ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, April 21, 1996 TAG: 9604190075
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: The Back Pew
SOURCE: CODY LOWE
I have to admit I'm one of those people who don't like having bumper stickers attached to their cars.
It's a prejudice that dates back to my childhood, when my dad would get furious as we walked through the parking lot after a day at Tweetsie Railroad in Boone, N.C. We'd find that the amusement park's overzealous employees had plastered stickers on the bumpers of every car there. Unlike today, at least they didn't charge you for the privilege of advertising their business.
Dad would be ripping the thing off right away while it was still fresh, scratching at the offending glue and paper. I don't remember if he complained to the management, but the park stopped the practice after a couple of years.
I don't wash and wax my cars nearly as often as Dad did, but I still wouldn't put a bumper sticker on mine.
Those little horizontal messages can be effective communication tools, though. I still laugh when I read the one that says "My kid can beat up your honor-roll student."
Most bumper stickers bear inoffensive messages, I suppose, but how many times has your blood pressure risen when a bumper sticker on the car in front of you at a stop light advocates a political candidate you despise? Or a social position you disagree with? Or even a bit of vulgarity you're offended by?
It happened to me again last week.
The pickup in front of me had several stickers on it in various places, but the two most prominent ones were placed on either side of the rear bumper.
On the left was: "This vehicle insured by Smith & Wesson." It's too old to be really funny any more, and by itself I wouldn't have given it any more thought than the second it took to read it.
On the right side, though, was: "He alone is my heart desire: Jesus Christ."
There went my blood pressure.
One of the problems with bumper stickers, of course, is that you tend to read them in traffic and you can't get out of your car and ask the person what in the world he or she was thinking to have combined those two particular sentiments on one bumper.
It could have been a joke, of course. Somebody who really wouldn't pull a gun to protect a used truck and who doesn't believe in Jesus Christ might want to take a swipe at the gun lobby and Christianity at the same time.
I doubt it, though. I had the feeling the owner of that vehicle didn't see any conflict between those two messages.
In what likely will be a vain bid to ward off angry letters from gun owners who think I'm about to make disparaging remarks about them, let me say that I am a gun owner. I choose not to hunt, but I enjoy shooting at paper targets and clay pigeons.
Nonetheless, I worry about folk who want to combine threats to shoot me with a message about devotion to Jesus Christ.
I know there is one passage in the Gospel of Luke in which Christ is recorded as having told his disciples to have swords with them when he sent them out into the world. Some scholars question whether the intent was literal or a broad admonition to be prepared to survive in a hostile world. In either case, that one instance is in the Bible.
But Jesus' overall message was not one of advocating violence, either in personal relationships or in propagating the gospel message.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God."
"Put your sword back into its place, for all who take the sword shall die by the sword."
"But I say to you, do not resist an evil-doer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also."
If Jesus had owned anything so expensive as an automobile, are we to suppose he would have injured or killed anyone over it?
I think not.
Here's the problem: The juxtaposition of those two bumper stickers sends the message that it's OK to advocate violence as a solution to a dinged fender, while at the same time alleging fealty to the teachings of Jesus Christ.
The few Christians who continue to believe the Crusades were a good idea may agree with that sentiment, but most other Christians would not.
Christians who complain about a lack of respect for their faith in the larger culture - an argument we won't get into here - must remember that the messages they send contribute in large ways and small to the way society reacts to their system of belief.
This kind of message is bound to cause disrespect - especially among non-Christians - for Christianity.
My guess is that the truck's owner meant the "Smith & Wesson" sticker light-heartedly and the "Jesus Christ" sticker seriously.
I just wonder how many people who read them won't understand that.
LENGTH: Medium: 89 linesby CNB