Play portraying Jesus as gay man set to hit California church stage

NBC -- "Corpus Christi," a controversial play which portrays a Jesus-like character as a gay man living in 1950s Texas, is set to hit the stage at an Orange County, California church.

The show, written by award-winning playwright Terrence McNally, will be performed at Church of the Foothills on Saturday.

It first opened at the Manhattan Theatre Club in 1998 to bomb threats and protests.

Church members say they hope the play challenges people of faith.

"Many Christians say 'I believe in an all loving God, but I don't believe he loves gays, or this group'" says Kergan Edwards. "How can an all loving God have it both ways?"

Curtis Holtzen teaches theology and ethics at Hope International University, a Christian college.

"I don't think you'll find many Christians who doubt God loves gays. The debate comes in when you discuss homosexual behavior," he says.

Holtzen says those who take the Bible literally must remember the word "homosexual" didn't exist until the last century.

"Today we see it as an orientation, not like it was 2000 years ago," he explains. "Then it was strictly seen as an activity."

Organizers say the play is not designed to make believers think Jesus was gay.

They contend it's designed to open a dialogue and ask, "What if?".