Honk if you love Jesus.

[bladespark]

I've alwayd thought though Christian themed bumper stickers and billboards tend to do as much harm to the cause of spreading the Good News as good. And it always seemed rather... demeaning, really. He's the Son of God, and suppsedly the sacred center of your spiritual life, and the best way you can think of to share that spirituality is to stick it on your car?

Here's a rather fascinating article that really discusses this idea in depth, and interestingly enough it uses Calvin and Hobbes as an example of why putting "Honk if you love Jesus" on a bumper sticker may be a bad idea.

Comments

[beetlecat.livejournal.com]

There is a huge-ass billboard on the way out of town that says something along the lines of 'Trust God. What do you have to lose?' and, if anything, it just makes me dislike organized religion even more.

That one stupid billboard is *not* going to convert me and it just pisses me off that I (once again) get religion forcibly shoved into my face.

Religion advertisements are even worse than the regular kind - Choosing to change your deepest inner beliefs and ideas is not at all equal to choosing to buy a certain brand of chocolate bar.

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

*laughs* Yeah. I have to wonder if anybody, anywhere, has ever looked at a billboard or a bumper sticker and started going to church because of it?

I tend to find at least some TV adverts less obnoxious. I think because in a 1 minute stretch there's enough time to actually give a real, if small, sense of what the church is like so it's... I dunno, of some possible use, I guess? Though some of them still make me roll my eyes. *chuckles*

I was really weirded out the other day by finding that a forum I frequent was running banner ads for mormon.org! Which is just the last thing you expect to find in a fandom forum.

[beetlecat.livejournal.com]

I remember that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints used to have really awesome commercials..

Of course, they aired mostly as I was growing up and I didn't even realize at the time it was a religion.. they were just cool commercials :P

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

Heeeeeeeeeee! Yeah, the TV mormonad spots were spiffy! The temple visitors center down in southern Utah used to have a little kiosk where you could see all the old ads. Recently I've only seen the various media/book tie-in ones, where you can call in to get a free Bible or Book of Mormon, or the free Easter or Christmas videos they make. (Which really aren't half bad, the church has good production values on those things. I should know, my uncle is one of their film makers. My cousins are extras in several of them.)

[beetlecat.livejournal.com]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g5rpUWc9nM

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

*giggles* Good to see they're still doing the fun ones! I don't watch TV at all these days, so I don't see ads of any sort unless they're pointed out to me. And I'm quite happy to leave things that way.

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

I don't know, there's one near us that manages no shortage of amusement. I've yet to decide whether the church is completely blind to innuendo or very aware of innuendo and exploiting it for childish giggles

[silveradept]

The way that the message is communicated often determines whether it sticks or not. I can laugh at "Jesus, save me from your followers" or the Darwin fish because there are enough examples of what it's making fun of. And those are the things I tend to remember more - the parody, because the original is saturated.

I'd say that a lot of people who put on the Jesus bumper sticker have as much solid faith as the people who put magnetic ribbons on their car actually support the idea of using the military only where justified, with a clear mandate, and only for as long as needed.

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

There is a guy who makes ribbons that read "I support the guy in China who makes ribbons." I am always tempted to get a bunch of those and go around sticking them over "I support the troops" ribbons.

[silveradept]

I know the ribbons that you're talking about, and that temptation has struck me, too. The joke, I suspect, would somehow be lost.

[2dlife.livejournal.com]

I always read "bring the troops home" when I see "support the troops". Personal politics and all that.

[unspeakablevorn.livejournal.com]

Honk if you love honking!

Vorn

[rimspace.livejournal.com]

Think honk if you're a telepath.

[scribe-of-stars.livejournal.com]

"Honk the horn of the car behind you if you're psychokinetic."

[ken-redtail.livejournal.com]

Personally, I think it's no different from displaying your religion around your neck or displaying your patriotism by flying your flag from your house.

What I don't like is the implication that if you don't honk, you don't love Jesus.

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

Ah, but I'm not really that fond of people who wave flags and wear crosses either. Your patriotism and religion should be shown in your actions. If they are not obvious in who you are, then no amount of sticker-plastering or flag-hanging will make you any more sincere, while the lack of these things will not make you any less so.

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

I just don't understand the point of it very much (of any kind of proselytising, for that matter). I mean, they believe in a god who is all powerful and all knowing and who wants to spread the word - and they think he doesn't have better means of doing this other than a crummy bumper sticker? I mean, don't they think god could really do better if he felt that way inclined?

I think they're classic cases of making sure all the neighbours know how wonderfully Christian you are in the easiest way. Like hoisting a flag in your garden to show how patriotic you are, rather than actually doing anything for your country. Or putting a yellow ribbon on your car rather than trying to help the troops.

Which in turn says they don't take their symbols very seriously. They're decoration. They're status symbols. They're something to be smug over or self-righteous about. They're not for reading or studying or learning or communicating or thinking - they're not for anything they're supposed to be for.

They stop being symbols with meaning - or pertinent meaning anyway. When I see a car with a fish on the back or a cross in every window, I don't think "Christian" I think "smug, self-righteous git." And so far the symbol has been a depressingly accurate early warning system

[lanabananaotter.livejournal.com]

I'm Christian myself, but I really hate seeing that crap.

Religion has to be a heart-felt thing, and flaunting it rudely in someone's face just drives them further away.
If someone actually wanted people to be converted to their religion, they could try to set a good example.

My very worst is that signature I see in dA all the time. "If you believe Jesus is your savior, copy and paste this into your sig."- or something to that effect. That just drives me bananas >:[

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

Oh sheesh. That's really stupid! How about "If you believe Jesus is your savior, go donate something to the poor"?

[2dlife.livejournal.com]

I dunno, I'm pretty immune to the Jesus stickers (the Calvin peeing ones bother the heck out of me, though). If they're witty, I'll laugh, if they're not, I don't care.

I don't have a good mental definition of Christianity (I'm not Christian, so it's not necessary) but I've never really considered "Jesus saves" stickers to actually count for anything either way.

I had a really long rant here about why I hold more respect for the people who knock on my door and talk religion to me than those who stick up signs and glare. It's a huge sidebar.

[thalass.livejournal.com]

That sort of thing bugs me, too. Though I must admit not all churchy advertising is bad. There's a church in the city here that has tv adverts on which actually describe what they're doing that particular week, what events, what themes, that sort of thing. That is, at least, informative. Rather than "Suchandsuch died for your sins! Why aren't you at church now?!" ect.


It shits me when someone elses beliefs are shoved into my face, as if mine are inferior or I'm to be pitied or worse. Hopefully I don't annoy others with my inane born-again urges! :P I try to remain subtle and keep it to myself. *chuckles*