Bearing false witness on Christian billboards
File this story from Florida under “you can’t make this stuff up.” Except, apparently in this case, they could (h/t to Friendly Atheist):
A Hillsborough public policy group whose Christian platform included a push for a state ban on gay marriage has embraced a new attack on an old target: the separation of church and state.
Ten billboard advertisements against what activist Terry Kemple called the separation “lie” are being put up across Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. Seven or eight of the billboard messages already are in place, and the rest will be by the end of this week, Kemple said.
What do the billboards say? They have quotes from our founding fathers, of course, each explaining why we shouldn’t separate religion from government. For example, the photo included with the article shows a billboard, black with white text, that says, ‘”Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle” – George Washington.’
Apparently, though, there is a dearth of anti-separation quotes by the founding fathers — the billboard sponsors admit that some of the quotes that they use are completely fabricated!
Others carry the same message but with fictional attribution, as with one billboard citing George Washington for the quote, “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.”
“I don’t believe there’s a document in Washington’s handwriting that has those words in that specific form,” Kemple said. “However, if you look at Washington’s quotes, including his farewell address, about the place of religion in the political sphere, there’s no question he could have said those exact words.”
Pardon me? Fictional attribution is a rather diplomatic way of saying that the quote is a lie. Making up a quote out of whole cloth, no matter if it’s plausible or not, and then attributing it to George Washington is a complete lie.
Certainly doesn’t put Christianity’s best foot forward, does it?
They may feel justified by some sense that their anti-separation cause is best served by lying. But I think it’s safe to say that most of us, whether we follow the Ten Commandments or secular morals, believe that lying is wrong, even for marketing purposes.
Their willingness to put lies on their billboards is ultimately a matter for their own consciences (some might say that it is between them and their respective god, which is another way of saying the same thing). Remember this, though, the next time a humanist billboard campaign is denounced for being somehow immoral — I promise you that it won’t feature fabricated quotes!
What did you expect seeing that Religion itself is based on a lie!
What Lie Is That?
The Lie of Religion is that the whole of existence was created for the benefit of select group of humans by a powerful being to whom the physical rules of the universe do not apply.
I think this sort of thing is called “spinning”: certain religious groups have learned well from advertisers and politicians.
That’s correct Joe, some religious groups spin to what’s in the personal best interest, not for religion itself.
Why is it OK to lie in this religion? It is an absolute constant whenever they try to “spread the word”.
Are you saying other people professing other religious follwings don’t lie? If so what planet did you come from and or were you born a minute ago?
All these so-called Christians have to do is stick with the word of God and not with the word of man and they’ll have a strong toe to stand on.
If they instead put a sign up that stated that homosexuality is an abomination to God, it would be back by facts, and those that contend would have to debate the facts; religous and reality.
But you people should’nt be angry with the quotes of “your” founding fathers anyway, from the beginning they were all lies in the face of slavery and segregation in america and the caribbean islands.
BFBF
“But you people should
These are bondservants not slaves. Bondservants are released after 7 years according to Mosaic law and are given items to start their life. A person could become a bondservant if he wanted to marry the masters daughter. A big difference from slaves.
Then why does the bible say slave????
English translaation! Get real Will!
“Doulos”, The original Greek, means slave!!!
You’re wrong on another count. Look what I found when I did a simple yahoo serach of a definition for the word “bondservant”.
bond
You are also wrong on another account. Look at the definitions I found online of Bond Servant.
Main entry : bond servant
Function: noun
Date: 15th century
: one bound to service without wages ; also : slave
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bond+servant
Bond
You are wrong on this account. Look what I found when I searched online for definitions of bondservant.
bond
BFBF exhibits his Protestant prejudice here:
“All these so-called Christians have to do is stick with the word of God and not with the word of man and they
“If they instead put a sign up that stated that homosexuality is an abomination to God, it would be back by facts, and those that contend would have to debate the facts; religous and reality.”
Shrimp is also an abomination, but it is no longer fashionable to worry about it.
Seriously, there is no rational reason to object to homosexuality. The only objection comes from those who tenaciously and thoughtlessly subscribe to an outdated bronze age dogma.
Of course they lie and they back peddle and revise history and commit every manner of evil because they have God on their side, the hell with the truth! The hell with reality! The are dangerous!
Can’t they be sued, if tide was making claims that were lies they could be sued for false advertising. If they lied about what I said they could be sued for liable.Why is there not a law suit in the offering. AMP
I’m pretty sure that it is legal; because they aren’t advertising a product. It should be illegal to flat-out lie. The FCC does have laws against lying on News programs; but if you’ve ever watched FOX, you know that it’s not enforced.
What we certainly could do is file a law suit, and hope to at least get publicity before the case is thrown out.
hello
Francis you’re wrong, and William you’re always wrong. Please read what it states about SOUND DOCTRINE, Titus 1 and Galatians 1 points to you, Will and Donald Eric Kesler. Christians are not here to please you or to persuade you, let that sink in.
1 Corinthians 7
7:20 Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.
7:21 Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather.
7:22 For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant.
7:23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.
7:24 Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.
1 Timothy 1
1:10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;
Strong’s Greek Definition for # 733
DEFILE WITH MANKIND
733 // arsenokoithv // arsenokoites // ar-sen-ok-oy’-tace //
from 730 and 2845 ; n m
AV – abuser of (one’s) self with mankind 1,
defile (one’s) self with mankind 1; 2
1) one who lies with a male as with a female, sodomite, homosexual
Strong’s Greek Definition for # 405
MAN STEALER
405 // andrapodisthv // andrapodistes // an-drap-od-is-tace’ //
from a derivative of a compound of 435 and 4228 ; n m
AV – manstealer 1; 1
1) a slave-dealer, kidnapper, man-stealer
1a) of one who unjustly reduces free men to slavery
1b) of one who steals the slaves of others and sells them
Strong’s Greek Definition for # 5198
SOUND
5198 // ugiainw // hugiaino // hoog-ee-ah’-ee-no //
from 5199 ; TDNT – 8:308,1202; v
AV – sound 6, be sound 1, be whole 1, whole 1, wholesome 1,
be in health 1, safe and sound 1; 12
1) to be sound, to be well, to be in good health
2) metaph.
2a) of Christians whose opinions are free from any mixture of error
2b) of one who keeps the graces and is strong
Strong’s Greek Definition for # 1319
DOCTRINE
1319 // didaskalia // didaskalia // did-as-kal-ee’-ah //
from 1320 ; TDNT – 2:160,161; n f
AV – doctrine 19, teaching 1, learning 1; 21
1) teaching, instruction
2) teaching
2a) that which is taught, doctrine
2b) teachings, precepts
IF IT IS NOT AT ALL CLEAR TO YOU (ALL) AS TO WHAT PAUL STATED, LET ME BREAK IT DOWN
1. HOMOSEXUALITY/LESBIANISM & SLAVERY ARE CONTRARY TO SOUND CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE, AND YOU CAN
“THE NEWTESTAMENT CHRISTIAN DOES NOT CONDONE OR REDUCE MEN TO SLAVERY. THE OLD TESTAMENT FOLK CLEARLY DOES AS IT IS EVIDENT IN ISRAEL TODAY.”
So by your own words you admit god ,at one time, condoned slavery!
“THE INCLUSIVE CROWD SEEKS TO PLEASE MEN AND THEMSELVE WHICH IS WHY SLAVERY EXISTED AND WHY HOMOSEXUALITY IS BEING TO AS ACCEPTABLE TO GOD.”
Lest you forget:
Leviticus 25:44-46
44
(So by your own words you admit god ,at one time, condoned slavery!)
Yes.
BUT, I proved without a doubt that SLAVERY NOW and 2000 years ago VIA PAUL’S statement was contrary to SOUND CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE, and with that being said you should not pull black salvery out of your butt whenever you want to compare black america with homosexual issues in society.
(That Jesus Christ never commanded slaveholders to free their slaves is interesting don
“I proved without a doubt that SLAVERY NOW and 2000 years ago VIA PAUL
I’d like to say that the scenario described really doesn’t make sense. I mean Paul, in his epistle to the Colossians says:
Colossians 3:22-25
22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything. Don’t do it just to please them when they are watching you. Obey them with an honest heart. Do it out of respect for the Lord.
23 Work at everything you do with all your heart. Work as if you were working for the Lord, not for human masters. 24 Work because you know that you will finally receive as a reward what the Lord wants you to have. You are serving the Lord Christ.
25 Anyone who does wrong will be paid back for what he does. God treats everyone the same.
So Paul tells the slaves to stay with their masters. This is the same man you quote talking about “Sound Doctrine”. It is thus logical to assume that to live by “Sound Doctrine” slaves should willingly stay in bondage. They should not try to escape from slavery otherwise they will be punished by God and, according to Jesus, appropriately whipped by their masters.
As far as the quote from Timothy, that is a similar hypocrasy to that of the Founding Fathers who forbade slave trade into the fledgling US but failed to end the institution of slavery. I mean its wrong to kidnap people and force them into bondage but once its done… well it’s ok to continue it with the ancestors of thise who were already kidnapped.
IF IT IS NOT AT ALL CLEAR TO YOU (ALL) AS TO WHAT PAUL STATED, LET ME BREAK IT DOWN
1. PEOPLE THAT WERE “ALREADY” SLAVES THAT ACCEPTED JESUS CHRIST WERE NOT TO MURDER THEIR SLAVEMASTERS, MURDERING THEM WOULD BE CONTRARY TO SOUND DOCTRINE. PAUL SAID THAT IF YOU WERE CALLED BEING
“1. PEOPLE THAT WERE
woah woah woah everyone. this has become a HUGE debate out of one act of twisting the truth for better effect. the fact that it was a christian PR group that made the mistake doesn’t mean that christianity itself is bad or wrong. it means that religion is made of up people who make mistakes… we can’t blame the religion itself for the mistakes of people who are inherently imperfect. we are all imperfect because we are human. it is bad to pass off a quote as truth when it is really more like a paraphrase or something else… but lets place the blame where it should be – with the corrupted PEOPLE not with the religion itself. when people use religion for their own motives and twist the truth to propagate their personal agendas… it is the individual people who are to be blamed for that. the religion is more like a victim of abuse.
BFBF:
Please don’t use all caps. That means you’re screaming and no one wants to listen to screaming.
Typical so-called Christian…