More Billboard Controversy

Insensitive? Possible. Lapse of judgement? Maybe. Slanderous? I suppose if you know the person and the person's ex. "Distasteful and offensive?" Only if you are offended by the truth. The man was upset that his ex-girlfriend terminated her pregnancy with his child, so he put up a billboard. Maybe not the best way to handle it. After all, he is only the father, and as we all know, the father has no rights when it comes to unwanted pregnancy. If you think I'm being sarcastic, know this: the courts have backed it up time and time again. The only person in the case of abortion who has any say is the one pregnant. Too bad, so sad for anyone else who wants the baby to be born. In that case, sure, the billboard is offensive. Any woman should be offended that anyone else dares to imply that a decision for an abortion has any ramifications outside the woman herself. After all, nobody else has to endure 9 months of pregnancy and then labor and delivery.
Yes, sarcasm may be the protest of the meek--despite the sarcastic tone, these arguments are made constantly. If implying that a woman who chooses to kill her unborn baby might be selfish, I suppose that could be distasteful and offensive. Maybe the groups sponsoring the billboard could do a whole series: This could have been my grandchild, sibling, ME, etc. Just next time use people who are not seeking revenge.
**Side note: The friends of the woman in the billboard suit claim she had a miscarriage, not an abortion. In which case, the billboard would be in error.**

Signs, Signs

And you thought this was going to be about the tornado. . .

Nope, they've done it again. There is a new billboard campaign. From the news story:

"[Pastor] Benke said it's important people understand what's contained in
Christian scripture.
'And then, quite frankly, the church gets that message
wrong, as well,' he said. 'But the Bible teaches there is no sin that isn't
forgivable in Jesus.'
Benke hopes his church's thought-provoking billboards
mark the beginning, not the end, of a conversation about forgiveness."

The billboards offer a website, http://www.whatsforgivable.com/, and the billboard connects to a sermon series starting soon.

At least this time around, the message is scriptural. In Christ, all sins have been paid for.

Here comes the question: will Jefferson Hills get the message right? Will they talk about all having sinned and fallen short of the glory of God? Will they talk about how we are all beggars before God whose only prayer can be, "Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner"? Will they address confession and repentence? Will they address the unforgivable sin and adequately discuss it?

I suspect that as good as this sermon series sounds, the point will be lost in the midst of people pondering the billboards and wondering in human terms what is forgivable, and miss the point that we are not the king who forgives the large debt, but we are the slave who finds it difficult to forgive the small debt.

BO on Vacation

I am back and had a nice Christmas break. That’s the nice thing about doing what I do—I still have a Christmas break, even if it is only half of what it was in college. Even if I take a vacation, though, I am still on the lookout for BO material, and I am never disappointed by the superfluity of available material. Some highlights are as follows:
Watching the dancing fountains in front of a certain hotel “dance” to The Hallelujah Chorus—with text. How idiosyncratic it is to hear “The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ” being blared while nearby men hawk female companions (which is illegal in most states, if you know what I mean).
Passing a billboard on the interstate which on one side simply reads, “GOD.” The other side says, El Shaddai, Theos, I Am, God and Allah.” I suppose I should be used to this day and age in which false claims are made about the true God to promote unity in diversity.
Reading the bumper sticker which said, “Defend Reproductive Freedom”. I’m not sure what that means. Does that mean no limits on abortion? Abortion is not freedom of reproducing—it’s limiting reproduction. Maybe they’re protesting the concept of mass sterilization, but that topic is passé, so I guess I’m not so sure what their point is.
Wondering about the billboards in the airport. There were two billboards encouraging conservation and green living. One showed a profusion of lightbulbs, the other showed row upon row of water cooler-sized water bottles. Each one demonstrated the amount of resources (energy or water) wasted by frivolous use of our resources. This got me wondering—why does no one indicate outrage these images portray about the wasteful behavior of people? Is it not my personal choice to leave all the lights on in my house? Is it not my personal choice to use as much water as I want? Why does no one deface these pointed billboards? Yet, put up white crosses in a field to represent humans who were denied the chance of life (forget about liberty or property or the pursuit of happiness), yet see how they seethe. . .

As/Is

While traveling in the mitten state of Michigan, one can see many billboards advertising casinos. One such billboard shows a couple playing in the casino, and the tagline/adline says, “Come as you are.” I merely pose this question: What does it mean when the casino and the church ads have the same phrase? Hm. . .