Tattooed Jesus Billboard Angers Texans

Is it, or isn’t it blasphemous?

Many folks in Lubbock, Texas are up-in-arms about the nearly 60 or so huge billboards displayed all over the city depicting Jesus with outstretched arms tattooed with such bold words as “Addicted,” “Outcast,” “Faithless,” “Hated” and “Jealous,” according to The Christian Science Monitor^[1].

The Jesus ad, which began popping up earlier this month, is the work of the website Jesustattoo.org, a small outreach, nondenominational group. The group claims on it’s site that it is not a church, has nothing to sell and is only encouraging people to build a relationship with the son of God.

Ashleigh Sawyer, media relations coordinator for Jesus Tattoo, said the organization’s campaign means no harm and that there is no hidden agenda. Moreover, she claims the group is only trying to convey love. “The message is a simple one, Jesus’ love is transformative,” she said. “He loves us unconditionally and no matter what you’ve been marked with, faith in Him and love for others will transform us.”

The site features a video which depicts Jesus as a tattoo artists who is flocked by folks from all walks of life. The people who approach him are tattooed with their shortcomings and want the Savior of Man to remove the negative markings and he does, changing them to positive ones. The negative labels then move to the body of Jesus, apparently symbolizing that he takes on the sins of his followers.

Many older Texans have condemned the motives of the grassroots group and have referred to the ads as blasphemous and derogatory, but a few of the younger residents of the area have welcomed the ads as positive and thought-provoking.

Where do you stand, do you think the billboard depicts a positive message or is it totally inappropriate?

References

1. ^{^}The Christian Science Monitor (www.csmonitor.com)