Didn’t Jesus go nuts and beat the shit out of the money changers for exactly the same thing? Do these advertisers think that Christians are blind and will choose a plumber with a fish over a plumber with a one hour guarantee?I decided to do some research in the Columbus yellow pages to see what I could find.
Plumbers Love Jesus
I don't know why, but plumbers use the Jesus Fish more than any other advertiser. Here are a few plumbing examples:
Fisting Jesus Lover- This guy is putting out multiple messages here:
These plumbers love Jesus so much, they have integrated him into their logos.
This guy has gone completely overboard.
This home inspector may love the Lord Jesus Christ, but it seems like Jesus Fish is chasing the guy. (The guy also looks pretty fem):
I had to include this photo because it freaks me out. There are certain rules about putting your photo in the yellow pages and this lady has broken at least six of them.
I am confused by these fishes.
This fish says "Since 1974." Does that mean that before 1974 they were Pagans? Or is this more Bible math that squeezes our history down into 5,000 years?
Stop Jesus? Stop using Jesus in advertising? I don't get it.
Where's the fish?
I was concerned because there were several places that I did not see Jesus Fish where I thought I should:
Carpenters
Come on. Jesus was a carpenter.
Churches
Gee Whiz! I thought there would be a Jesus Fish in every advert. But none. Zip. Seems that churches don’t feel the need to prostitute Jesus out to get their customers. (Well, at least not in the yellow pages.)
Sushi
There was not Jesus symbol here, so I added my own.
There's just no reason for an aquarium place to use the Jesus Fish. That's just over the top.
I’m not saying I agree, but this extermination company seems to advertise that they get rid of most common pests.
31 comments:
Why plumbers??? Strange indeed.
Even funnier, the "fish" is an astrological reference to the year in which Jesus was born...what's more christian than astrology!
Having been burned by an ana-baptist - had a lot of money very dishonestly stolen from me ( probably because I wasn't in that very specific club ) I am very weary . As such I can understand that the Christian fish symbol could easily be interpreted as a 'do not shop here' symbol . However it is very important to practice the principles of Christianity and reputation goes a long way .
The reason for Jesus being upset with vendors is that they were using a church as a marketplace. He wasn't mad that they were selling stuff, just mad that they were defiling a place of worship.
You don't get it, do you?
I take it you haven't seen the blue pages before? It's a directory of businesses owned by christian friendly folks and distributed at bookstores, groceries and other places christians tend to congregate. Oh, look, they have a website.
http://www.christianbluepages.com/
You are hilarious. I got a good laugh out of this (as a Christian) especially because advertising is all about getting customers attention, right? The fact they put a fish on an advert for plumbing makes me think I'm getting suckered, not a particularly good deal.
If Christians only knew what taking the Lord's name in vain really meant.
Sadly, many "Christians" do not act as such.
And in response to the earlier comment about astrology, the "Jesus fish" was actually a symbol early Christians used to identify themselves when it was illegal to be a Christian in Rome. One person would draw one half of the fish, and if the other person was a Christian, they would complete the symbol. People who weren't Christians didn't know what it meant, so it was a way for them to remain hidden and not be executed for following Christ.
Never heard of anything that has to do with astrology...
I've often wondered if there might be some things that Xians might be innately better at than others, explaining why advertising their faith might matter.
Plumbers have to get down under sinks and such, they spend a lot of time ON THEIR KNEES. It's so obvious.
This is much the same reason that I always look for evangelical prostitutes and I always consult an Xian when buying food for my jungle cats.
Happy Chrismahaunaquanizuleica.
Contrary to what another reader posted, the fish is not a reference to Jesus' astrological sign, it's a reference to his being a "fisher of men." The post still rocks, though.
Jesus Christ almighty, not one of you philistines knows the true reason, do you?
It is called the Ichthus, from the Greek for fish. Christians adopted it as a symbol for recognising one another under persecution, originating from an acronym.
The acronym translates roughly as "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour".
So if you imagine that the word for fish was JCSGS, that's the origin.
Iēsous
KHristos
Theou
HUios
Sōtēr
IKHTHUS - Greek for fish.
Further to this, the crossed lines at the tail suggest the Greek letter Chi (which looks like an X) - the first letter in the Greek spelling of Christ - and of course suggest a cross.
The signs of the zodiac and most of the other crap we call astrology have only been around since the 1950's.
Please do make another posting explaining whether you similarly avoid businesses displaying the Star of David in their literature - if you dare.
Peace, I'm not a Christian, nor a Jew.
Yes. 100% I would avoid any business that ADVERTISES their religion in a scam to get business!
I just don't understand how anyone can defend the practice.
Oh yeah, moron. Astrology has been around for more than 50 years. Try before the birth of your boy Christ. Your fish has been used by pagans and the religious alike for thousands of years to represent anything from fertility to luck.
Go sell some doves, jerky.
I'm surprised no one has weighed in on the "Jesus Fish vs. Darwin Fish" debate. Regardless of the origin of the fish, there is a version that can be agreed upon by evolutionists, atheists, and Pagans alike. If someone advertised with one of these, I would most likely give them my business.
http://www.cafepress.com/bigdogma.68242602
-A.J.
Anonymous atheist from before here.
First, the signs of the zodiac as have any credibility (sidereal) were drawn up by Cyril Fagan in 1944, and ratified by the IAU in the 1950's.
Prior to this, the constellations were divided according to the tropics, meaning that they were out of alignment with the charts for any number of reasons, including the position of the observer.
Of course, ascribing supernatural influence to the stars has been around since long before the 1950's. In fact, Ptolemy invented the idea of a horoscope approximately 100 years after Jesus's death. So, Jesus is older than horoscopes - if it matters - both are younger than the pyramids and countless forgotten sun -god worshipping cults.
And of course, until celestial motion was properly understood (thanks to Copernicus and Galileo from the 15th Century onwards), there was little correlation between the charts - "You were born in Aries" - and the actuality - "The sun was in the constellation of Taurus when you were born".
So much of modern astrology as practised in the West has existed in its present form since only the 1950's.
You should not be surprised, or broadcast it as news that people have used fauna to represent things - this behaviour stretches back to the dawn of man - but your original posting did not take issue with the fish in pagan contexts, I don't know why you bring it up.
If you need help understanding why someone might defend the practice, I will try to help you:
I will not couch this in Christian terms (it might simply fill you with joy to know that the company's staff are saved, whether you need their services or not), but in terms you ought to respect:
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution (The first article of the Bill Of Rights) protects the rights of free exercise of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press and others.
I could call you un-American for your statements. But in Europe, we've been through this before. When you discriminate against people because of their religion - when you call upon people to boycott businesses on the basis of the proprietors religion - we call you a Nazi.
It can be expected though, that anyone advertising themselves with an ichthus would not be the sort of person to label a stranger a moron, or "jerky", for shining a light in the darkness. That is an appealing quality - decency. I can understand why it would influence a spending decision.
And it's not my fish, or my boy Christ - as I clearly stated.
Perhaps if you had read my post properly you could have formed a cogent response.
As for labelling me a moron - only one of us has demonstrated a feeble mind, and it is not me.
Peace, it's preferable to war.
Anonymous Atheist, you are very wise. I agree with you completely.
I agree with everything that Doug said. He is the wise one.
Anonymous atheist from before here, I would have to take issue with the last part of your argument.
I enjoyed the first part as I always enjoy learning new things but I do disagree with your assessment in the second part. Holyjuan’s original post was a humorous observation at the high concentration of “Christians” in the plumbing business. Merely a funny way to ask, “Why is this?” Auto mechanics, Electricians, roofers, windows installers all need to demonstrate that they are trustworthy and they too are selling themselves/their company just like plumbers. I really don’t know why but my guess would be that as more plumbers saw the ads with the Ichthus, they too added one so as not be excluded from the choices because they didn’t have one. But Holyjuan’s original question remains, why more plumbers than other service based companies.
I know some plumbers. I know quite a few of them because I am a home owner and not nearly as handy as I would like to be. My Father (Biological not Heavenly) was a plumber for a number of years. I don’t know that any of them struck me as the overly religious type. In fact, I would tend to think just the opposite. But of course that is just my unscientific observation. I did hire a guy that hung wall paper for me once that did not have an ichthus but did ask me at the end of job if I regularly attended church. I bet he is a Christian.
I scanned the post again and I did not see Holyjuan say something like, “They should not be allowed to use the Ichthus.” So your free speech is simply a red herring argument and not really germane to the post.
If you to go back and read Holyjuan’s baseless rant you get to the core of what he is saying. “100% I would avoid any business that ADVERTISES their religion in a scam to get business!” You think it is anti-religious or that he should be labled a nazi because he wants to avoid businesses that use religious symbols as scams? Really? I want to avoid being scammed and I don’t think that means that I wear a swastika or believe in genocide. How you determine that the person is using religious symbols as a scam is another matter. But again if you scan the original post, he is saying that the high concentration of faith based plumbers versus other service industries means you should cast a wary eye. In other words, Caveat emptor.
As far as your dare, I will bite. “100% I would avoid any business that ADVERTISES their star of David in a scam to get business!” Or how about “100% I would avoid any business that ADVERTISES their guy in a clown suit in a scam to get business!” I don’t think those are anti-Semitic or anti-clown. I think it is anti-scammer.
I could be wrong though.
BelowMe is an antisemite for bringing up the clown joke
I'm not sure why the attack on plumbers, or any other business owner. My husband is a plumber and we are both Christians. No, his logo doesn't have a fish, but a "Knight" with a small cross on the sheild, representing the armour of faith. Most wouldn't even know the reason for the logo but it's what was chosen to represent HIMSELF, not to scam for business. As Christians, we are told by Jesus that if we don't publicly profess Him to others then He will not profess us to our Heavenly Father. Again, it's just something we choose to do, like others that choose to wear an "I'm with stupid" tee shirt or wear their pants down to their knees. It has nothing to do with using religion to gain business favors. If you have good service, you don't need it anyway, do you? Give the guys a break!!
See mam, that's the problem. If you do have good service, you don't need to trick people in by using a false God symbol. (No where in the Bible is the Shield with a cross on it mentioned, heathen.) If you husband provided good service, he wouldn't need it.
But I tracked down you husband's business and the Better Business Bureau had a few things to say:
1. over charging
2. shoddy craftsmanship
3. kicked a dog at owner's house
4. sleeping on the job
5. huge butt crack reveal
Mam, your husband should have three Jesus fishes and eight shields with a cross, a Jewish star and stack of Quran in his ads just to make sure you get all the business you can.
Good day friend!
While the Bible doesn't directly mention a "shield with a cross on it," the 6th chapter of Ephesians mentions putting on the whole armor of God, and one piece of this armor is faith, represented by a shield. Of course, this is symbolic, and so is the empty cross in Christianity. Makes sense to me, since the anonymous poster said earlier that the reason that emblem is used in her husbands logo is to represent the armor of faith.
NO! In the Latin translation of the Bible (I assume you are using the Americanized version) it says in Ephesians 6-12 "Thou shall make of thy SOUL armor of thy Lord." This does not mean a physical logo that you slap on a so-so Plumber's ad in the yellow pages.
You are defiling the Lord with your Pegan symbol. If Jesus were here, he would kick over your yellow pages ad in the Temple along with the tables of doves.
You sicken me.
Why in the world are you using the Latin Vulgate as your source when the original letter to the Ephesians was written in Greek...? Most Protestant Christian churches disregard the Latin Vulgate as canon.
The original Greek letter places these two words adjacent to each other: thyreos, which can be translated as a reference to a shield, and pistis, which references "faith."
The verse in question is also Ephesians 6:16, not Ephesians 6:12, or for that matter, 6:11 which sounds more like what you were referring to.
I'm sorry I sicken you. And I sincerely apologize for whatever harm any person has done to you to make you feel a personal vendetta against Christians. But you need to understand that not all Christians are the same, and generalizing Christians does nothing to help any situation. It only makes everything worse, just as Christians generalizing Atheists makes everything worse.
I understand that not all Atheists are snobby condescending Christian hating people who are trying to "extinguish" the world of religion. I hope you understand that not all Christians are Bible-beating fundamentalists who are out to further their own agenda and shove their beliefs down our throats.
Wow, you couldn't be more incorrect. You should check the Hermosis Guanta Codex for help with translation. Most scholars agree to the pistis meaning faith, but thyreos is a derivation of thyrscis, which loosely means a large separation of body or "A big shit." I think basically what they are trying to say is that anyone who would profess their faith along with an advertisement for their work buries their faith in excrement. You should study your bible history. This is an outrage.
Lol that was actually pretty funny. But seeing as you're just messing with me now, there's no need to continue. See ya!
Thanks for playing.
I never mentioned my husbands business name, nor the area it's in. And the comments about the better business bureau are untrue (we keep a close eye on it too), you must be confused with another company who's name you are uncertain of. I don't know what bible you're reading, and to hear you talk I can't believe you even read one, but it DOES refer to the armor of God. It's not made up. Besides, it's just a logo, why is it bothering you so much? You seem to get more and more angry at each comment. Just let it go. You have WAY too much time on your hands.
You didn't need to give me the business name. I tracked you IP address and it told me your hometown. I went to the internet yellow pages and went page by page through the yellow pages until I found the shield with a cross on it. From there it was easy to search the BBB.com site and find out about your husband's dog kicking ways.
Of course, I could be making all of this up.
You are, in deed! Again, you have WAY too much time on your hands. You should be reading the bible(try the NIV version, it's easy to read) and praying instead. I'm going back to the real world now. Thanks to all the people that supported this website with the truth, and the reality that a logo is "just a logo". May God bless you, Doug, and someday give you the peace you're so deeply searching for. By the way, I too tracked your IP address. I'm surprised that the institution is allowing you that much time on the internet!
Actually, let me tell you the real true story about the fish and jesus.... oh wait, i wasnt freaking there.... but im glad to see alot of you think you were
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