THE Bishop of Chelmsford is reminding the people of Essex that this year's must-have Christmas gift is Jesus.
His statement comes after the diocese's controversial new campaign was launched which depicts Jesus as a toy doll with the slogan "Godbaby... He cries, He wees, He saves the world."
The Bishop of Chelmsford, the Right Reverend Stephen Cottrell, said: "Godbaby captures and confronts Christmas as commodity.
"It gives it a face which disturbs and engages us.
"And it makes us sit up and ask: where is Christmas really to be found?
"But most of all it challenges us to recognise that there is a real Godbaby, in amongst all the shopping and the glitz, Jesus who lavishes love on us that money can't buy. That is the essential 'must-have'."
The campaign is the brainchild of Churchads.net and the posters of the Jesus toy are popping up over the county.
But according to a poll run by the creators the majority of us don't actually like Godbaby, with 52 per cent saying they disliked the poster.
Francis Goodwin, from Churchads.net, said: "We asked some of the top advertising people in the business to help us break through all the commercialism to challenge people, inspire them and communicate the true message of Christmas to millions.
"The Godbaby image is designed to get people thinking and be a starter for conversations about Jesus and the Christian message, which is so easily forgotten amidst the frantic run-up to Christmas. "The whole aim is to communicate that 'Christmas Starts with Christ'."
The campaign will also see the Church of England promoting the traditional message in a more contemporary way by tweeting their Christmas sermons.
Follow Bishop Stephen on Twitter via @chelmsdio to read his Christmas day sermon tweet.
