God has prompted a battle in Washington D.C.
JoEllen Murphy is fighting for the existence of God in her own ad campaign to combat the American Humanist Association ads questioning a belief in god.
“We’ll have a little ad war going on,” the 39-year-old Catholic told The Examiner.
“It’s freedom of speech. The humanists are perfectly allowed to pay for the ad. Metro is allowed to accept it.”
Murphy, of McLean, Va., started a grassroots Internet campaign after hearing about the humanist ads on Metrobuses.
The nonprofit’s ads, which went up Nov. 17, say: “Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness’ sake.”
Her ads, which show an image from Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam” on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, say: “Why believe? I created you and I love you, for goodness’ sake. – God.”
Murphy’s ad-hoc group has collected more than $5,700 so far from donors, but hope to collect $14,000 to match the American Humanists’ ad campaign: 20 ads on the sides and backs of buses plus the 200 interior ads. The group signed an ad contract with Metro this week to post the ads.
The humanist association’s ads have sparked at least 286 complaints to Metro and 73 compliments.
But Metro spokeswoman Smith said the number of complaints represents a small fraction of its ridership, which averages more than a million trips on buses and trains daily.
The controversy has been a boon for the D.C. nonprofit, which spent less than $12,000 on the bus ads. Since starting the campaign, 638 new members have signed up, spokesman Fred Edwords said.
Murphy isn’t new to activism. She worked on Capitol Hill for former Rep. Bill Lipinski, D.-Ill. More recently she has lobbied the United Nations on women’s issues and worked with local Catholic groups.
