The "Jesus Loves Porn Stars" Bible?

From ABC News:
Christians agree that the Bible commands them to "go and make disciples of all nations" and that Jesus "came to invite the sinners" to be his followers and "save people who are lost." But a new Bible with the words "Jesus Loves Porn Stars" emblazoned on the cover has ignited a debate about how far is too far when it comes to spreading the word.

This weekend at the erotica convention in Los Angeles, Pastor Craig Gross, who runs an anti-pornography ministry, handed out hundreds of "Jesus Loves Porn Stars" Bibles. Gross, in his "porn-mobile," is a regular fixture at porn conventions. His anti-porn Web site is provocatively entitled XXXChurch.com.

"I believe Jesus, he'd be in the show with us," Gross said. "He'd be mixing it up with these people. 'Cause he doesn't look at them as porn stars, or porn producers. He looks at us as all the same."

[…] Gross says his unconventional measures are what it takes to reach people today.

"We're trying to reach a new audience and so we can't just do things like our parents did, like the generation did before us," he said.

Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a popular Christian radio host, agrees evangelicals need to take risks to save sinners, but thinks that Gross's Bible cover goes too far.

"These younger guys seem to say that older evangelicalism is just out of touch," Mohler said. "In a rush to be relevant I think these guys have crossed a line that I would not cross and I would not commit."

Mohler thinks Gross's Bible may end up as just a kitschy keepsake.

[…] For Gross, the main thing is that people just open it.

"Whether it's a joke, whether it sits on the table and they make fun of the thing, I think if someone cracks this thing open, that's our prayer, that's our hope, then their lives will be changed," Gross said.

What makes this new Bible doubly controversial is that some say it's not a Bible at all. It's called "The Message" -- part of a new breed of Bible that veers from the standard translation to put the Gospel in modern language. There are now comic strips, even a Bible you can read in one sitting, which some find offensive.

[…] Mohler says he admires what Gross is doing, but just has questions about how he's doing it.

Hmmm. Frankly, I might actually disagree with Al Mohler on this one. I’m no big fan of The Message – the parts I’ve read are so committed to being up-to-date that, well, The Message tends to lose big parts of the message. On the other hand, though I sure as heck wouldn’t use it as a study bible, it probably isn’t a bad paraphrase for giving people with no concept of the gospel a basic intro to Christianity. It certainly isn’t any worse than Bible comic books!

As to the “Jesus Loves Porn Stars” cover, I wouldn’t want them passing it out in front of the local high school, but it might not be inappropriate in the venue they’ve chosen. People lost in immorality – particularly flagrant sexual immorality - tend to believe the Church wouldn’t touch them with a ten foot pole. What a lot of people need to hear first is not that “Jesus forgives your sins,” but that “Jesus says you don’t have to live like this anymore.” Forgiving my sins is good, but it won’t by itself keep me away from the bar, the pusher, or the next “Adult Entertainment” video shoot. You need to know there’s a life out there.

The whole thing’s pretty tacky, and I’m not at all sure how much impact it will have, but I’ve got to applaud the guys’ efforts. Now, if those bibles start to become collector’s items on E-Bay, I reserve the right to change my mind…