Wednesday, 11 June 2008
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Graffiti for God
from RobinzRantz
Today when I filled up my fuel tank I found – and removed – a sticker with Bible verses and an evangelical message affixed to the gas pump. I'm embarrassed by that sort of thing despite being an evangelical Christian myself. It's vandalism!Yeah, well maybe it's vandalism, but it's Christian vandalism, so it's okay.
Horse poo. There's nothing Christian about vandalism. Graffiti is graffiti. Vandalism is vandalism. Littering is still a crime. But when a crime is committed in the name of Christian evangelism, it's no less despicable than when it is committed for any other reason.
When I see “Christian” littering (like gospel tracts left in public restrooms) or “Christian” trolls bashing gay people on Internet forums, or “Christian” vandalism like the sticker on the fuel pump, I remove it, refute it, or apologize for it. I'm tired of making excuses and cleaning up after "evandelists" who claim to respect our cherished Christian values.
How do you feel about Christian "evandalism" as a means of spreading the gospel?
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Comments (22)
If I saw this in my town, I would be heartened that the Good Word was still spreading...but I would still disapprove of the method.
I love love love the story of Arthur Stace.
He took chalk and wrote 'Eternity' all over Sydney (in Australia).
Please take the time to read the story.
This is a much 'greener' way of sharing the gospel without permanent damage to property or litter.
~Eternity~
x
I agree scrawling John 3:16 with a sharpie on a public restroom wall is a bad witness.
I don't think it is a very good way of evangelizing because it is destruction of property even if it is about God. People would think even less of God then. I think instead of evandelizing, we could go and clean up a building with graffiti on it and maybe leave a note or track. Even though Christian graffiti does look awesome.. not the smartest way..
Maybe that was someones' way of spreading the word of God. . .?
http://try-love.info
That's me
I've done a lot of Graffiting for God.
Okay, not really explicitly for God, but for Love at least, and since God is Love, itso facto, for God
I agree with you about the tacts and stickers, which are just tacky and annoying. But graffiti is something different...I'm not denying it's tackiness, but it stands out more...you can't help but notice it on an overpass (we never painted private property)...And I mean, perhaps it's a bit contradictory, but it's an extremely effective way of getting a message out there...a facebook group dedicated to my artwork now has close to 500 people...I didn't start the group.
I see your point, but I don't entirely agree...so long as it's done tactfully. That said, it's easy to take it too far
okay, so apparently, unbeknowns to me, try-love.info doesn't work anymore
tryloveholland.blogspot.com
ok, so i understand & agree with the fact that stickers on gas pumps or painting on walls, or any vandalism or graffiti is wrong, whether or not its pointing to Christ. . .but come on, tracts in the bathroom? whats wrong with that? now if they're just thrown around, i understand, but if they are in a neat pile on the counter, or on the paper towel dispenser, i dont see a problem. . .its kinda like leaving bibles in hotel rooms (except not as expensive)
"I write not for those that have the money to pay to have the message erased. I write for those that would give their lives to ingrain the message into their hearts."
It depends really, who is going to get mad, where it is written, how it is written. I hear a lot of "graffiti is graffiti" etc. People need to expand their horizons, on art and on God, don't be narrow minded in what, or how God can work in people's lives. Of course, scrawling in bathrooms or painting on private property have different connotation than creating elaborate pieces or messages in public and run down areas. Those aren't the limitations, I'm just juxtaposing several examples.
And we have to understand, who is the message catered too? Who is it offending? Who appreciates it? Most importantly, I think, if you are a writer though, why are you writing your message? What is your message? Have you prayed about it? Are you sure you are writing for God?
What exactly are Christian values? What are we defacing? Is it REALLY defacing if we see a mural painted by graffiti artists depicting God's love and ability to save in a run down parking structure commonly frequented by druggies and delinquents? It may be that the reason that artist painted that message was for that one person to see the message, realize that Christianity isn't limited to the boundaries of society, that God transcends all cultural conceptions, and have him come to Jesus and become saved, hallelujah.
We have to see that the world we live in, every action and every word, things will be done that will offend one group, but inspire another. Things will be said that will turn one away from God, and another to God. If anything, the context of graffiti is extremely important I believe. I would never write "Jesus loves you" on a local neighborhood suburban house, but I might write the same message on a busy intersection in the inner city.
Well that's my opinion anyways. =] God bless.
what if that sticker reminded someone about Jesus that day or led a person to Jesus? i think that counts more than it just being vandalism.
evandelism...that's witty. and appropriate.
I agree with the stickers and or any graffiti regardless of the message is wrong. But tracts in the bathroom - a little extreme to cal that graffiti. A friend of mine went into a bathroom one night saw a tract never opened it because he knew what it said - and it vexed him for days because it was speaking to him telling him he was headed to hell. They work. No instead of apologizing - how about using that opportunity to share the Gospel with others?
When I went to Chile...graffiti is actually a form of art there. Next to the church we worked with was a beautiful picture of a lighthouse (church is named El Faro, lighthouse in Spanish), with Psalm 119 written in Spanish. It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. I even took a picture of it, but felt guilty for admiring it.
I do believe there is a line when it comes to passing out tracts, etc. A lot of people cross the line where it just becomes overbearing and scares the person off. When it comes to talking about God, there are people who I call "Scary Christians". These people (like the big pink haired lady on TBN) make believing in Christ a scary thing. They are yelling and shoving a Bible in your face. I call them scary because I as a Christian even get scared and I'm a believer in Christ. I can't imagine what a non-believer thinks.
Have a great day!
Here, here. Well said. Well done. Tagging is still a crime no matter how artful. We are told in the Bible to obey authority where it doesn't interfer with our belief. Legit business men buy space to put up their ads and billboards. Slapping stickers on any available flat surface is vandalism. Leaving tracts about..."to be found" is tacky and can feel like sabotage. Explain tracts in the Tricks or Treats bags to your child sometime, hmmmm We should stand strong, and be bold in our faith. Meet the lost face to face. Share your faith with individuals not walls and toilet stalls using clandestine tactics by invisible believers.
I would never write, spray paint or adhere stickers to other people's property. However, as with several others, I do not see a problem with putting tracts in public places. If people do not like them, then they can do what I used to do with all the Watchtower magazines someone left at my laudrymat - put them in the trash. Whenever a Christian gives out a tract, whether directly or indirectly, I think they know that there is a good chance it will end up in the trash, but we take the chance because the message is so worth it.
Do you think it's wrong to give out tracts or Bibles in a country that forbids it by law?
Saves is a NYC tagger. here's an interview you can check out if ure interested: http://graffmuseum.com/?p=173 ..his take on this, and I quote: "I understand to complain about writing on clean property but
legal graffiti or graffiti on abandon buildings trees or metallic signs
is nothing to be complaining about." ..I think his story is worth looking at. I do agree that it's embarrassing when Christians vandalize, and I would do my part to decrease that as well. I believe with Clarke, it's just the ANGLE that he has found in the culture he is engaged in (a true blue culture, just like dance culture, theater culture, etc.)- and THAT is respectable. All this is just food for thought. God bless.
-Ro
We don't tell people about Jesus, we show them who He is through our daily love walk... so I agree with you, using graffiti to share the Gospel is not the way to go. Why not just use the time "graffiti-ing" to read the Bible instead? Only God's Word can change any of us and that's how our Gospel sharing is more effective.. n'est pas?
How about "reverse-graffiti?" http://nextgenerasianchurch.com/2007/10/02/another-ad-for-church/
@WeaponG@xanga - I like graffiti If I could do it for church I would because its pleasing to God
yo i would boome tranes with stuff like jhon 3:16 or rom 1:16 its a way to git to people that would never step foot in a cherch you now how many lost writers(tagers) it could reach millins of people in jeneral that see thos frates every day? i dont see nathen wrong with boomen frate trans with the gospe but i agree that it should not be all over bisnases or nathen like that
it surely is vandalism and should not be done.. it's to bad people think they can.. but also understandable in a way.. cuz a lot of people do not see crime in our art (me being a graffiti artist) but it is a crime and should be treated as such..
A few years ago i decided to follow Jesus and stop doing illegal graffiti within a week after that i found my self
It's immature and most often won't be taken seriously as witnessing.