RESEDA, Ca. — Some things just seem to go together — baseball and hot dogs, peanut butter and chocolate, Pam Anderson and string bikinis.  And there are those things that should probably never be paired.  Helmut Lang, an Austrian filmmaker residing in Sylmar, decided last year that he wanted to pair Christianity and pornography and he is now suffering some of the consequences of that decision. 

With titles such as The Passions of the Christ, Brotherly Love, Love Thy Neighbor and Oh God, I’m Coming under his belt, Lang figured that it was just a matter of time before Paramount would be tapping him to direct their next feature, but Lang has instead become enemy number one of the Christian right and now faces possible criminal charges.  Lang’s trailerhome has been egged, his tires have been slashed, and he has received several death threats.

---

“When young people see what’s going on in my films, I'm confident the church will find new adherents.  We're making it sexy to be Christian.”
— Helmut Lang, Filmmaker

---

“I’m not sure what the problem is?” the heavily accented Lang told me in a recent interview on the set of Behind the Manger, “Humans are sexual creatures.  God made us to have sex and children and things.  Christians have been portrayed as being bad at sex, we only do the missionary position and things like this, so I wanted to show the world that being a Christian can be sexy and also incorporate Christian messages in my movies.  The Christian Right has made my life so difficult — crucifixion really hurts, you know." 


But several leading Christian groups apparently don’t want Christians to be portrayed as being sexy and they hardly see Lang as a Jesus-like character.  They have filed formal complaints with the city and have made Lang’s life a living hell.  Pastor John Roberts, the President of the Christian Family Values Coalition, wants Lang to be severely punished for his transgressions, “He is a sinner, a blasphemer, a real Judas.  I won’t rest until I see that he is punished in the most severe manner.  The truth is that I'd sure like to be the first to whip the privates off his body.  Amen.”

Lang’s works include some fairly detailed special effects, such as when a character called Moses parts a woman's labia.  The scene caused widespread rioting across Christendom.

Brotherly Love is, as per the title, a tale of love — okay, actually sex — among men, but is also a film that tries to say that sodomy is wrong.  During one of the sex scenes the lead character looks at the camera and says, “This feels so wrong; I must ask Jesus for forgiveness when were done.”  In an obtuse way — by showing people having wild sex and then having them comment about the forbidden nature of the sex act they have engaged in — Lang does touch on some Christian themes.

Surprisingly, Lang has found an audience for his films and has started to make some money.  Several websites, including a Christian one, are promoting his films.  Father John Serrano, a Glendale priest, thinks that Lang’s films are very Christian and will bring many back to the Christian faith, “When young people, especially men, see what’s going on in these films, and hear what is said, I am confident the church will find new adherents.”

Lang has been arraigned to appear in Superior Court next month.