Are You There, God? It's Me, John
This is getting ridiculous. I mean, we're talking loaves and fishes here, folks, a veritable explosion. Another Christian group--the third or fourth by my count--has announced it is taking out an ad to counter the atheistical advertisements placed on Metro buses recently. The full-page ad, from local contemporary Christian radio station WGTS-91.9 FM, will appear in the Express newspaper on Monday and possibly on billboards after that.
To recap: In November, the American Humanist Association announced it was placing these ads on Metrobuses:
That irritated some Christians, including a McLean woman who spearheaded a fundraising effort to put this ad on Metrobuses:
A group out of Pennsylvania bought another bus ad that plays off the atheists' original message. It reads: "Believe in God. Christ is Christmas for goodness sake."
And yesterday I spoke with John Konrad, vice president and general manager of WGTS-FM, a non-profit station owned by Columbia Union College, the Takoma Park school run by the Seventh Day Adventist church. Here's his station's ad:
"I thought it was a very thought provoking question," John said of the ad that started the ball rolling: "Why believe in a god?"
Said John: "Our answer is, He believes in you, good or bad. We also at the same time wanted to provide a place where people could write their own stories of why they believe in God." A Web site where people can share their thoughts should be up by Monday.
Can a few sentences of advertising copy get a person to alter his stance toward the possible existence of an almighty being? No, John said, but the idea is to "get people talking." And he of course wants people to listen to his radio station, which he says is a "nonthreatening way to find out more about faith without having to walk into a church."
What Do/Don't You Believe In?
Somehow I don't think we've seen the last of these ads. Sources tell me one or two more Christian groups are pondering advertising. The atheists really touched a nerve (something John Konrad said he finds a bit ironic).
The brouhaha inspired me to come up with a few ads of my own:
What humorous message would you put on an ad? Share your efforts in our "Commons" comment section.
By
John Kelly
|
December 11, 2008; 8:47 AM ET
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Posted by: Akinoluna | December 11, 2008 9:10 AM | Report abuse
i think it's brilliant! we've managed to convince a bunch of religious groups to subsidize both metro and the post. sounds like a brilliant business plan to me!
Posted by: IMGoph | December 11, 2008 9:30 AM | Report abuse
Seen on t-shirt:
Front "God is Dead, Nietzsche"
Back "Nietzsche is Dead, God"
Posted by: wiredog | December 11, 2008 2:53 PM | Report abuse
IMGoph, the perfect way to get Metro its full funding. An ad war!
Metro just got done with its War on Belgium...and won, I might add.
Posted by: WxDude | December 14, 2008 3:56 PM | Report abuse
Well there hasn't been a whole heck of a lot of smiting going now has there?
The christian groups just want to protect their revenue source. Advertising being sponsored by christian radio? Puhleeze. No advertising, no revenue, no station.
Follow the money trail.
Well at least with them paying for ads on Metro buses they are at least contributing something since they get away tax free.
Posted by: 1FLWB2 | December 18, 2008 10:05 AM | Report abuse
Why believe in a God?
Because otherwise, you'll never be elected President.
Posted by: Lindemann777 | December 18, 2008 10:59 AM | Report abuse
The comments to this entry are closed.
Columbia Union College? I used to go to that school! And after one year, I RAN AWAY AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. Holy crap.
This ad battle is dumb. If I was God I would be a little pissed off to see humans speaking for me, like I couldn't do it on my own...