Posted by Hemant Mehta in Remember the God billboards…? Here’s one example:
Victory Family Church in Decatur, Texas is now marketing services with Satan billboards:
The Star-Telegram newspaper adds this:
Associate pastor Chris Bates said the Web site has had more than 1,100 hits since the billboard went up.
“That’s huge for a small church like us,” he said.
Other churches are also using Satan in their ad campaigns, including CedarCreek Church in Ohio, which says, “CedarCreek Church Sucks — Satan.”
Bates said his church isn’t done yet; the next billboard will read: “Victory Family Church stole my kids — Satan.”
One member of Fark.com suggested another Satan billboard (one I wouldn’t mind seeing):
(via Fark)
[tags]atheist, atheism, God, Victory Family Church, Satan, Star-Telegram, Chris Bates, CedarCreek Church[/tags]
[...] FriendlyAtheist Filed under Blog by Permalink • Print • Email Related EntriesChurch Marketing viaDoughnuts? [...]
I guess these churches don’t realize how much comedy I find in these billboards. Can you think of a more market-tested name for a church than “Victory Family?” It’s positive, successful, even may imply a military victory, and it’s all about the family and family values. It’s a conservative, pro-military, pro-family, pro-childrearing (a.k.a. home schooling, or Christian school), anti-abortionist, anti-gay, Christian-dominionist’s dream! Ah, so much communicated in so few words. My congratulations to the marketer. This is what evangelical Christianity has become in America: all superficiality, no substance. This would be a good thing if the evangelicals embraced this and didn’t take themselves seriously, but they actually believe this crap.
Yes, Texas just keeps giving and giving and giving . . .
That “Love Thy Neighbor” one isn’t too bad actually…
Everything I can’t stand about evangelical Christianity…
Drat, I thought this was going to be some awesme prank by the local atheist group. Hell, if I were a rich girl, I would put up that Fark billboard near one of those stupid god billboards. I really hate those god billboards; the one at the top of this post isn’t so bad, but I remember when they first came out, I read them all and most of them seemed smug and obnoxious.
I suppose there is nothing like instilling some fear to win converts to their superstitious lunacy. Can we blame them given how well it worked for Bush & Cheney?
The fact that these dubiously-effective messages are placed on billboards should tell foreign cultural observers everything they need to know about America and its Christians.
Yeah, I see nothing wrong with it (although I question whether it’s going to get anyone to change their behaviors in any way). But is it by the same group? The second one pictured has a web link on it; the neighbor one is anonymous. Plus the tone is completely different from the rest.
I believe the origin of these Satan billboards is http://satanhateslife.com/.
I agree!
When I lived in LA, I often passed a billboard that said, “Keep using my name in vain. I’ll make rush hour longer.” –God
I love that one
, I had A slide show with the original ones and they are really good and thought provoking.
I love it when they make testable claims.
Were I a spoiled rich girl, I’d make a billboard out of Luke 14:26
not surprised though at this church.
this is BTW the same church that is offering prizes if you go to their church on Easter Sunday March 23 2008.
(see) http://www.victoryfamilychurch.net/index.cfm?i=1799&mid=5&id=38479
http://www.alittleleaven.com
[...] other perspectives see Friendly Atheists and Marketing The [...]
It is interesting to me, that many of your are so “against” these signs and their beliefs. However, some of you would put atheist boards up and proclaim your beliefs. That seems contradictory. I am a christian who’s closest friends are agnostic, buddhist, methodist, catholic, atheist..etc. and It is very frustrating to me that many of you bash “us” and put “us” in a box, without knowing anything about who we are as a person most of the time. Religion for me is not about rules and guidelines that I am suppose to follow, its about having a relationship with God, who sent his son to die on a cross so that I might live forever with him. ITs about loving people whether they are gay, transvestites, christians (who don’t act like it), or any other type of person. Maybe it would do you some good to stop condemning others because they don’t believe the same way you do and love “christians” whether they act superficial or not. Christian or not, we ALL make mistakes.
kael — I don’t think people are “against” these billboards in the sense we want to prohibit them from going up. They have every right to put up their billboards.
That shouldn’t stop us from criticizing the message, though, and in this case, while the message is clever, it’s based on the belief that Satan exists and that’s just silly.