Jesus Would Not Approve

I recently caught wind through the magic of social media that some of my conservative Christian relatives are intentionally trying to sabotage my crowdfunding efforts on Indiegogo by imploring family members to not contribute. 

Preorder my album Sex, Drugs 
& Shiny Brass Poles  through 
my campaign here. Just select the 
$10 digital album perk or the $25 signed CD 
perk and receive  your copy weeks 
before the official release!

The fact that my art disturbs old people is actually a huge compliment. I'm kinda enjoying my Marilyn Manson moment, or I would be if the attack wasn't so personal. This isn't just some group of conservative nut jobs that's never met me and regularly crusades against several other artists who's content the deem to be objectionable. This is my family saying, "not only am I not supporting you, but I wish failure upon you so I'm going out of my way to get the rest of the family to turn their backs on you too." This type of attack is intentional, targeted and personal.
I've written a rebuttal to the relative(s) who feels that it is their moral duty to dissuade me from trying to make a career out of doing something I love. I'm writing it in Christianese as I'm hoping that maybe if I speak their language we might be able to find some common ground.

Dear family member(s),

I understand that you are person of conviction and live your life according to a moral code. I can appreciate and respect that as I too have strong convictions and a code of ethics that I try to live by. I also understand that the Bible and the teachings of Jesus are the basis of your moral code. So let's talk about that. I'm pretty well versed in the Bible and believe it or not I hold the teachings of Jesus in the highest regard. In fact, there are a lot of parallels between what's said in the Bible and what I'm saying in my album Sex, Drugs & Shiny Brass Poles. I know that the title might be a little scary because of the word "sex" but let's not forget that the Bible has a bunch of stories about all kinds of sexual scenarios including rape, incest and adultery. There's lessons to be learned from these stories, just as there are lessons to be learned from the story I am telling through my music and art. A lot of the lessons are even biblical. My song We're All Whores is a shining example of this.

It's about how everyone is a "whore" because we all have done something for money that we haven't wanted to do, but we've done it just for the money.

"...we all have a price that someone will pay...you and me are a commodity and we're all whores in our own unique way"  ~ We're All Whores

The message of the song is not to judge because we are all guilty of selling out on some level and making money our priority

.

"...so don't judge me you know you have no right because we're all precious little whores in God's sight. Look inside yourself what do you see? You're a whore too, you know you're just like me..." ~ We're All Whores

Maybe you're not convinced yet that the message is biblical? Well, here's some Scripture to back it up.

On all of us being guilty:
Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."

On your right to judge me:
John 8:7 "...'Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone'..."

On making moral judgements against others:
Luke 6:37 "...'Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned'..."

I'm just reiterating what Jesus said. Speaking of which, there's this pretty famous quote of his that most people who live by a code of ethics aspire to live their lives by. You may have heard of it. 

It's called The Golden Rule:

Luke 6:31 "Do to others as you would have them do to you."

Matthew 7:12 "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."

So based on this very core Christian principle, I ask why would you intentionally sabotage me? If you were starting a business would you appreciate it if I went to other family members and asked them not to support your efforts? Your argument may be that you simply do not support the work that I do based on moral objections and you are simply standing by your convictions. Well that's fine, but let me give you a parallel example. Let's say that I'm a vegan and you are opening up a steakhouse. I morally object to the consumption of meat and will not under any circumstance support a business that profits because of the slaughter of animals. These are deeply held moral beliefs of mine because I feel that the way animals are raised and slaughtered is inhumane. However, there are other family members who do eat meat and would likely support my business. If I go around to them and tell them not to support specifically your restaurant, it is now a personal attack because I am not telling them not to eat meat, but specifically telling them not to eat meat from your restaurant. My intent is no longer that of altruism, but of maliciousness.

The real irony is that in your moral "Christian" crusade against my overtly sexual artistic content, you have broken God's law. I'm guessing that Jesus would not approve of your condemnation anymore than he did 2000 years ago when the Pharisees tried stoning a woman to death for her sexual transgressions.

You're attacks on me are clearly rooted in a place of ignorance and fear. You don't know anything about my art nor have you ever taken the time to talk to me about it. You seem to just want to discourage me from creating it and spreading it to people who can be positively impacted by it. By the way, I forgive you just as Jesus forgave the people who executed him because, "you know not what you do." 

Sincerely,

Jenny

I just want to make it clear that I am not in anyway trashing on people who hold strong moral beliefs religious or otherwise, nor am I encouraging anyone to do so. Your beliefs don't make you a good person, your actions do. Unfortunately because none of us are perfect we will never be a good person 100% of the time, and sometimes we will use our beliefs to justify our shitty behavior.