5 atheist and Muslim billboards that drove the Christian right nuts

[Capt. Obvious]

In weeks past, we’ve brought you some outrageous signs and billboards posted by right-wing Christian churches. It turns out certain people can dish it out a lot better than they can take it. Here are some signs posted by people of other beliefs that caused major upset among conservative Christians.

1. Come out of the Christian Closet!



The organization American Atheists doesn’t hate Christmas. They believe in celebrating the holiday season. They just don’t think the religious stuff makes sense. Or, as they put it on a billboard in Manhattan’s Time Square, “Keep the MERRY. Dump the MYTH.” Now, it may look at first glance like these American Atheists are themselves confused. They don’t buy the whole son of god thing, but they’re OK with Santa Claus? Seems pretty gullible to me. What they’re saying, of course, is that they enjoy the Christmas festivities without needing it to be Christian. As the organization’s president David Silverman explained, “If you know god is a myth, you do not have to lie and call yourself ‘Christian’ in order to have a festive holiday season. You can be merry without the myth, and indeed, you should…. We encourage people to be honest with themselves and their families this year. If you don’t believe in God, tell your family — honesty is the greatest gift, and they deserve it.”

The billboard inspired not only honesty but some major wit from Answers in Genesis, the multimillion-dollar Christian ministry behind the Creation Museum outside Cincinnati. They responded by spending $200,000 on their own Time Square ad, which read, ”To all of our atheist friends: Thank God you’re wrong.” As Answers in Genesis president Ken Ham explained, “We’re not trying to attack them personally, but we do believe they’re wrong. From an atheist’s perspective, they believe when they die, they cease to exist. And we say no, you’re not going to cease to exist; you’re going to spend eternity with God or without God. And if you’re an atheist, you’re going to be spending it without God.” Sounds pretty Christian to me.

2. Merry Xmas and Happy Holocaust!



Lest you think American Atheists limit themselves to flat graphic art, they also posted a video on a digital billboard in Time Square. Guess they like the neighborhood. “Who needs Christ during Christmas?” asked the 40? x 40? installation last December. According to American Atheists president David Silverman, Christmas isn’t just for Christians: “We all love this time of year…Christianity has been trying to claim ownership of the season for hundreds of years. But the winter solstice came first and so did its traditions. The season belongs to everybody.”

But not everyone was so happy about this Happy Holiday billboard. State Senator Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island) called the billboard an “expression of hatred,” saying, “Just as millions of Americans are preparing to celebrate Christmas, the American Atheists organization has ridiculed the solemn beliefs of millions of New Yorkers.” What’s worse, this billboard, like so many other things that have absolutely nothing to do with the Holocaust, will lead to the holocaust: “Religious persecution of the kind that similarly led to the Holocaust began with small baby steps of ridicule and hatred of the religious beliefs of others.”

The rest

[hrmjustin]

1. Gee I wonder why the first two would offend Christians.

[cbayer]

2. These billboard wars are petty and stupid.

Why would these organizations want to stoop to the level of the religious right and their offensive billboards.

The Muslim ones I think are different. it is their goal to normalize Islam and make it less scary. They don't always hit their mark, but it seems clear that it is not their intention to offend others.

Which really can't be said for some of these atheist boards. They are sometimes clearly meant to offend. And for what purpose?

[skepticscott]

5. Oh, so you're saying you know the absolute truth

about what was intended to offend and what was not? Despite preaching on a regular basis that it as wrong for anyone to act like they knew the "truth" about anything.

Can you PROVE that those billboards are meant to offend? Or is that just your "opinion", with no more validity than the opposite point of view?

[AtheistCrusader]

6. Generally, when you want to take the fight to the enemy, you usually end up

occupying the same battlespace.

[hrmjustin]

26. I agree cbayer. It is meant to offend and I find it offensive the first two but I can live with

being offended.

[rug]

3. Nothing offensive about this one.

[AtheistCrusader]

7. It's extremely offensive. But perhaps not in the way you assume.

[cleanhippie]

8. Since when did quoting scripture become offensive to Christians?

[AtheistCrusader]

10. Maybe they don't want to hear about the bronze age any more?

[rug]

13. See, here's the difference between me and you, "AtheistCrusader".

You are offended by a cherry-picked quote because, after all, it shows the evil of religion.

Whereas, I, and many, am offended by a billboard abjectly exploiting human slavery, whose effects are still ransacking lives today, bought by a group so drenched in white privilege that it did not even occur to them to not place it in a minority neighborhood.

And you and your compadre's jokes about it, while less offensive, remain thoroughly repugnant.

Such an innocent, demure question, "Since when did quoting scripture become offensive to Christians?"

Such an insightful answer, Gosh, I don't know, "Maybe they don't want to hear about the bronze age any more?"

Instead of this smiley, , try this

[AtheistCrusader]

23. And here is YOUR mistake.

"bought by a group so drenched in white privilege that it did not even occur to them to not place it in a minority neighborhood."

Why? That's exactly where I'd put it.

You call it exploitation, I call it reminding people of a mechanism used to justify, defend and perpetuate human slavery.


Feign offense all you want, MY books don't contain outright justifications and exhortations to slavery.

[rug]

24. Yeah, that's exactly where you'd put it because your interest in crusading for atheism

and lack of racial persecution severely clouds your judgment.

Instead of saying where you'd put it, why don't you talk to the people who live where you're putting it?

http://madamenoire.com/143808/atheist-slave-billboard-upsets-pennsylvania-residents/

Oh, yeah, George Carlin Street, You don't have to ask.

I would indeed like to hear what Chris Rock thinks of this form of clueless white missionary activity.

[AtheistCrusader]

25. I don't doubt some people were upset by it.

It's a provocative line of argument. But it is 100% correct and on-message, so I don't have a problem with it.

We don't have free speech just to talk about the football game outcome.

George Carlin was a genius philosopher who did comedy to pay the bills, IMO. A street name is the least we can do.

[bravenak]

27. Thank you!!!!!!!

Keep reminding everyone, i always do. Religion was used to keep my people in bondage for the promise of heavenly rewards.

I found the graphic thought provoking.

[intaglio]

4. The first 2 are completely innocuous

Amongst nations, do Japan and Korean need to be majority Christian states to celebrate Christmas?

Even in the USA do Atheists, Sikhs, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists or Jews need Christ to celebrate Christmas?

The third and fourth examples are simple statements of Muslim belief.

The final group were banned because (well I have no real idea why) but presumably because some Christian or Mormon found the concept of upstanding atheists objectionable

The one brought up by rug is not objectionable - unless pointing out what the bible actually says about slavery is objectionable.

[cleanhippie]

9. Rug said it was offensive, not objectionable.

There is a difference.

[intaglio]

11. I agree, the quote from Corinthians is offensive

But I don't think that is what rug found offensive about the image.

[cleanhippie]

12. Neither do I. Perhaps he can explain why he does find it offensive.

Rug, care to answer that for us?

[rug]

14. Gosh, I did already.

[cleanhippie]

15. Gee, I must have missed where you did. Can you link to that?

That would save us all a bunch of hassle.

[rug]

16. Can you count up seven posts?

[cleanhippie]

17. The only other post by you is where you

Said "it's not offensive" and followed that with a sarcasm tag.

Intaglio, I guess we may never know. Rug seems to want to play coy and I'm not in the mood.

[rug]

18. I guess not.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1218&pid=141190

[cleanhippie]

19. Well damn, was that so difficult?

Thanks for the link.

Intaglio, there you go. It may resemble pulling teeth, but now we know.

[rug]

20. I never found counting to seven to be difficult.

Not since at least kindergarten,

Reading took another year though.

[cleanhippie]

21. Ahh, insults and personal attacks. Keeping it classy as usual.

Go on, feed that last word compulsion. I'm done with you here.

[rug]

22. Considering your number of hides, that's prudent.

[intaglio]

28. Your link was posted long after our original questions

a bit like some OT prophesy being fabricated years after the events to which it came to be applied.

Now on to what you claim was offensive - no religious offense but rather insensitivity in posting a that particular image and quote in a minority neighbourhood. By your argument all bibles given to minorities should have that verse (and many others) expunged and certain publicity pictures from Amistad should not be displayed on computers in those areas.

[rug]

30. Let's see, 4 hours and 15 minutes after your post.

What might I have been doing while you were engaging in Socratic dialog with cleanhippie? Work, perhaps?

And what you couch as my argument is not my argument at all.

[tblue37]

29. Although I am an atheist, I have to admit to getting a real chuckle out of

a witty Christian billboard that was put up several years ago. It had God saying, "Don't make me come down there!"