Polish Singer Nergal Of Band Behemoth Cleared Of Ripping Up Bible In Show

WARSAW, Poland — A Polish judge has found a death metal singer innocent of offending religious feeling, ruling that his ripping up of a Bible during a show was a form of artistic expression consistent with the style of his band.

Adam Darski, who goes by the stage name Nergal and is the frontman for the death metal band Behemoth, was charged after he ripped up the Bible during a 2007 concert in Gdynia, in the country's north.

He was found innocent by a court last year but prosecutors appealed that verdict. The court issued an innocent verdict Thursday.

Concert video footage shows Darski throwing the torn pages to the audience and asking fans to burn them. According to the Polish news agency PAP, he also called the Bible "a deceitful book" and the church a "criminal sect" – strong language in this predominantly Roman Catholic country.

Judge Krzysztof Wieckowski, in issuing his ruling, said it considered Darski's actions "a form of art" consistent with the style of his band. He added that the court had no intention of limiting freedom of expression or the right to criticize religion.

The court said audience members who testified said their religious feelings had not been hurt despite the fact they were Christians.

The musician said on his band's website that he was pleased with the verdict.

"Im so glad to see that intelligence won over religious fanatics in my home country. Tho there's still so much work to be done to make things right," he wrote in English under his stage name.

The 34-year-old was not present in court. A celebrity in his homeland, he has been largely out of the public eye for months.

According to the website, Darski was diagnosed with leukemia last summer and has been undergoing chemotherapy after a bone marrow transplant.

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Online:

The band Behemoth: http://www.behemoth.pl

Comments

[ESerafina42]

07:47 PM on 08/21/2011

Neither a crime nor art, as long as he owns the copy that's being ripped up. Offensive along the lines of burning a Koran or a Torah, maybe, but silly, childish and counterproductive in the long run.

[wonderweirdo]

10:26 AM on 08/20/2011

He accomplished what he intended to do, and that is make a controversy. Had he ripped up a copy of Moby Dick, the people in the audience would have just been puzzled.

[Dennis7450]

07:44 AM on 08/19/2011

Well, I'll certainly avoid Poland in my travels, as well as Muslim countries. there isn't any difference between a fanatic Muslim and a fanatic Catholic. they're insane.

[Suryc18]

01:04 AM on 08/19/2011

Ripping up the bible? Not art. But then again, I don't find ripping up any book a form of art.
The bible has merit as a collection of fictional tales and parables, no special designation or consideration needed.

[bethylated]

01:02 AM on 08/19/2011

When I was 12 a missionary was handing out small New Testaments to kids getting out of school on our way to the buses (he probably shouldn't have been doing so on school property, but really, no harm done). Everyone grabbed one, obviously. Once we were on the bus, the class bully stood on his seat, yelled "Hey everyone, lookit" and tore his to bits.

As a good little Episcopalian, it was discomfiting for me at the time...but then again, I was 12. So was the kid who ripped up the book.

And so, obviously, is this death-metal guy.

[OneFish]

01:40 PM on 08/19/2011

Maybe a little youthful energy, a little rejection of authority is a good thing.

[bethylated]

08:44 PM on 08/19/2011

I think maybe it is. I just wonder: How much of his behavior was honest rebellion, and how much of it was showmanship? I'm sure it was a mix of the two, or why do it at a concert? Why not get up an afternoon protest in the town square instead? Of course, we all take advantage of the venues we have at our disposal, and a concert is a great way to get a message out to like-minded people.

Honestly, it's not the act itself that's juvenile. Martin Luther did something (morally) similar once upon a time, and he started a revolution.

It's just that the showmanship aspect of it personally reminds me of that obnoxious 12-year-old on the schoolbus. Who knows, I might have said the same thing about Martin Luther at the time.

[llisa]

12:35 AM on 08/21/2011

I applaud the kid. And for the showman, well, it was a show. He was after a reaction. He got it.

[fds]

12:53 AM on 08/19/2011

I'm not strong enough to rip a bible in half. I don't know anyone who is.

[OneFish]

01:40 PM on 08/19/2011

Arnold, in his younger days?

[fds]

03:16 PM on 08/19/2011

It would depend on the size of the bible, but a larger print version would pose no troubles to Arnold of the 80s.

[ericcoggins]

09:02 PM on 08/18/2011

I am a Christian who very much believes that Jesus is the Christ whom God sent to give salvation to the world. Even so, I am certain Jesus would have no problem with someone ripping up a Bible. In fact, he was fairly certain that most people would hate him and those who would choose to be his disciples. This does not mean that Jesus would not be saddened by the event. Of course, Jesus would rather he read the Bible than rip it up, but he most certainly would not send him to jail for doing so.

[swilli1020]

09:48 PM on 08/18/2011

Amen Eric.....Furthermore most here seem to think this would be some sort of offensive act to us and God. It doesn't make God's top 100 list. It's more the simple things that are common sense for most part....starting with Proverbs 6:12 or thereabouts with 6 things God hates....And if any one of our Atheist friends would like these 6 things done to them, then they're not only not saved, they're liars. Jesus would pray for the those that rip up a Bible, and how little it seems talked about here, but flipped tables over of the religious money changers...If we were as perfect as our Atheist friends, well Jesus would not had to give His life to atone for our sins....We are far from perfect and just forgiven. I pray for Bible thrashers...

[AspenAlways]

05:21 PM on 08/19/2011

I'm always amazed to come across people who actually know what jeebees is thinking and how he would or wouldn't react to a given situation.

[Mabo]

08:41 PM on 08/18/2011

It is apparent, reading through this thread, that hate is alive and well here...congratulations HP on dragging their hate into the light!

[AspenAlways]

05:22 PM on 08/19/2011

It's not hate, Mabo; it is intelligence. Most xians do not have a clue about that concept.

[Mabo]

11:38 PM on 08/19/2011

Thanks for proving my point...and your comment ("it is intelligen­ce. Most xians do not have a clue about that concept") is wrong and hateful.

[genrel1248]

08:15 PM on 08/18/2011

He should have then peed on the ripped pages. Now THAT woulda been a work of art.

[free nel]

07:32 PM on 08/18/2011

Hah wow. This is my view as a Christian.Now this is probably not what all Christians think but,
Dude.. If you wanna rip up the Bible go ahead. If anyone has a problem with it then don't listen or watch his work.. simple ey?

[OneFish]

07:52 PM on 08/18/2011

Yup, it's pretty simple.

[OneFish]

07:54 PM on 08/18/2011

SImple , in a good way.

[free nel]

11:46 AM on 08/19/2011

lol hanks..I don't get why people fight over unnecessary stuff. The world has enough problems.

[Cheyla]

06:57 PM on 08/18/2011

Ripping up the Bible sounds like sanity has finally reached the stage!

[QuestDGW]

09:05 AM on 08/19/2011

Any more insane than spreading plagiarized tales of people with power over other humans, zombies, and stories of magic casting...and claiming it as truthful?

[OneFish]

01:41 PM on 08/19/2011

I think you misread the original - "sanity" has reached the stage.

[eric14]

06:28 PM on 08/18/2011

Some people are best left alone. The death Metal sub-culture is filled with posturing idiots.

[OneFish]

07:21 PM on 08/18/2011

Like the Christian Right in America is not?

[eric14]

07:41 PM on 08/18/2011

They were made for each other. It's an Intelligent Design thing.

[Kevin Bard]

04:39 PM on 08/18/2011

So is the court saying that if this guy had not been an artist, he could have been prosecuted? And what if someone in the audience had claimed that his or her religious feelings (whatever that means) had been offended by him ripping up the Bible? What then?

I am so grateful to live in a country where I don't have to have an excuse to rip up a bible.

[BlueZoo]

04:26 PM on 08/18/2011

I guess I just love books too much to want any book ripped up; however, I do believe that ripping up any book just for the sake of ripping it up is pretty stupid. Let's face it. Sinead O'Connor ripped up a photograph and was vilified. This guy actually ripped up a book considered holy by millions of people. It was done for effect and for the publicity and I can't countenance that. IMO, the court was correct in its judgment of the "crime" but they should have fined the guy for gross ignorance!

[the Lensman]

03:59 PM on 08/18/2011

These are the kinds of things you get arrested for when you don't have separation of church and state. This is what the religious right wants to bring to America.