Adult Swim's 'Black Jesus' Premieres With Mixed Reactions From Religious, Cultural Commentators

Mixed Reactions To Adult Swim's 'Black Jesus'

"Black Jesus" made his debut on Adult Swim Thursday night with mixed reviews.

Plenty of Christian groups around the country criticized the show for disrespecting the Bible narrative, and some conservative groups even petitioned Cartoon Network, which owns Adult Swim, to cancel the show.

Cultural and religious commentators weighed in on Twitter -- and not all the reactions were wholly negative.

Pastor Delman Coates first urged viewers to watch first, judge later:

Talib Kweli, a rapper known for his socially conscious lyrics, tweeted:

Brittney Cooper, a Rutgers professor and black public intellectual, was torn:

Cooper continued:

Religion News Service writer Kimberly Winston said she (regrettably) found the show hilarious:

Talk show host Charlamagne Tha God accused those criticizing the show of hypocrisy:

You don't live, how Jesus want you to live but you upset because Jesus living just like you on #BlackJesus the irony of it all.

— Charlamagne Tha God (@cthagod) August 8, 2014

Christian post reporter Nicola Menzie didn't write the show off entirely:

Union Seminary student and blogger Timothy Rotwing criticized what he called a "domestication of the Bible" in the show's attackers:

NPR spoke with Yolanda Pierce of the Princeton Theological Seminary about the show before it premiered, discussing the real theological question of who Jesus would be if he returned and how he would act. Listen to their chat here.

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