Boulder Billboards

"Man has the dreadful power of refusing to think"
- Fr. Ronald Knox

The above is taken from a chapter in the book I'm reading (I hate to be redundant, but there it is).  Having been a person who was not thinking, I find this quote amusing.  I'm sure someone will take offense, but it is intended to be lighthearted.  It's also true; working in customer service I can attest that perfectly intelligent people do (often) refuse to think.  We'd rather follow mindlessly.  It's easier.

At any rate, I was reading the paper this morning and came across The Open Forum in today's Opinion section:

Atheists' billboards: "God is an imaginary friend"

There were three responses published; all cordial, but all opposing the sentiment of the billboard.  The title of The Open Forum sort of softens the actual text on the billboard:

GOD IS AN IMAGINARY FRIEND.
CHOOSE REALITY, IT WILL BE BETTER FOR ALL OF US.
The Colorado Coalition of Reason
www.cocore.org

One response that was published said,

If Boulder Atheists' goal is separation of church and state, why don't they just say that?  They want to "encourage dialogue," they say, but dialogue can quickly become a monologue if you attack the intelligence of your audience.  I suspect "believers" know what reality is...
-Bob Benham

I understand the purpose of the billboard.  What I don't understand is the logic behind it.  They call themselves the Coalition of Reason, but I find their phrasing to be a little on the unreasonable side.  Choose reality, because what you believe is so wrong it affects everyone else in a negative way.  Uhm....what?  How is that reasonable?

I also disagree with the statement that choosing to live my life differently would be better for everyone else.  Living a Christian life is akin to living a good life.  No, you don't have to be Christian to live a good life, but the average person might be more inclined if he or she believed there to be consequences to their actions.  No, you don't have to be Christian to believe that, but following a faith certainly helps.

The people that paid the money to put up this sign are perhaps misguided.  Just as Bob Benham said, a dialogue quickly becomes a monologue if you attack your audience.

There is humor to be found in this, however, because it is better to laugh at it than to be irate.

There are more.  Apparently this is a thing:

 

On a related note, have any of you seen the Mormon billboards?  They're just a little on the creepy side:

pictured: creepiness.

 Check out that guy on the far right.  He's friggin' stoked about being Mormon.
These normal, unassuming people are Mormon!  It's awesome! They think it's awesome, you should try it!

Nothing against Mormonism, I just think the ads are creepy.

If you find any Christian/Catholic billboards, do share.  It's quite fun to see what people decide to advertise to the world.

The point of all this talk about billboards is this: if you ask me, I don't think religion belongs on billboards period.  It shouldn't be something you sell.