Crucifixion, Madonna and Leathersex

I love Madonna. I have to applaud Madonna for continuing to popularize fetishwear and as a Leatherman, I am gratified to see fetish clothing going more mainstream. But the singer always tries to push the envelope a little in each of her many reincarnation. The latest tour is no exception.

Madonna opens a worldwide tour with a mammoth production worthy of any Las Vegas showroom and the only thing that leads the headlines is "Madonna Hangs From Cross At Gig". I can hear the gnashing of teeth and rending of garments from the fundamentalists now.

They will scream Satanist; blasphemer and other lovely invectives and they will totally miss the point of the act. She donned a crown of thorns and was suspended on a stylized mirrored cross for the song "Live to Tell". The message, splashed across huge video screens of world poverty and hunger will be missed by many who only see any image of Jesus as that of a redeemer and personal savior. The same folks who will complain the loudest will likely be the ones who feel that being a good Christian involves only "accepting Christ" and spreading the Good News. For many Christians that Good News only involves the dispensation granted to us by ChristÂ’s death. Many will miss almost all the words that were uttered by Jesus in respect to the moral way to live.

Some themes rings loud and clear in Jesus teachings: make peace, feed the hungry, heal the sick, advocate for the prisoner, treat every human being as you would like to be treated, carry this message to others that they may know the good news.

Her point was clear, we cannot claim to be a godly people when we ignore poverty and oppression. The World Food Summit proposed in 1996 that world undernutrition be reduced 50 percent by 2015. The total cost would be $60 billion over 15 years, or $4 billion per year in increased spending. Only $4 billion! That is less than the record profits made by Mobil/Exxon last quarter. It is the cost of only a couple of B2 bombers or the cost of a few more bridges to nowhere in Alaska.

Wake up people! Artists and humanitarians use symbols like the cross to get our attention and to dramatize truths that need to be heard. Why should it take a pop star to shake the affluent countries of the world into action? After all, we had the Son of God give us this information over 2000 years ago and apparently that hasn't worked either.