NZ neighbours at war over giant religious statue

[fta]

New Zealand neighbours at war over giant religious statue

Auckland neighbours are involved in a religious battle after a giant 6.4m statue of Hindu god Shiva was erected in a backyard. Ravin Chandar installed the 30-tonne statue for him and his family to pray to, but that's irked his Catholic neighbour, Bryce Watts ... "Religiously and culturally it's a bit insensitive to us and I can't believe they're able to do this," Watts told nzherald.co.nz. "Part of our property looks at it and it's part of a religion we don't agree with. I don't see why we should have it poked down our throats in such a big way."

This is almost as entertaining as the time when the locals complained about another Hindu family painting a big swastika on the roof of their house.

 

[dystopian]

Oh the irony of catholics complaining about someone poking religion down their throats.

 

[Herrick]

"I didn't realise god would be offensive to some people. It was never my intention to be offensive. If I knew he had an issue I would have shifted it, it's a big piece of property."

Chandar's neighbours were invited to Sunday's celebration but didn't come.

Ha ha!

 

[bilby]

"Part of our property looks at it and it's part of a religion we don't agree with. I don't see why we should have it poked down our throats in such a big way."

But of course it is perfectly OK for the Catholics to have big statues of some guy being tortured to death all over the place. It's part of a religion I don't agree with, but my opinion can be ignored, because I am not a Catholic, right?

 

[barbos]

But of course it is perfectly OK for the Catholics to have big statues of some guy being tortured to death all over the place.

To be fair these are usually inside a house and usually much smaller than 6 metes tall.

 

[fta]

Perhaps the Catholic dude should erect a 6 meter crucifix in his backyard. Or maybe a big statue of the Virgin Mary.

 

[Keith&Co.]

Perhaps the Catholic dude should erect a 6 meter crucifix in his backyard. Or maybe a big statue of the Virgin Mary.

Or move to Rio De Janeiro and complain about how many homes see Jesus?

 

[Atheos]

That's right. People should quit decorating their yards with manger scenes at Winter Solstice and crucifixes at Spring Equinox celebrations. Shoving it down everyone else's throats they are.

 

[Keith&Co.]

From the picture of Chandar's celebration, that's a substantial piece of land. The statue looks rather fitting within that setting.

I was getting the impression that it was peering into Watts' bedroom window or something. I wonder how far he has to go out of his way to see that statue and have the religion shoved down his throat?

 

[fta]

New Zealand has a long history of religionists complaining about "offensive" and/or "pagan" statues. In the 19th century Maori carvings were often "emasculated" at the instigation of Victorian missionaries.

Carving Up A Complaint

There comes a point in every parent's life where their youngsters ask an embarrassing question of a sexual nature.

For Hamilton man Phillip Stevens that point came sooner than he would have liked when the oldest and most curious of his four young children pointed out the enlarged genitalia on the carvings at Hamilton's Te Parapara Maori garden.

"The majority are the same size as their legs," said Mr Stevens. "I can imagine there's a few kids out there who would really be put off by it. I'm surprised nobody has raised it earlier."

It seems Mr Stevens is the only one put off by it so far as Hamilton City Council has yet to hear any other complaints. But it's not the first time such a controversy has aired in this newspaper.

There were Tokoroa's talking poles carvings, again with prominent genitalia, which prompted an outpouring of outrage a few years back. In 1991 conservative Christians railed against an erection of another kind. In that case it was council's decision to put up statues of Egyptian gods Sobek and Horus in the gardens. Although the effigies were wearing more than their Maori counterparts it seemed their presence would be enough to turn the city's populace to pagan worship.

In 1998, the first of a hoped-for series of 40 totem-type "talking poles" raised the ire of some locals and then Christian Heritage Party leader Graham Capill when it depicted Tane [a Maori deity] holding an erect penis to symbolise the seeds of life.

In the furore that followed, in which Capill lodged a complaint with the police, who rejected it, the curious flocked to Tokoroa.

However, some of the early poles, including the controversial one, had not been treated adequately and they began to rot. Before anything could be done for the Tane pole it was burned down last year. Mysteriously, locals say.

Somewhat ironically, Capill was later jailed for crimes involving his own genitals.

And in 1998 there was a splendid row over an art exhibition that featured a statue of the Virgin Mary wearing a condom.

Catholic activists saw the artwork as a grave insult to their faith, and applied for a court injunction to have the work removed. A determined few tried more direct methods, with one man kicking the statue in its perspex case to the ground the first day it went on display, while another attacked it with a metal bolt, and a third assaulted a Te Papa [Museum] worker...
One elderly Catholic lady was quite mystified at the fuss - till someone explained that the virgin was not, in fact, encased in gossamer silk.

 

[credoconsolans]

New Zealand neighbours at war over giant religious statue

Auckland neighbours are involved in a religious battle after a giant 6.4m statue of Hindu god Shiva was erected in a backyard. Ravin Chandar installed the 30-tonne statue for him and his family to pray to, but that's irked his Catholic neighbour, Bryce Watts ... "Religiously and culturally it's a bit insensitive to us and I can't believe they're able to do this," Watts told nzherald.co.nz. "Part of our property looks at it and it's part of a religion we don't agree with. I don't see why we should have it poked down our throats in such a big way."

This is almost as entertaining as the time when the locals complained about another Hindu family painting a big swastika on the roof of their house.

Looks rather nice to me.

Much better than the more common Catholic image of a bloody, tortured corpse on a stick.