While churches are known for displaying inspirational quotes and positive declarations about Jesus and religion on their church signs, a Gold Coast church is causing waves for what could be described as an x-rated blunder.
The Anglican Church of the Holy Spirit in Surfers Paradise in Queensland has erected a new sign which has left many people blushing and scratching their heads. While it no doubt refers to religion in some way, those with a naughty sense of humour could be excused for misinterpreting the meaning behind the latest inspirational quote.
“Love doesn’t rub it in, love rubs it out,” the latest message to the community reads. Make of that what you will.
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The image of the sign is going viral online, although it isn’t the first time a questionable message has been posted on the church’s community sign. In June, another cheeky message made headlines with another naughty (or nice, depending on the context it’s read) message.
Read more: Aussie church forced to remove ‘offensive’ Jesus from sign
“Forgiveness is swallowing when you’d rather spit,” that message read. It captured the attention of many people, including Queensland politician John-Paul Langbroek. The Surfers Paradise MP shared a photograph of the controversial sign to his Instagram page and joked that children would have many questions about what the sign really meant.
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A spokesperson for the church explained at the time that the message was simply to encourage people to swallow their angry words, rather than to yell at others in a moment of rage. Still, it didn’t stop people jumping to much raunchier conclusions.
Read more: Church’s x-rated sign leaves locals gagging
Although the church is yet to respond to the interest surrounding the latest sign, Langbroek has weighed in on the topic. Speaking the Gold Coast Bulletin he doesn’t believe there was any intentional malice behind the latest message.
“I think you could have a dirty mind about everything,” Langbroek told the publication. “Given what happened last time, I don’t think it was on purpose. (Rev Mike Upton) doesn’t strike me as someone who would do that.”
He did joke with the publication that someone should “lend a hand” to the church to ensure future signs aren’t interpreted the wrong way.