But with the implied cross behind the image on “Praying for Peace”, there’s just enough insincere religiousity to add a whole new layer of disgust to my reaction. I think it still beats out Liberty’s Silent Scream.
And if you look through the “Browse by Topic” pulldown list on the site, there is a link to a large collection of Elvis posters. Sadly none of the velvet variety, unless “cloth poster” is a clever euphemism.
P.S.- I did not choose this website for any reason other than it was the first to come up when I googled the painting’s name. Now that we’ve all perused a bit more, I find I really did choose a winner of a site for far greater amusement (and torture) than just the original image.
P.P.S- I really want to see “velvet Elvis” become a username now. It looks available.
St. Paul’s, the Episcopalian (Anglican) church that the WTC nearly fell on and which gallantly housed the salvage workers for months, has a pew that Washington used regularly when the capital of the US was New York for a little while (it’s a few blocks from the hall where he was sworn in as President for his first term). So he was a churchgoer in NY as well, FWIW.
The painting? I see what he’s trying to say but man, is that cheesy. The Ghosts and Mr. Bush!
He also refrained from praying at the services he did attend, preferring to remain standing while others knelt. Those who knew him personally said that they never saw him pray privately either.
Granted, Washington never explicitly stated that he was an atheist but he never gave any indication that he had any specific religious beliefs and seemed quite unfomfortable with shows of religiosity in general. If anything he was probably a Deist but he was very quiet about his personal beliefs.
A stronger case for non-theism can be made for Lincoln. He explicitly stated and wrote that he did not believe in the Divinity of Jesus and was vigorously skeptical of religion in general.
In any case, no matter what residual theistic beliefs they may have held, neither Washington nor Lincoln was the type who would have prayed with GWB.
Ha! Praying For Peace: featuring the man who stood in a church, a house of worship and refuge, the palace of the Prince of Peace, and talked about revenge.
The author Eric Flint began a series of novels in which a town in West Virginia has been transported back to Germany during the middle of the Thirty Year’s War. There is a book of shorter stories set in this world, written by several other author, and titled Ring of Fire. In one story, “Between the Armies” an Italian monsignor, Giulio Mazarini(yeah, that one) is in the town of Grantville as it repulses a cavalry attack. He sees one woman who has been wounded not by the attack, but by a framed painting falling off a wall.
“She’s concussed. That”–Mazzare stabbed a finger at a heavy, brass-framed icon in the Eastern style–“fell off the wall.”
Mazarini picked it up. It was painted on, of all things, black velvet. The saint’s face was serene, slightly corpulent, and he was dressed in a white raiment adorned with jewels. The name written under the portrait was an odd one, the appellation even more so. Elvis–Still the King.
“What saint is this?” he asked, able now to converse normally with the guns all but silent. It took some time to explain the slightly hysterical laughter to his satisfaction.*
Before I read the title, I assumed that Lincoln and Washington were both giving him a stern talking to from beyond the grave!!!
“We’re not angry with you, George. We’re just very, very disappointed.”
“But I didn’t want to be the war president!”
“Now, now, George. What did we tell you about lying?”
“But Saddam started it!”
“Do you want us to take your gun away?”
“Mmmm… no.”
“All right then. Abe, give him a juice box.”
My understanding is that, while Lincoln never joined a church - he didn’t care for all the dogma - he prayed to God for guidance and strength, for example during the battle of Gettysburg. I think it’s stretching things to claim that he was an atheist, especially in his later years.
Oh, Only Mostly Dead, I think that you and everyone you know, should walk into the store, point to the painting and say, “It’s because of things like this that I’m an athiest.”
I read a post which said exactly what I was thinking (OK, except for the “wife whispering” bit) and looked up to see who posted it. I should have known! :rolleyes: Nice to see you round, O Brother-In-Spirit. Hmmm. Wonder if I should send this link to a certain hack science fiction writer before he comes over to dinner tonight . . . .
You know, I’ve heard a lot of talk about how great a Christian Bush is, but I’ve seen very little evidence of it in his actions. I’m not sure if this painting is a bigger example of ignorance or hypocrisy.
You’ve got to admit that “dead Presidents” is a pretty apt metaphor for what this Administration is all about.
On a possibly related note, I passed a car today with three bumper stickers. From left to right: “Darwin’s dead - Jesus isn’t”, “I (heart) my wife”, and “Bush-Cheney”.
And see, on that I disagree. In “Praying for Peace” the artist is at least using new and original images. (Washington and Lincoln praying with Bush fils? It is to laugh.) But “Liberty’s Silent Scream” is naught but tired cliches, and too damned few of 'em besides. If you really wanna demonstrate that you are the most patriotic sumbitch in the valley, you need to include some purple mountains, the White House, at least one really big gun and some of them mudflaps with the nekkid ladies on 'em.
Baker: I’d no idea that Eric Flint was intimate with Ma’s oeuvre. Good on him.
And “Blessed are the Peacemakers” makes the baby Jesus claw his eyes out with a dull spoon, then pour bleach and salt in equal measures into his bloody eyesockets, all while drinking a Dranotini.
And if you’ll excuse me, the baby Jesus is done with the spoon, so it’s my turn. . .
I’m so glad for freedom of speech. I would imagine if it were a picture of someone taking a shit on Jesus on the cross people on here would be praising it as “artistic expression” and a great work or some such shit.
For God’s sake it’s even titled “Praying for Peace”! But this is only bad because it portrays GW and not one of the poster children that you support. It isn’t as if GW himself painted it ya know. If he had then I could see some validity to the OP. As it is, it’s an artist’s rendition of what he may like to see or perhaps as he does see things. To say it “makes no fucking sense whatsoever” is about as ignorant as a person can possibly be. Someone hoping for peace makes absolute sense whether you agree with who is portrayed on the iamge or not.
People that get upset over such trivial things as that painting are probably the same people that cry because a rock in front of a court house has some writing on it they don’t like. Maybe I’m the only one that doesn’t see my life affected by such things as what may be written on a rock or painted on a canvas. Your lives are really pathetic. Fucking hypocrites.
What a bunch of whiny pussies. Get the fuck over it already. It’s a painting people! It’s in a Christian bookstore! It’s also a protected right in the USA (as is your right whine like a sniveling 7 year old girl).
I have to admit, I laugh everytime I read these boards because of all this kind of stupidity that is displayed on here. Were it not for Genral Questions and Great Debates this site would be just another MB of whiny pussies like so many others out there.
All hail General Questions! The saviour of SDMB! And fuck off to the easily offended victim pussies (of which their is vast number on here) that have nothing better to do then sit on their fat asses spewing crap as they eat bon-bons and complain about thier slow metabolism and cry because they saw a <gasp!> picture of GW being portrayed as praying for peace with dead people. Fuck you.
