THE SHOT — A pair of billboards in Putnam County, Tennessee, that went up a couple months ago are getting the NOM treatment. Says Lois Irby, a local supporter of the outdoor ad campaign: “I just thought this billboard was a marvelous idea,” said one of several Cookeville-area supporters of the sign. You hear so much about same-sex marriage on TV, and it’s so readily accepted by the public. Children, unless they have some kind of religious training at home, are taught to accept it and not question it or feel that it’s wrong. I think God’s word needs to be inserted as often as possible to reaffirm that homosexuality is wrong. It doesn’t need to be presented in a glorified light as just an alternate lifestyle.” I agree, more of God’s words inserted as often as possible. Like this one from Leviticus 25:44-46 (NLV): “However, you may purchase male or female slaves from among the foreigners who live among you. You may also purchase the children of such resident foreigners, including those who have been born in your land. You may treat them as your property, passing them on to your children as a permanent inheritance. You may treat your slaves like this, but the people of Israel, your relatives, must never be treated this way.”
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pete
I love how these ultra-religious folk really believe that God “wrote” the Bible. How delusional is that? I wonder if he was left-handed or right-handed? It just boggles my mind that people still follow this dogma literally. It truly is just hateful, not at all what Jesus was about. And let’s face it, it’s all a nice litle fairy tale.
Norman
And just whose God are these people talking about here?
David
Their “Christian” model has a case of the gay face.
GetBalance
They are talking about a local god of manmade mythology. Many faux mythical wannane man gods exist throughout history. The real God surpasseth all understanding. Best we not give it one more thought.
Merlyn
So wonderful to see more or their delusion publicly displayed–not. Unblievable that these people really believe this crap.
scott ny'er
i hope a gay person owns the billboard company.
someone should buy a billboard ad campaign that says man + man = marriage god’s way
see: anyone can make up this crap
GetBalance
I think it’s time someone amends the bible with all the positive gay stuff that was left out, “And god said unto Chad and Bruce . . . Help your ill mannered neighbors to see the light.” Ah ok.
We are winning the fight, might as well play niceee nice.
Kennedy
Thank god Tenn. is one of those states I fly over and will never set foot in….
B
Naturally, they got it wrong. Genesis 2:24 states, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh, ” or (in a more modern translation), “That is why 1 a man leaves 2 his father and mother and unites with 3 his wife, and they become a new family. 4”
The catch is the footnote (given only for the modern translation in http://net.bible.org/verse.php?search=Gen%202:24&book=gen&chapter=2&verse=24# ): ‘This statement, introduced by the Hebrew phrase ???????? (’al-ken, “therefore” or “that is why”), is an editorial comment, not an extension of the quotation. The statement is describing what typically happens, not what will or should happen. It is saying, “This is why we do things the way we do.” It links a contemporary (with the narrator) practice with the historical event being narrated. The historical event narrated in v. 23 provides the basis for the contemporary practice described in v. 24. That is why the imperfect verb forms are translated with the present tense rather than future.’
What’s going on is that, interspersed with the creation myth, are statements relating that myth to contemporary practices (in the time frame of the author). There is simply no imperative, divine or otherwise, for people to get married in that part of the Bible. It simply suggests that marriage between a man and a woman is somehow mirrored or motivated by part of their creation myth. That’s interesting – as an insight into an ancient culture – but has nothing to do with what we should be doing in the 21st century.
B
No. 8 · Kennedy wrote, “Thank god Tenn. is one of those states I fly over and will never set foot in….”
I once spent a few days in Memphis as part of a work trip for a meeting held in the Peabody Hotel. At that locale, the highlight of the day was a ritual in which a group of ducks would descend in an elevator at 12 noon and bathe in the middle of the lobby, accompanied by a brass band.
Draw your own conclusions. At least it beat the weather, which was mostly dull and dreary.
eyesiq
So calling homosexuality “alternative” is “glorifying” it? And using divine scriptural opinion to validate the superiority of heterosexuality isn’t?
okay…
Also I love how homosexuality is apparently “readily accepted by the public”. Must’ve missed those billboards.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Looks like an excellent paintball target to me………..
Comixbear
As a gay male who lives in Tennessee as well as goes to church each week (not all churches are anti-gay), this makes me very sad. It’s horrible to have people like this make us all look like we are so judgemental.
ForeverGay
A billboard of a gay soldier was torn down by vandals last year in Nashville. Eyesiq, got it right, this is about haterosexual supremacy. Haterosexuals want to reinforce to people, heterosexual and non-heterosexual, what the game is; advantage haterosexuals and keep everyone else down.
David, can you think on your own? Or do you just repeat everything heterosexuals say? Heterosexuals and those acting as heterosexuals are the ones oppresssing gay people. Stop with the “if he’s anti-gay then he must be gay” bs, it’s dumb and meant to take attention away from heterosexuals.
JR
I just love how these so called “christians” put up a bible verse to prove their point. They seem to only pick and choose what part of the bible they want to use. They seem to forget about the “judge not lest ye be judges part”, or how about the “love your neighbor as yourself” They also seem to forget that in Matthew, Jesus himself confirmed a gay couple (the roman centurian an slave story) If they knew that, that would probable send them all into a tizzy.
stevenelliot
lets just say this billboard is $500 a month to rent. and lets just say they charged a flat fee for the design and installation of graphics at $2000…..thats $8000 for a year on this one billboard. So that $8000 could have been used for what else? fill in the blank…food for the hungry, clothes for the needy, church subsidized health care, etc etc.
Point is, as with abortion, these types only care about themselves. Its not the people they care about its the issue. The people are just in the way of their politics and power struggle. The immorality of a man who would spend that money on a fruitless billboard when so many could have used that charity.
Pitou
@stevenelliot: I dont see anything wrong with someone spending their money as they choose… Did you go buy shit for your family and friends for gifts this year? Then eat your words, Sir. You waste cash like the lot of society.
What I’d like to know is where are the Gays with gobs and gobs of money (as we are perceived to be by society) funding billboard campaigns to OUR benefit? Where’s the billboard spouting off Maggot Gallaghers real last name and the fact that she has a daughter out of wedlock? Wheres the billboards touting the “facts” of the bible these people pick and choose from? Wheres the billboard (Like someone else said) that says “Man + Man = MARRIAGE GODS WAY”? Wheres the billboards spewing the facts that a majority of pedophiles are “Straight” middle aged men? Wheres the billboards blasting the church and their pedophelia crisis? Wheres the fucking billboards that defend gay people?
I take home under 35K a year.. no, I can not attempt a billboard campaign myself. BUT, you approach me with a valid campaign to blast these wretched homophobes.. I’ll gladly donate all that I possibly can. Promise.
Daez
@pete: They do not follow it literally. They pick and chose. In order to even post this sign they have to overlook every teaching of Christ such as “judge not, lest the be judged,” “let thee who is without sin cast the first stone” and “love thy neighbor as thyself.”
Further more, condemning someone for their sins basically spits in the face of Jesus who died for all sins. Seriously, I think these people just need someone to hate so that they can feel better about themselves. They use religion as an excuse, but they are really just grown up bullies. The public at large is realizing this. In the end, this sign might help the cause by inferiorating people, and NOTHING spurs people to action as easily as anger does.
Daez
@GetBalance: Actually the aepothical texts already paint Jesus as a raging bisexual who most likely was fucking John the Disciple, Mary Magdeline, and a certain young twink he rose from death.
Do some research on what the Bible really says. It was old men in the Catholic Church that gave us the current KJV version that consolidates white power because surprise, surprise they were rich and powerful white men.
lfivepoints69
“There is neither male nor female, there is no Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave nor free, you are all one in Christ.” (Galatians 3:28) To God, same-sex and different-sex marriage are the same. Period. The creators of this billboard are in NO way Christian.
Daez
@B: One of the states most famous residents has been nothing but supportive of the gays and transgressed people. Trying to judge a state on the stupidity of one group would leave all 50 states being consider backwards.
Daez
@Daez: Transgendered…. I swear that sometimes iPad has the most unbelievably annoying auto correct.
scott ny'er
@Pitou: hey. I’ll design a pro-gay billboard for free. Now we just need pro-bono printer or get someone to pay for printing and the ad space.
Jeffree
@Daez: [#19] The texts you refer to are “apocryphal” and yes, they’re fascinating.
Also, Catholics don’t use the King James bible anymore.
B
No. 21 · Daez wrote, “@B: One of the states most famous residents has been nothing but supportive of the gays and transgressed people. Trying to judge a state on the stupidity of one group would leave all 50 states being consider backwards.”
Here’s the statement that Daez replied to: “I once spent a few days in Memphis as part of a work trip for a meeting held in the Peabody Hotel. At that locale, the highlight of the day was a ritual in which a group of ducks would descend in an elevator at 12 noon and bathe in the middle of the lobby, accompanied by a brass band. Draw your own conclusions. At least it beat the weather, which was mostly dull and dreary.”
Maybe Daez can explain to me what group I could possibly have been referring to: the term “group of ducks” was literally just that – a procession of ducks waddling from the elevator to a small pool or fountain. It’s apparently something the hotel is famous for. I guess they keep it going to attract people.
GetBalance
@Daez,
I thought for sure he was also fucking Peter.
Any more I am looking at the religious kooks’ blatherings as good advertizing. As our image gets better and better in people’s minds, they are looking worse and worse.
Android must be second from worst on spell check. I try to double check every time before sending but of course, forget from time to time to my dismay.
Merlyn
@Jeffree:
As long as I was Catholic, they were using the Douay-Rheims Bible and had been doing so since at least the 1600s if not earlier.
stevenelliot
@Pitou: Im not running a nonprofit charity designed to guide and help people through the love of god….
Queer Supremacist
Heretical filth.
If God had wanted men and women to be together he would have made them the same.
It’s time to give back to them everything that they have given to us. And I mean everything.
ewe
The atheism/agnostic billboards must be allowed up and if they are banned then perhaps Tennessee would be forced to ban this abusive homophobia hiding behind gODD as well.
ewe
Chances are the models have no idea what their images are being used to represent.
Danny
2.5 million – half of Tennessee’s population – are illiterate. They cannot even read what the bible actual says about anything, much less a simple elementary school book. Talk about third world America. Tennessee is America’s Afghanistan, complete with the religious Taliban.
B
People need to check the links as QUEERTY’s analysis usually misses the really interesting stuff. For example, http://nomblog.com/2777/ (which QUEERTY links to) states, ‘Dave Roland, owner of Roland Advertising, even offered to put up another billboard free of charge. “We are glad to participate in this project because of our belief in marriage God’s way,” Roland said. “Our conservative values are under attack every day, and outdoor advertising is one way we can speak to the masses for very little cost. We want to make sure our messages are positive and promote the right things. We believe this message is one of them.” From that point, news of the billboard spread by word of mouth. Duke said, “Individuals throughout this area expressed interest and pledged support. The most common response is that Bible-believing people in this area are deeply concerned. They believe it is time to take a firm stand and
make a public statement about marriage according to God.” Anyone wanting to join in the effort to keep the billboards up may do so by contacting Roland Advertising at (931)528-8100 or Kerry Duke at (931)526-2616.”
So, what really went on is the Roland Advertising made a clever business decision and let these people put up their sign free of charge, most likely figuring they’d rake in the bucks when religious conservatives wanted either more signs or to have the existing two stay up much longer. “Our conservative values” my ass – they are just picking the pockets of the religious nuts.
Aaron in Honolulu
These ads are obviously targeted toward “the gays”. Heterosexuals don’t need billboards to remind them that they need pair up with someone of the opposite sex.
justnow
why it cant just say “”gay marriage: we dont agree with it but lets just move on”” everyone is not christians and some christians are with gay marriage. one day gays themselves will get tired of it. and make the phrase “prop 8: whatever just let me have rights to my mate!”
justnow
and to me its unfair to the children, it basically asserts that they are mindless and uncapable of critical thought. So we have to hammer it into them and say that gay is wrong- wth? Like i said – agree to disagree that is all not some tangent
the crustybastard
That dumbass billboard goes quite nicely with that colossal stars & bars flag on the side of the highway in the middle of nowhere.
Drove by the whole mess yesterday. What a fucked-up state.
andrew
That Lois Irby, should really read her Bible again and keep quiet. So here is a Bible quote for her.
Timothy 2:12
I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.