Vicar explains billboard purpose
Glynn Cardy
| 18 Feb 2010
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Shortly before Christmas St Matthew-in-the-City put up a billboard outside its church.
Billboards, designed by M&C Saatchi, regularly feature outside St Matthew’s. Rather than advertise services they are created to make people think, and often smile.
This Christmas the billboard received enormous attention. In a space of five days we received hundreds of emails for and against, numerous phone calls, held numerous media interviews, and were the recipients of applause, engagement, questioning, criticism, threats, and abuse.
The billboard featured in 177 different countries. In web-talk it went ‘viral’ and created a media window for Christians of whatever persuasion to make known their beliefs.
St Matthew’s has a particular audience whom it tries to reach. They are people on the edge of Christianity, or outside of Christianity, for whom belief in what they perceive to be the supernatural is a barrier to their spiritual quest.
Our Christmas billboard was addressing that audience, and it’s that audience that responded so positively. Targeting this audience is nothing new for St Matthew’s; indeed it has been ingrained in the culture here for decades.
St Matthew’s has a particular mission and the billboards are designed to be appropriate for that mission. St Matthew’s values the diversity of Anglicanism and does not expect other churches to do what it does.
We know our beliefs and sometimes our methods are those of a minority within Christianity. We know that there are lots of people outside of Christianity who are attracted by the faith of those Christians who do believe in the supernatural, and there are many churches that cater for them.
The purpose of this year’s billboard was five-fold:
• To get people talking about Jesus at Christmas rather than Santa or gift-buying.
• To challenge the maleness of the Christian God, and thereby indicate that one can be a Christian and not have an anthropomorphic God.
• To challenge a literal interpretation of the virgin birth, and thereby indicate that one can be a Christian and believe Jesus was the product of a human egg and sperm.
• To invite Christians and others to laugh at aspects of a Bible Story, and thereby indicate that any and every story is opened to be examined, interpreted, and even made jokes of, while also continuing to be respected as part of our sacred tradition.
• To make St Matthew’s views more widely known, and thereby open a door for those who want to inquire further. In all these matters the billboard was hugely successful.
We received many emails from people for whom the billboard opened up the possibility that there was maybe a place in the church for them. We received many letters from Christians, often of beliefs different from our own, thanking us for the means to begin a discussion in their workplaces or homes about their faith.
Via the media, including in countries such as Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the USA, many people used the opportunity to articulate their beliefs for the general public.
Lindsay Freer, for example, was able to voice her understanding of mainstream Roman Catholicism opinion on BBC talkback to an audience numbering millions.
In most public correspondence the nature of God and Jesus, and what Christians understand by Christmas were the key topics. We also received many calls and emails from people offended.
I have listed the main objections below, with some brief responses:
• using sexual humour
Sexual humour is tricky for there can be multiple interpretations. As a general principle, although we don’t automatically avoid it, we seldom use it. Can a church make a sexual joke?
• depicting Mary in bed with Joseph
We follow the Protestant understanding that Mary had other legitimate children, and therefore had sex with her husband.
• not believing in what the Bible says, particularly regarding the virgin birth and the maleness of God
Many critics do not understand the plurality of belief within the Christianity community.
• using a ‘stunt’ to get media attention
St Francis, in front of all the Assisi townsfolk, chose to not only return the money taken from his father but also then and there strip naked. On the one hand it was a stunt [involving nudity], on the other it was a theological/political statement. Using the media to provoke theological/political discussion has long been a tactic of St Matthew’s and other Christians.
• distracting people from the real Christmas message
Our society often focuses on the birth narratives’ characters at Christmas. Preachers try to extrapolate from those narratives Jesus’ good news. The billboard enabled us and many others to do likewise – namely talk about God, Jesus’ origins, and what it all meant for them.
• laughing at someone else’s beliefs and deliberately misrepresenting mainstream Christianity’s understanding of the virgin birth
Mainstream Christianity sees the conception as a supernatural mystery that [for liberal scholars] does not preclude a human male’s sperm. However, the general public thinks the Church believes the conception to be a male god inseminating a female human mother. It is this general public understanding, not mainstream ‘mystery’, which we were lampooning. In this sense then we set up a ‘straw man’ in order to provoke a discussion about what Christians really do believe.
I regret that some of you received unwanted criticism due to our billboard, and at a very busy time of the year! I hope you were able to use the opportunity to enunciate your beliefs rather than feel you had to defend us.
I’m particularly aware that the Diocesan Secretariat received many calls, a number of which were unpleasant. While St Matthew’s is prepared to suffer the negative consequences of expressing our beliefs I sincerely regret that others have had to deal with any backlash.
If future billboards attract such attention again please direct, as much as you can, negative comment to us.
Glynn Cardy Vicar
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