Turn the Other Check

Just in from Friendly Atheist: apparently some folks have graffitied two Oregon churches with multiple pro-Flying Spaghetti Monster slogans and images.  It’s the second time these churches have been defaced in this way in the last six months.

Just yesterday, I expressed my frustration and anger with Christians who deface and vandalize atheist and secular billboards, so I’m not happy to see anyone on our team letting the side down.  I don’t mean to draw a false equivalence here and lend any support to the idea that this incident proves that Christians have it just as hard as atheists.  Show me the state where churches are banned from opening because they are an inducement to vandalism and terrorism, and then we’ll talk. (This was the actual rationale behind the Arkansas ban of billboards promoting atheist groups).

But, as Hermant Mehta said, if we want Christians to back us up when our signs are defaced, let’s model the behavior we seek.  I’ve given $10 toward the clean-up costs for the churches through the chip-in widget below.  Mehta will pass these donations to the affected churches, and any money collected that exceeds the cost of clean-up will go to the Foundation Beyond Belief (a charity that bundles atheist money for secular causes), so you’re not subsidizing religion.  You’re just helping return to the status quo ante scriptum.

But perhaps you’re remembering that you don’t give as much as you ought to charitable and activist groups already, and, if you’re behind, you don’t want to waste your donations on this cause.  In that case, let me suggest you do what I did and match your donation to the churches with an equal donation to a group you know you ought to do more to support.  Don’t kid yourself you were going to send it in anyway; this way a group you like benefits from your choice to help make things right for this church.  (I picked the ACLU).

So chip in above if you like.  And as a reminder of how much this stuff sucks when it’s done to us, I’ve pasted images of just a few of the vandalized atheist billboards across the country.  If you disapprove then, you disapprove now.