What one vicar thought would prompt contemplation and discussion about the Christmas story, has one city, one religious group, and one vandal up in arms over its racy nature. The vicar’s idea: a depiction of an embarrassed Joseph and a disappointed Mary, lying in bed together, intended to cause viewers to contemplate the Christmas story. Within four hours of being…uh hum…erected, the billboard was promptly covered in brown paint.

The church’s vicar, Archdeacon Glynn Cardy stated, “What we’re trying to do is to get people to think more about what Christmas is all about,” he told the New Zealand Press Association (NZPA). “Is it about a spiritual male God sending down sperm so a child would be born, or is it about the power of love in our midst as seen in Jesus?”

By using modern day taboos about sex, the billboard certainly did draw attention. Implying that Joseph cannot perform up to Mary’s standards, a visual image that today’s society is far too used to, the billboard does evoke the idea of sex and reproduction…probably much better than any Christmas reenactment using puppets or something ever could. Yet some church groups still argue that the billboard was in poor taste. The vicar is currently waiting for his replacement billboard to arrive in the mail.

(Via BBC News)