Nope. Not a thing. No religion here, everyone. Come to Hawkins, Texas and enjoy yourself a great big secular gay orgy, ain’t nothin’ about church here.
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
Nope. Not a thing. No religion here, everyone. Come to Hawkins, Texas and enjoy yourself a great big secular gay orgy, ain’t nothin’ about church here.
Take. Alternate. Route.
The existence of thousands Christian sects makes Jesus non-religious? That makes less sense than Ken Ham.
The only bit of that that surprised me is that it actually is on city property. So much of the countryside out thataway is ranches or farmland that my first thought was that a rancher had erected it on the road into town.
Also, how do they always seem to emphasize that the FFRF is based in Wisconsin, but miss that it had to be a local who alerted the FFRF to the sign?
Since this is Texas, the town welcoming committee could easily include someone named Jesus. Still odd that they wouldn’t include his last name as well.
Couldn’t Jesus just stand there his ownself? He hasn’t been doing anything for the past two thousand years, after all.
I think this Jesus plays shortstop on the local single A farm club. Great arm but lousy bat.
Rawnaeris @ 3
If it were on a farmer’s or rancher’s property, there’s no legal problem, I’d think. If it’s your property, you can put up whatever religious displays you want barring violating some kind of zoning regulations.
If it said “Dave welcomes you” or “Bob welcomes you” no one would say anything, but put a Hispanic name up there and someone had to complain.
@Becca, I know. My first thought from just the pic prior to reading the article is that it was on someone’s land. Then I read the article. And saw to what shouldn’t have been my surprise that it was indeed on city property.
The mayor replies:
hmmm, makes sense (irrationally). I suggest he make it a little more clear by rewording it to, “Love Welcomes You To Harding”.
Otherwise it is not entirely clear that Jesus is in every religion, even ones with very many deities, i,e, Buddha. (unless you go by the “theory” that Buddha was just a pseudonym for Big J).
I see Mr. Mayor is trying to just wiggle it through a loophole. That putting the name J on the city sign, doesn’t endorse a religion…(as long it doesn’t single one out)
.
just to verify I’m correct as Cpt. Obvious, , “Highway 80” is not Interstate 80 (the highway that I would call just “80”), as I-80 goes from Boston to SF, so must miss Texas entirely.
#10 I thought Buddhism and Hinduism were older than christianity.
Hey, everybody’s wrong!
Normally, there’s just a Hispanic guy named Jesus who stands next to the sign, waves hello, and welcomes people into town. Like a Walmart greeter, you know. Except that he just left for his lunchbreak. But normally, he’s there.
@4, 8, 12:
Just hire a Jesus (something) as the official city PR person (tourism?) and call it good.
@11: AFAIK, yes, they are.
Perhaps we should do just that…
Far from not being one, there’s an argument to be made that Christianity was the first religion.
My reaction sign:
“JESUS is fairly indifferent about Hawkins, TX, and you as well, and would very much appreciate it if you stopped using his name to make your petty, hollow little lives seem far more significant than they really are.”
But what if I’m in Hawkins because I took a wrong turn and got there by mistake? By welcoming me to Hawkins, wouldn’t Jesus by giving his tacit approval to my careless driving?
And for some reason, the first thing that popped into my mind when I saw this sign was a song I learned in Sunday School many years ago:
We’re going to a mansion on the Happy Day Express
The letters on the engine spell J-E-S-U-S
The guard calls, “All for heaven!” We gladly answer “yes!”
We’re going to a mansion on the Happy Day Express.
Maybe I’ll sing it for you after another couple of beers.
eeyore @17, maybe wait til I have a couple hits of vodka.
Or 12.
re @11:
yeah I knew that…(i,e. buddhism older than xianity) just cuz they’re older doesn’t mean big J can’t be part of them. And that “theory” I discussed: I asked the same question when I heard it, and was just shushed; that being God, J isn’t bound by the rule of time, so he can show up whenever he wants.
Why HE doesn’t stand next to that sign, waving at all the cars, is just another of his “mysteries”.
Could be any one of these guys: http://www.famousbirthdays.com/names/jesus.html
OK, I am pretty sure it’s not, but you could ask one of the locals to introduce you to /heɪˈsuːs/ so you can return his welcome.
I’ve occasionally wondered how a Middle Eastern Jew got a Hispanic first name.
Talk about marking your territory – but it’s got nothing to do with religion. Now that’s what I call disingenuous!
More ceremonial deism, no doubt.
#21 Al Dente,
From his father.
Didn’t realize Soos Ramirez had moved away from Oregon. Guess after the whole six-fingered twin of his boss from another dimension thing, he deserved a break.
Back in the nineties, someone collected enough gonadal fortitude to point out that the blatantly Christian cross on the city flag of Wauwatosa, WI ( a suburb of Milwaukee) was unconstitutional and tried to get it removed. One of local Rush Limbaugh imitators suggested that we ought to tell those dirty atheist that the it wasn’t a crossmember “it was a ‘t’ for “‘Tosa.”
I don’t know why everyone here thinks this shit is funny.
The comments at the link are surprisingly good!
That sign is obviously about that Hispanic guy who lives in town. You know, Jesus pronounced “Haysoos” or thereabouts.
They forgot the ´
He did build my hotrod.
Well, one out of three. Maybe they should turn it into an Islamo-Christian sign: “Jesus/the Prophet Isa (pbuh) welcomes you.” At least the exploding heads of the local Christians would be fun to watch.
@10:
“Highway 80” refers to US Route 80, which starts near Dallas as it happens. Hawkins is roughly halfway between Dallas and the Louisiana state line.
Okay. We get it. Some Hispanic people have that name. You’re very observant. Some people in the Middle East are named Muhammad, too.
You can keep your hacky Cards Against Humanity punchline to yourselves now.
Even trying to read that sign without my atheist attitudes, I still don’t see it as welcoming. Essentially saying “Jebus welcomes you, we do not.”
More sinisterly, “Jesus welcomes you cuz you’ll die here”.
Then again, my atheist attitudes cannot be ignored and always popup even when undesired. I just take offense and lash out at the merest mention of big J’s name.
What if Jesus refers to Jesus Gonzalez, Deputy Mayor and head of the Hawkins Tourism Board?
But after they blew through their International Signing Bonus limit by giving him a $1.4 mil bonus, they sort of have to keep him as the starter.
In other words, they’re trying to treat the truth of Christianity as an obvious noncontroversial fact and slide it in that way. Religions are how and where you worship Jesus. But just mentioning Jesus — who is God — who just IS — doesn’t get specific about HOW you should worship Him. You can worship Him any way you want, even by pretending that He has some other name.
Look, nobody is having that Jesus fact forced on them. They’re simply being told about it, as a fact, by the city. You’re permitted to look the other way, drive some other route, or move to some other city, state, or country. You don’t belong here if you don’t welcome Jesus, too. Fact.
The “it’s some dude’s name” jokes are coming off as kinda racist. But I guess that’s considered ok as long as there are no Latin@s reading this.
Yes, everyone, we all understand that Hispanics are considered a race in America and that they also speak a different language and pronounce Jesus in a way consistent with that language.
Hershele Ostropoler, the jokes are not coming off as kinda racist, they are racist.
Can everyone stop trying to make those jokes? They are not all coming across as intended; like if they were intended to be actually funny after the first such joke.
What I don’t understand is how the same joke is made eight times in just 31 comments. It’s really not asking too much to read such a short thread before adding to it.
as things have been said about religion here and now I can not see that sign and many other similar expressions as stating anything other than a hostel attitude to any differences of opinion.
It is clearly taking a religious political stance.
[the problem with Texas is Texans (some? a few? most?)]
uncle frogy
Why does Jesus distinguish between two places either side of an arbitrary line on a map? If Jesus welcomes you to Hawkins, how does he feel about not-Hawkins?
I-80 ends in NJ, just short of NYC. Doesn’t come close to Boston.
And I second or third or whatever that the jokes about the name Jesús are racist and tiresome.
I often come into a thread late in the game, ready to make a joke or reference, only to find that it’s already been made (often two or three or ten times). My reaction generally runs along the lines of “crap, too late”, followed by “hmm, maybe it wasn’t so original to begin with”. It’s a terrible blow to my ego, whose effects last maybe two minutes.
oops, you are very, so very, correct. I was confabulating I-90 (my Bostonian side showin) & I-80. [slapping wrist]
I was even a rezidunt of Joisey on the momentous day of completion of Eisenhower’s monumental construction project. When they paved the final few miles, connecting the temp-terminus of I-80 to the Washington Bridge there, crossing the Hudson to that little island there, Manhatin’ Island.
So if I don’t believe in your Jesus, does that mean I’m not welcome?