Dissatisfied "Virgin" Mary and Sad Joseph billboard not offensive

The ASA decides this billboard is not obscene.

And I will say- Its not obscene, theres no nudity, the only sex is just some allusions, etc. However... what the hell was the message they were trying to portray? Once you go ultimate-cosmic-omnipotent-being you never go back? And what kind of reaction were they expecting here, welcoming with open arms? Think of who you're advertising to here.

i want that billboard on my roof

someone get me a hacksaw and plane tickets to australia

Maybe it's not obscene, but posting that in certain places would definitely be asking for trouble.

HAHAHAHAHAHA
I love it.

I've seen the picture from the billboard floating around the Internet. All this time I thought it had been a Photoshop!

I would go to that church. Seriously, it's refreshing to see religious folks with a sense of humour.

ZoZo wrote:

I would go to that church. Seriously, it's refreshing to see religious folks with a sense of humour.

The fact that the church itself erected it gave me hope that not all Christians are a bunch of stuffy-shirt, uptight assholes.

...then the attacks on it pretty much reverted me back to my 'fuck you all' attitude.

Aggie wrote:

ZoZo wrote:

I would go to that church. Seriously, it's refreshing to see religious folks with a sense of humour.

The fact that the church itself erected it gave me hope that not all Christians are a bunch of stuffy-shirt, uptight assholes.

...then the attacks on it pretty much reverted me back to my 'fuck you all' attitude.

Oh no Christians are fun loving, relatively open bros who like to hang out and skate4Christ or whatever those kids are into these days.

Catholics, on the other hand...

Given that a fair number of churches I know teach that Joseph and Mary never consummated their marriage, because Mary being impregnated by the Holy Spirit rendered her too 'perfect' for mere mortal sex, I can't see what the uproar is about.

I always figured Joseph must've been a very long-suffering man, since back then, being espoused was essentially the same as being married (without the sex), and if she turned up pregnant, both of you could be stoned. As the Bible says, he could've publicaly denounced her (which would've resulted in her death), or privately put her away somewhere. Instead, he chose to stand by her, claim the child as his, and raise it. In a society whose favorite way of punishing people for violating sexual mores was to stone them, that's no small thing.

SirDixonDongs wrote:

someone get me a hacksaw and plane tickets to australia

I can never tell if you're joking or not.

I'm really not sure what the church was trying to accomplish with this sign, but it certainly amuses me.

Something about the way they're laying in the bed is bothering the crap out of me. Maybe it's the perspective but it's almost like they're floating there.

Left-fielding aside, this needs to be in Alabama somewhere. I can pretty much guarantee the reactions will be hilarious, if the leprechaun incident has taught us anything.

Raine wrote:

SirDixonDongs wrote:

someone get me a hacksaw and plane tickets to australia

I can never tell if you're joking or not.

who is joking this is am atter of life and death!!!

SirDixonDongs wrote:

Raine wrote:

SirDixonDongs wrote:

someone get me a hacksaw and plane tickets to australia

I can never tell if you're joking or not.

who is joking this is am atter of life and death!!!

It's just that you might have a hard time finding that billboard in Australia.

Not obscene, but not funny either.

Lembech wrote:

Left-fielding aside, this needs to be in Alabama somewhere. I can pretty much guarantee the reactions will be hilarious, if the leprechaun incident has taught us anything.

... please to be updating me on this "Leprechaun incident" you are referencing. If need be and I missed something because I'm totally thick, PM is fine, too. I am intrigued.

As for the billboard... I like it. It's a cute bit of humor, maybe not laugh-out-loud hilarious, but it also seems to show that this church is not as narrow-minded as some people in this here area (because I can already tell you what their reaction would be: "ZOMG BLASPHEMY!!111"). Yeah, I know, they seem to be in the minority there too, judging by the complaints that forced them to take it down... but I appreciate the effort.

Dongs: NZ =/= Australia, bb, you're gonna have to swim a ways to get to the billboard of your sleepless nights

RB: Just curious, wasn't there something in the Bible to where God had her go "lie with her husband?" I seem to recall something like that from confirmation class, but I'm not positive on it, and I don't have a Bible here to check right now
EDIT: Someone posted this in the comments re: immaculate conception.

Quote :

The "immaculate conception" does not refer to how Jesus was conceived.
It refers to Mary's preservation from original sin from the moment of
her conception (which happened in the usual way). This was "thanks to
the grace of God and in antcipation of the merits of Jesus Christ."
Compendium Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Now, I don't know if this is only Catholic doctrine (even though I grew up affiliated with a Protestant church, so I don't know where I would have heard that then), but it's interesting and oh my god why am I so fascinated by this

Saleha wrote:

Lembech wrote:

Left-fielding aside, this needs to be in Alabama somewhere. I can pretty much guarantee the reactions will be hilarious, if the leprechaun incident has taught us anything.

... please to be updating me on this "Leprechaun incident" you are referencing. If need be and I missed something because I'm totally thick, PM is fine, too. I am intrigued.

As for the billboard... I like it. It's a cute bit of humor, maybe not laugh-out-loud hilarious, but it also seems to show that this church is not as narrow-minded as some people in this here area (because I can already tell you what their reaction would be: "ZOMG BLASPHEMY!!111"). Yeah, I know, they seem to be in the minority there too, judging by the complaints that forced them to take it down... but I appreciate the effort.

Dongs: NZ =/= Australia, bb, you're gonna have to swim a ways to get to the billboard of your sleepless nights

RB: Just curious, wasn't there something in the Bible to where God, after originally impregnating Mary, had her go "lie with her husband?" I seem to recall something like that from confirmation class, but I'm not positive on it, and I don't have a Bible here to check right now

The Bible says that Jesus had a brother, which can only lead to the conclusion that Mary finally had some fun.

That's actually pretty damn funny. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I can't be the only one who sees 'BAD IN BED' all over their expressions.

God damn look at her face.

He totally underperformed.

Just Chipper wrote:

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I can't be the only one who sees 'BAD IN BED' all over their expressions.

God damn look at her face.

He totally underperformed.

Pssst, Chippy...

That was the joke.

Saleha wrote:

Dongs: NZ =/= Australia, bb, you're gonna have to swim a ways to get to the billboard of your sleepless nights

bullshit its all one big continent down there right

like with the penguins and the kangaroos and the kiwi birds and the lord of the rings

I, too, would know more of this Leprechaun incident.

Saleha wrote:

... please to be updating me on this "Leprechaun incident" you are referencing. If need be and I missed something because I'm totally thick, PM is fine, too. I am intrigued.

Some folks in Mobile, Alabama thought they saw a Leprechaun. Hilarity ensues. And I chalk it up to another reason why I'm embarrassed about living here.

Lembech wrote:

Saleha wrote:

... please to be updating me on this "Leprechaun incident" you are referencing. If need be and I missed something because I'm totally thick, PM is fine, too. I am intrigued.

Some folks in Mobile, Alabama thought they saw a Leprechaun. Hilarity ensues. And I chalk it up to another reason why I'm embarrassed about living here.

Ahahahahahaha "amateur sketch" hahahahaha

I remember South Park parodying this, now.

I... Oh, wow. I feel so much better about people here hunting for the Gurden lights now.