It's a "blasphemous attempt to rewrite the Christmas story."
That was the indignant reaction of campaign group Christian Concern to a gay Christmas decoration showing a nativity scene with two Josephs and another version with two Virgin Marys, The Daily Mail reported.
The colourful hanging tree ornaments—which are sold for £13 each—show either the two Josephs or the two Virgin Marys sitting beside a baby Jesus lying in a manger.
Christian Concern Chief Executive Andrea Williams slammed the decorations, calling them "a desperate and ridiculous attempt to pretend that homosexual relationships are pure and holy."
"They blasphemously portray the Lord Jesus being parented by a homosexual couple. What depths will the LGBT lobby stoop to in order to try and normalise their behaviour?" she asked.
"God's design is for children to grow up with a male and a female parent. The Lord Jesus was parented in this way, and this is what is best for children.
"The LGBT lobby is not interested in the welfare of children but only in pursuing its own selfish agenda. Trying to rewrite the Christmas story is their latest self-deception," Williams said.
The decorations were created by Kittredge Cherry and designed by artist Mark Thaler, from California. They are available for purchase in the U.K. on Zazzle.co.uk.
Reacting to the criticism, Thaler said, "Not everyone's viewpoints are the same. People need to coexist and not judge one another."
He said the images are no big deal. "It's just an image. [The critics] need to focus on themselves and not worry about what everyone else is doing," he said.
Because of the backlash, Thaler is reportedly considering pulling out the decorations from sale "out of respect for his fellow humans."
This was not the first time that a nativity scene with a same-sex couple was created.
In 2012, gay couple Andrés Vásquez and Felipe Cárdenas was censured after they created an all-male nativity scene in their home in Colombia.
Vàsquez and Càrdenas dismissed the criticism made by the Colombian Catholic Church, saying that their creation would hopefully encourage reform of their country's gay marriage laws. Same-sex marriage in Colombia has since then been made legal.
