Naked Public Atheism in Louisville

Sniff! I'm so proud.

Janelle MacDonald at WAVE 3 Louisville:

The Louisville Coalition of Reason's billboard sits on one of the busiest stretches of I-65 in Louisville, right by the Kentucky Exposition Center. It says "Don't believe in God? You are not alone."

Ed Hensley of Louisville CoR says it has been in the works since January. Its purpose, he says, is to educate.

"We wish to be accepted by the community as they perhaps accept other people that they work with, that they are friends with, that they play sports with who are perhaps a different religion to accept us in the same manner," said Hensley.

But in a city with such a strong faith-based community, Hensley says he does expect some backlash.

"Some people are offended merely by our existence," Hensley said, "and so matter what we do those people will be offended."

"It's a disturbing sign, or at least potentially disturbing sign," said Fr. Elias Henritzy, a Roman Catholic priest.

Fr. Henritzy, a Dominican priest at Saint Louis Bertrand Catholic Church in Old Louisville, said he is not offended, but he is troubled by the billboard and what it might do.

"I think God really made us to be close to Him and have His love draw us close to each other more," Fr. Henritzy said. "It's a saddening sign in some ways, if that's the real intent of it to draw people away from God."

"Our answer is not so much what we turn people away from, but what we turn them to," said Hensley, "which is rational thought, evidence based thinking, evidence based belief."

Read the whole thing.

Then find out more about Louisville Atheists and Freethinkers. I never heard of them before today but I love them already.

Last word to Jake:

Have you seen the ‘godless’ billboard on I-65? Everybody is completely freaking out about it. As you know, a billboard has the power to force people to change their beliefs, stop abortion, save the world and make you gay. So you should probably be very afraid.