Highway hellfire

I always enjoy my drive back home from IU, primarily because of the scenery I pass along the way. I’m not referring to the lush forest preserves along Highway 46 or the rolling Appalachian foothills I encounter on my way through Tennessee; what interests me are the billboards by the side of the road. Apparently, there is a commandment somewhere in the Bible ordaining something along the lines of, “Thou shalt post signs along the highways to let the heathen motorists know that they’re going straight to hell.”\nSome of my favorite hellfire billboards are remarkable because of their bitter irony. Somewhere in northern Kentucky is a free-standing sign that simply reads, “Hell is real.” If I ever meet the person who erected that billboard, I intend to ask him, “How do you know? Have you ever been there?” My second favorite road trip landmark is a nearby sign situated at the top of a hill, which asks, “Are you prepared to meet your maker?” I am always a little wary going down the other side of the hill, fearing an ambush by an angry, pitchfork-bearing mob or some other non-traditional death trap.\nScare tactics are common tools used in trying to transplant one’s personal beliefs onto others. Throughout the ages, fire-and-brimstone preachers have occupied places in all of our hearts. They are visible, determined and absolutely convinced that if they can’t win over a crowd of sinners and dissidents, it’s because they aren’t yelling loud enough. \nSure, visibility is critical to spreading any message, but sometimes people go too far and reach the point of blatant militancy. It makes me wonder how effective yelling is in getting onlookers to convert to a given religion.\nWhile words are generally harmless, people do not stop there. Look at the sectarian warfare in the Middle East. Does anyone in any of these warring factions actually harbor the delusion that a “heathen” will relent and see the error of their ways because a member of the “true” sect blew up their parent, spouse or child? \nAggressiveness is fine, but it would save some of the churches around the Midwest a ton of money if they would stop preaching hellfire at students on their way to classes and chucking Bibles at them. Trust me, if students feel they have been personally offended, those Bibles will more than likely end up propping open their bedroom doors.\nAttacking your audience causes them to shut their ears, discount the message of whatever is being preached and even to hold grudges against those who use scare tactics to get the upper hand on them. After all, say what you want – we do have that whole First Amendment thing. But let it be known that if you get carried away, you may be doing yourself and your cause more harm than good. \nKeep the billboards coming, though. They make my drive home \nentertaining!