a message of endorsement of Judaism and Islam and a reasonable parent observer would perceive a message that Judaism and Islam are favored and that Christianity is disfavored.” (source).

• A cheer leading team at a public High School in Kountze, Texas, had to pursue an injunction in court after being banned from writing Bible verses on their banners they carried before football games. A recent one quoted 1 Corinthians 15:57: “Bu thanks be to God, which gives us victory through out Lord Jesus Christ.”“It’s a student-led expression, and that’s perfectly constitutional, perfectly satisfies all the cases issued by the United States Supreme Court,” Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said at the news conference. (source).

In all these cases a single mention of Jesus or the writing of a Bible verse brought immediate action on the part of school administrators to silence the display of Christianity. But a theater production all about the Bible is completely permissible, intellectual and promotes good education when its purpose is to mock and distort the Christian faith.

Continue in prayer for the many Christian students in public schools all over America who are under pressure from teachers, administrators and students alike to be silent about their faith. The rising tide against Biblical Christianity is growing exponentially and most Christians will be put in positions of either standing up for Biblical Christian faith or denying God’s Word and compromising with the culture. If you are a born again Christian, pray for your own strength should the time come in your own life. Jesus instructs His disciples to be “wise as serpents but harmless as doves.” Contend for the Christian faith with passion, but also with love and compassion on those who attack it.

Pray for those who seek to mock and attack Christianity that they would repent and understand that while the Bible states clearly that homosexuality is a sin, it also states that every single person ever born was a sinner – except for one person, Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ, the Son of God, lived a perfect life to offer himself as a perfect sacrifice for all people, gay and straight. Why? Because God loves all people, gay, straight or otherwise. And He proved His love by sending Jesus to take the wrath for the sins all people have committed. But it takes faith and belief in Jesus to receive salvation. If a person does not believe they are in sin, then they have no need for a Savior. Society, under sinful deception wants to erase the word sin and tell everyone they are great people who are right in God’s eyes “if God even exists.” Do not be deceived. God is real. And our sins before Him are very real. God knows the hearts, minds and intentions of all people. And rather than remaining in rebellion, it just takes a confession of sin to God and the need for forgiveness that only comes through true faith in Jesus’ work on the cross to be forgiven and receive eternal life.