Anti-gay Portland billboard causes controversy

Is a Portland billboard the words of God or bullying?

Finding the answer has engaged people even beyond the northern Sumner city of about 11,500 residents since the billboard was raised up above a busy highway four months ago.

Resembling an open Bible, the left side of the billboard quotes an Old Testament passage of Leviticus Chapter 18, Verse 22, "You shall not lie with a man as with a woman. It is an abomination. - God." The billboard's right side states, "Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin" and ends with "paid for by concerned Christians."

Vietnam veteran and Portland resident Ronnie Monday, who initiated placing the billboard, said he feels the statement is necessary.

"People have sat down long enough, and this country is going in the wrong direction," Monday said. "Celebrities and the president have had their say that gay marriage and homosexuality is OK, and I think it went against what God said. I needed to do something."

Shannon Lynch, who has taught religion, ethics and philosophy for 14 years, feels "there's so much wrong with this sign."

"If they call themselves 'Christians,' they should be focusing on the New Testament, which is about love, forgiving and acceptance," Lynch said. "The Old Testament with words like smite, fire and brimstone no longer applies if you believe Jesus Christ is your savior. They're hypocritical and contradicting themselves. They need to be educated in their own faith."

Wrong message?

Lynch further expressed concerns of the psychological effects the sign can have on young people struggling to find their own identity.

"To me this sign seems to be a form a bullying, condemning people for who they are, and that's not what God does," Lynch said. "God loves no matter who you are."

Costing $550 a month, the sign, which stands above the corner of Highway 52 and Jackson Road, was paid by Monday with additional contributions from supporters and local churches. Monday just signed a new contract to display the billboard for another six months, he said.

"I know the billboard says what God says because it's in the Bible," Monday said.

Portland native Ashley Alderson, who identifies herself as "a born-again Christian, who has accepted Jesus as my savior," said she doesn't feel the sign should be taken down but that it gives "a wrong message."

"It's singling one particular group of sinners, and I do believe in the Bible, but that's not the only sin," Alderson said. "Sex before marriage, living together out of wedlock, having a child out of wedlock, other sins are not treated in the same way. They make homosexuality appear as an unforgivable sin."

Alderson further said that gives an unwelcoming community message, unfitting for churches, especially to a homosexual person seeking guidance into Christianity.

"That person will think, 'My sin in the worst sin,' " Alderson said, citing Romans 3:23. " 'For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.' Everyone is entitled to their opinion and not to be in fear once they state it, but it's not the Christian way to say one sin is worse than the others."

Love not hate

That's not what the billboard says, says Monday, who sees the Leviticus message as a response to recent movements by people in many states to legalize gay marriage.

"It's not against homosexuality; it's against the sin, according to God's word," Monday said. "If thieves start protesting so they can steal, I'll put up a sign saying it's wrong."

As free speech, the sign "has every right to be there, said Jason Vandiver-Lawrence, who disapproved spending money on "all the negativity coming from the sign."

"Why not spend time and money on helping people in the community and spreading a positive message?" Vandiver-Lawrence asked.

The message, Monday said, is not one of anger but of love, aiming to help people and the community.

"It's love the sinner, hate the sin," Monday said. "It's not my message, it's God's message."

The billboard does not communicate effectively, said Brandon Petty, lead pastor of Portland's Generation Church, contemporary wing of the General Baptists Ministries.

"When Jesus talked about sins, he didn't post one verse on a billboard, which creates argument, which is what has happened," Petty said. "Jesus had heart-to-heart conversations with people, and that's what we should be doing as Christians. Jesus was never interested in winning an argument, but in loving people and showing them the truth. We should address gossip and gluttony, but we focus on the sins we don't deal with. Just because someone sins differently than we do doesn't make us any better."

Reach Dessislava Yankova at 575-7170 and on Twitter @desspor.