'Taking over this plane for Jesus!' The impromptu concert attracted criticism online. Photo / Screenshot, @JackJenszjr
'Taking over this plane for Jesus!' The impromptu concert attracted criticism online. Photo / Screenshot, @JackJenszjr
A Singaporean musician has divided the internet with a surprise hymnal concert on a plane, with videos of the flying Christian choir going viral on social media.
The musician identified as Jonathan Neo was filmed playing an acoustic guitar in the aisle of an Easyjet flight to apparently unsuspecting passengers.He was joined by other singers in a rendition of 'How Great is our God'.
The TikTok clip titled "We are taking this flight over for Jesus!" has been viewed over 30 million times in 48 hours, since it was posted to the account of Jack Jensz Junior.
The bible-bashing flash mob took some flack online.
Neo and his fellow singers were accused of "hijacking" the ears of fellow passengers at 30,000 ft.
'Two seconds away from jumping out of the plane': not everyone was thrilled. Photo / Screenshot, @JackJenszjr
Other religiously minded observers were not so evangelical about the performance.
"As a person of faith, I implore you: Don't do this … This kind of thing just turns people off," wrote another.
With millions of views, soon even politicians were weighing in on the polarising prayer session.
US congressional representative Ilhan Omar, who is a Muslim, said that the choir's decision to "take over the flight for Jesus" was in poor taste. She tweeted, questioning what the reaction would be if her family were to conduct a "prayer session" in a busy flight.
This further fractured the debate into where passengers should and should not be free to pray, reported The New York Post.
Cicely Davis, a rival politician vying for Omar's Minnesota seat, slammed the congresswoman in vitriolic tweets.
'Taking over this plane for Jesus!' The impromptu concert attracted criticism online. Photo / Screenshot, @JackJenszjr
Davis said that many airlines encourage Islamic prayer on their flights, and that Omar's problem was with the type of worship.
"They have a designated prayer area and co-ordinates for Mecca are posted on the screens. It's no problem. The issue is you hate Christians and Jews and lots of Muslims," she tweeted.
After causing offence on religious, political and musical-taste grounds the videomaker behind the clip responded for comment.
Jensz said the musicians had been helping on a Christian mission to Ukraine, helping refugees with humanitarian aid.
