Christians To Atheist Billboard Sponsors: ‘We Support You’

Sponsors of an atheist billboard in Knoxville, Tennessee, who decided to place their sign right next to a Baptist church may not be getting the response they intended or expected.

Several members of the Central Baptist Bearden church near Knoxville — including the Pastor — have taken a stand on the side of the organization behind the sign, the Rationalists of East Tennessee (R.E.T.).

In comments to WATE-TV, Jared Winchester, a self-professed Christian, said the sign didn’t bother him “at all.”

Winchester said he was a supporter of free speech, even if it was speech with which he didn’t share views.

“It’s an essential key in democracy,” he added.

Dr. Wade Bibb, the church’s Pastor, agreed with Winchester’s assessment.

“We’re very strong supporters of freedom of speech,” he told the television station. As for members of his church who might not — none of whom have voiced displeasure with the atheist billboard — he had this to say.

“If you wanted that to be a pro-God message there then I think you should have rented it out and put a pro-God message on there.”

As for Larry Rhoades, the R.E.T. president, he insisted that placement of the billboard (pictured above) had nothing to do with trying to antagonize the church. Rather he was using it as a “recruitment tool.”

Rhoades said that it wasn’t the first time he’d tried to place the billboard in the location. On prior occasions, he ran in to roadblocks with a previous owner, who said that he didn’t want the “controversy” that would come with it.

“Well it’s a recruitment tool, we’re trying to get more members,” he added in comments to the news station.

This isn’t the first time that an atheist billboard has found its way onto the national news scene. In a previous story from the Inquisitr, one billboard in Northern California encouraged passers-by to “Imagine No Religion,” criticizing Christians for turning non-believers into “outsiders” for the whole month of December each year.

As a result, the group put up a slew of signs in every major city within the northern part of the state.

In spite of many expecting — even in the Christian community — for there to be a backlash, the signs in that case came and went with little controversy, as well.

Do you think Christians are responding well to stories like this and the atheist billboard in Knoxville? And on the Tennessee billboard, do you think the R.E.T. is trying to antagonize Christians? Sound off in the comments section.