Postcards to say something: 001

And thank you, reader Nerdiah, for our first postcard.

This is why good christians should never French kiss.

Chalk One Up For Jeebus The Graffitist, or “Postcards From The Dull Edge”

So, what’s new in the game of promoting Jeebus without mentioning bibles, churches, and all the other cultural and literary baggage that would normally be associated with this figure (who is, after all, a product of bibles and churches)?

There’s postcards… in which people express their gratitude for hot chips, termite mounds, poorly-cropped photos of people making faces, Ferraris, and dogs. Lots of dogs. I’m fairly sure the chips were made by Spiros Papathanassiou, from spuds grown by Bert Fernackerpan. As for the Ferrari… does one of them fit through the eye of a needle?

Top marks, anyway, to the team who are still trying to draw the fire away from the bad bits about Jeebus’s followers by making him all that much more nebulous.  The control over at that site is more rigid than we practice here: after all, we do let the occasional gripe or pretending-to-be-atheism-curious post in here from christians. But on the site of the Farceur, the (six-figure) Sum, and the Holy Post(card), there’s no chance of thanking anybody for herpes, genocide, deformed babies or jock itch.

We reserve the right, at any time, to refuse or remove any material from the Site for any reason in our absolute discretion, including without limitation where the material is considered obscene, offensive, inappropriate, blasphemous, or infringing upon the rights of any third party.

And of course, you don’t own it any more once it’s up there. Somewhere an ad agency creative is laughing, while Jeebus’s zealous people do his or her work, in their own intent-but-often-inept way. I loved the one that had still managed to maintain its “insert your text here” template.

But, just in case you’re wondering why our toothy little friend is grinning, he’s seen that postcards are not the bottom of the barrel…

In the spirit of Mr Eternity, Arthur Stace who wrote the word Eternity in chalk on the streets of Sydney for many years, the Eternity Chalk Challenge wants church youth groups across NSW to write ‘Eternity’ on as many streets as they can.

The Challenge will run from 1-7 October 2009 in conjunction with the Jesus. All about life campaign running on TV and other media. The Challenge is a unique, fun opportunity for young people across NSW to do something special in the holidays, for a great purpose.

The youth group that scores the most points in the Eternity Chalk Challenge will win an amazing weekend away at the stunning Youthworks Port Hacking camp complex in Sydney.

A fantastic prize will be awarded to the most creative expression of ‘Eternity’ chalked on the pavement.

The prize for the most creative expression of ‘Eternity’ in chalk is a free overseas Mission Immersion trip sponsored by Jesus. All about life.

The individual prize is open to anyone aged 16 or over who is a member of a youth group registered for the Challenge.

I hope the minions of Jeebus keep it legal. It would also be a shame if they inspired others to edit, add, erase or parody the chalkings…

Meanwhile, there are plenty of things christians could be up to, quietly. And some of them are, probably. Shame about the guys with the bullhorn and the billboard.

Wipe Your Feet!

The JAAL writers have lives: active lives, not necessarily centered around waiting for the next reader to pop along here, or the next piece of hate mail.

One of Jeebus’s little helpers, on a visit here,  interpreted that in his own special way to mean something or other about our worth as people, or the site or something. Frankly, I couldn’t be bothered checking. See, it isn’t his site, and he’s forgotten those instructions on manners that Jeebus, or Paul (or one of those unknown forgers identified by Bart Ehrman) put in his bible. I’ll give him Philippians 2:3 as a headstart.

Others, for reasons of their own, have chosen to view this site as a battlefield where they may earn themselves public glory fighting for Jeebus. One can imagine the results if these guys employed the same tactics in real-life: assault charges would be the least of it.

And it’s not like these chaps even want to defend their actions using that same bible they don’t know all that well.  For the major part it’s ad hominem attacks or the cyber-equivalent of Dick Size Taunts. Perhaps there is some modern-day extension of those complete absolutions which were given to those going to fight in the Crusades, so all the killing, and any torture, rape, robbery and pillaging, before the fact or during the battle, just Didn’t Count. Dibs. So There. I guess Jeebus can forgive an awful lot of stuff if you imagine him hard enough.

But, apart from being God’s Own Entitlement Bitches, just taking their place in the divinely-ordained order of things right bloody now, thank-ye-very-much, and never mind the consequences, some of the commenters seem to want more… there was a spate from a single source recently.

It was nothing new, the content of these would-be comments. The old peppered moth thing (as if evolution, or a lack thereof, made atheism less relevant, or somehow caused a god to appear through the gaps), and the same fellow having a go at the old Stalin/Hitler/Mao tactic (see? it’s so old I don’t even need to describe it!) in order to show what Baddies those Atheists are.

I don’t get paid to deal with this sort of kindy-bedtime-story stuff any more. Then along comes yet another “poster” from the same IP (although this particular persona was able to use capitalisation), with their swipe.

Could the Prophet PZ Myers have foretold their coming?

Bill Dembski’s Intelligent Design course at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has some interesting course requirements.
provide at least 10 posts defending ID that you’ve made on “hostile” websites, the posts totalling 2,000 words, along with the URLs (i.e., web links) to each post (worth 20% of your grade).

Another 20% of the grade comes from the development of a Sunday School lesson plan.

The whole course page is a rich vein of absurdity. Have fun mining it!

Maybe the source of these entirely coincidental hits is not a course or club that demands its members get out there and actively antagonise an actively unchristian site. Does it matter?

I’m sure I’d get very short shrift and a long push to the front gate, should I show up in a church or a christian forum with the attitude they show. And this is NOT a forum.

I’m pushed to find time to write: why would I want to devote some of what little I have, to gratifying the Precious Little Snowflakes, so they can earn their Cyber-Martyr Badge in Royal Rangers, or whatever the club may be?

Answer: I don’t. That is why I give the blighters one shot. And it normally seems to hit them just behind the place where big and second toe meet… just where Jeebus’s sandal strap might have gone, or a good place for a nail hole (at least in some paintings).

Those I’ve annoyed know who they are, and although they may not have wiped their feet on the way in, they can now use the biblical injunction to “shake the dust off their sandals”, along with the folk wisdom about the swing door and their buttocks.

I’ve been giving a lot of thought of late to the human debris left behind after the Jeebus Juggernaut passes, and I think the wreckage of after-christianity is more deserving of my time than its martyr wannabees. But that is yet another story….

Black

PS: Other JAAL writers might not share my comment policy, and that’s their prerogative.

I delete pointless, stupid comments. Spend your Sunday School money on a site if you want a soapbox.

Hurry, 15% off Jesus! Best deal in 2009 years!

Jesus All About Life 15% off!

Yep, Jesus All about Life has got something for you the consumer!! Roll up roll up! buy your salvation here! We sell it cheap!

The commercialisation of religion just permeates the whole business that is jesus.
Whoa, and guess what! They are able to peddle their ‘facts’ STATE TAX EXEMPT