A number of Christians are hitting back after Sarah Silverman published a controversial tweet claiming Jesus was "genderfluid" -- a term coined by the LGBT community referring to a person who at times identifies as male and at others as female.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS! Jesus was gender fluid!" the 45-year-old comedian tweeted to her more than 7.5 million followers on Christmas Day.
Just a few days earlier, Silverman also mocked those who believe in the Biblical idea of heaven and hell, writing, "There's no beforelife & there's no afterlife. So be brave & love each other & make it count, Babies, 'cause this is it."
Unsurprisingly, the comedian's comments didn't sit well with many believers, who quickly hit back.
"You'll learn the truth about Christ on one side of life or the other. I pray it's on this side. Merry Christmas. Praying 4U," wrote one detractor.
"Why don't you just say I hate all Christians? That's got to be the edgiest of all, and that's your whole reason for being," wrote another.
"Christians 'turn the other cheek.' Easy to make 'jokes' about their religion.Take a stab at Islam and Mohammed, THAT'S edgy," added another.
Silverman, who was raised Jewish, is no stranger to targeting Christians with her comments. Last year, she appeared in a video sketch in which Jesus appeared to her late at night and said he was "bummed" by "people who use my name for intolerance and oppression."
The Christian Examiner notes that in the video, the Jesus character uses profanity, sexual innuendo and says, when asked when life begins, that life begins at 40. Then he says he is kidding but adds that embryos are not people.
"The fertilized eggs aren't people. People are people. But, people who believe fertilized eggs are people are people, too. You have to love them," says "Jesus".
A report from The Christian Post also notes that last January, Silverman and Zach Galifianakis, among others, performed at an abortion fundraiser called "A Night of a Thousand Vaginas" in Los Angeles to raise funds for various abortion groups in Texas.
"They're focusing on the bits and parts of the woman, and chosen to devalue the great worth of a woman in her entirety," Melissa Conway, director of external relations at Texas Right to Life, told the news outlet in an interview at the time. "It's unfortunate that the funds are being used in a threat to baby girls' lives as well. They glorify the right to choose the ending of one life for the benefit of the other."
Despite her mockery of Christianity, Silverman told Rolling Stone magazine last year that she's not anti-Christian -- she's just disgusted by those who use the Bible to defend their opposition to issues such as homosexuality and abortion.
"I love the symbol of Jesus," she told the magazine at the time. "It's so odd to me that so many people on the far right use his name to justify terrible things that I can't imagine he'd approve of."
