“Good Lord.” That’s what I said as I read the Sunday, Jan. 6, edition of the Des Moines Register.

It was John Carlson’s column that made me do it – “Play calling Jesus `king of queers’ puts UNI in the spotlight.”

It seems some people are upset over a recent theater production at the University of Northern Iowa. The UNI Student Theater Association, which is comprised solely of students, decided to perform “Corpus Christi,” a play by Terrence McNally. McNally is well-known for other works such as “Kiss of the Spider Woman” and “Ragtime,” but while these have received rave reviews, “Corpus Christi” has been a consistent source of controversy.

The play centers around a homosexual character named Joshua – Jesus in Hebrew – and his spiritual journey paralleling the story of Jesus in the Bible. It ends with Joshua being killed as the “king of queers.”

Lots of messages here – “Corpus Christi” means “Body of Christ” in Latin; a homosexual Joshua, or Jesus; and his homosexual friends, or disciples, whom he has sex with.

The Manhattan Theater Club in New York delayed its production of the play after receiving numerous threats. A student at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pa., was so upset about the production that he tried to counter it with a play on the traditional life of Christ, which was eventually canceled. Iowa State Rep. Dwayne Alons, R-Hull, said he believes the “play is offensive to the vast majority of Iowans” and that “It can’t help” the university when the legislature starts appropriating funds this year.

Carlson writes, “Mostly, this proves it continues to be OK in polite society to slap around Christians and their beliefs. So they should shut up, read the Constitution and pay for the hall. Just like always.”

Now that I had all the arguments against “Corpus Christi,” I wanted to see what other people had to say. So I went to Amazon.com and checked out some editorial reviews of the piece.

“McNally . has created an entirely new Messiah; one that reflects contemporary human experience and its temptations from flawed human perspective,” wrote Bo List from Lexington, Ky.

Kenneth Clark, from Orange, Va., also wrote, “The notion of a Christ-like character who happens to be gay is shocking to some, sacrilegious to others. To me it was simply the next step in bringing Christ to life. Before you condemn the play, or even criticize it, try reading it with an open mind.”

“If you read the script closely, the main message is love, understanding, compassion and, that if people seek forgiveness, they’ll get it,” said Steve Taft, UNI’s theater department head.

Quite a disparity of opinion, but that’s a small problem.

The biggest, and scariest, is Alons’ seeming dismissal of the First Amendment.

While the play may be considered untasteful, sacrilegious or blasphemous to many people, both in and out of Iowa, it is free speech in its freest form. Alons should have thought of that before making veiled threats about state funding, especially if he had considered that it was produced solely by students and not theater faculty, who are state employees.

Another is the argument about the use of UNI’s 100-seat auditorium-style classroom for the play. Carlson writes that Iowa’s taxpayers “don’t much like Jesus being referred to as the `king of queers’ on a stage they paid for with their tax dollars.”

That’s why Iowa’s taxpayers also need to remember that students pay tuition to use the facilities at these public institutions. Iowa taxpayers might not like some of the ideas discussed in philosophy classes at state universities either, but it’s all part of the education process.

The idea of Jesus as a homosexual man is understandably disconcerting for many people who grew up solely with the Bible story.

But just because the majority of Iowa taxpayers are Christian doesn’t give them the power to dictate how public facilities are used and by whom.

Religious beliefs are as varied and personal as the people who profess them. The First Amendment makes sure those people have the chance to be heard no matter how unpopular or controversial it is with the majority.

Andrea Hauser is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Edgewood. She is editor in chief of the Daily.