http://www.thedigitalcourier.com/articles/2005/05/24/news/news01.txt
This on the heels of the “Vote Bush or leave the church” nonsense from a couple of weeks ago.
Geez, WNC is starting to make South Carolina look almost good in comparison.
Hmmm. By Pastor Lovelace’s logic, if I stand next to his church on Sunday morning and moon his congregation and they get offended about it, then I must be doing something right?
He could have made exactly the same doctrinal point by putting on his sign “Only the Bible Is the True Word of God”, without going out of his way to directly insult the Qur’an and Muslim belief, in a pretty filthy and aggressive manner at that. But apparently he isn’t clear on the distinction between standing up for one’s own beliefs and gratuitously insulting those of others.
Especially since his argument is really playground stuff.
“they hated me first” ? What the hell kind of argument/premise/spirituality is that?
Somehow I think that Jesus didn’t say that.
This guy went to seminary?
I give up. No wonder there are redneck jokes. What a waste of space.
It was reassuring, though, to read that his whole congregation is only about 55 people and he changes the sign every week.
Still, it’s definitely an embarrassment, albeit a comparatively minor one, to those of us defending the US as a religiously tolerant and ecumenical society.
Yes but do you believe in freedom of speech?
He is free to say what he wants. It’s his sign.
Nobody’s suggesting that this assclown should be in any way legally prevented from putting idiotic and insulting remarks on his church billboard. That would be a violation of the principle of freedom of speech, which is protected in this country, as Zebra so astutely noted. (Thanks, Zebra!)
We are simply criticizing the moronic and offensive nature of the particular remarks that Pastor Assclown chose to display. Just because you have a legal right to do something doesn’t mean that nobody else has the right to criticize what you do.
I have to applaud his bravery, erecting a sign like that in a hotbed of Fundamentalist Muslim activity like Western North Carolina.
John 15 verse 18 "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: ‘Servants are not greater than their master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Those who hate me hate my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’ "
He is free to put up a moronic sign.
We are free to mock him.
Maybe, deep down, he just really loves Newsweek and is just trying to take some heat off?
Aww hell…I’ve got nothing.
-Joe
I’m sure the good reverend wouldn’t mind if someone put up a “Wipe your ass with the Bible” sign up somewhere in his town. Hey, if anybody gets offended, then the signmaker must be doing something right.
Maybe it’s because you’re a jerk and they don’t want to listen to your kind of hate.
That does happen, in a sense. Whenever someone writes a play with Jesus as a gay prostitute or dunks the cross in a vat of urine, we (Christians) are outraged. I guess it’s ok for us to be the source of similar outrage for other faiths though. :rolleyes:
For the record, this church is a member of the Southern Baptist Convention. I emailed them about this nonsense this morning.
No one is demanding the sign be taken down, as far as I can tell.
On the other hand, I remember a number of folks being very vocal that “Piss Christ” be removed immediately when it was first exhibited.
I don’t know why I’m bringing this up…maybe just becasue I rather like the photography…but Piss Christ isn’t really the equivalent of “flush the Koran”. It wasn’t intended as a “fuck you” to Christianity. It was part of a series of picture of Christian icons submerged in blood, milk, water…and urine. It was really more about attempting to reconnect the sterile (in Serranno’s veiw) religious iconography with the blood sweat and tears (and piss) of humanity.
Which is not to say he wasn’t trying to be provacative with the title. Or that no one in putting up the equvilent of "flush the Koran. Which you have every right to be appalled by.
And correct me if I’m wrong, but they didn’t put Piss Christ on the side of a busy road, did they? One had to make effort to see it, right?
Word - I don’t mean the situations are necessarily parallel - I just mean to point out that Muslims apparently hold the physical Koran as sacred as we hold the image of Christ, so a little respect doesn’t out of line.
Oy.
The irony is a bit thick because my take on things is that Jesus (actually John quoting Jesus, but let’s not quibble) is talking about tolerance and loving one another. He is saying that the message of tolerance and “love one another” fell not only on deaf ears, but on actively hostile ones. To take this message, out of context, and to use it as a rationale for prejudice and bigotry is NOT Christian.
But maybe that’s not immediately apparent to the passers-by.
By no means do I say “take it down” etc. I do mean to say, “look at this hypocrisy, hatred and fear. See how ugly and narrow it is. Let all the world see this and say-this is not the way for us.” (the way referred to is NOT anti-Christian, but anti-this guy’s interp of the Bible).
I hope there is a public outcry and he changes his sign to oh, something about turning the other cheek maybe or forgiveness…given the locale, that is a high standard to expect, so I won’t hold my breath.
side rant: I am so sick of the victim cry from fundamentalists/evangelicals/right wing Christians. Get over yourselves and see the world for what it is–a complex and varied landscape that contains all manner of people. Deal.
And this time, it wasn’t Texas. For these minimal blessings, in a time of woe, we are grateful.
Like hell we’re grateful.
Daniel