Ahead of Easter, a church in New South Wales, Australia, has been forced to take the word “Jesus” out of its signage, as some people have claimed to be offended by the phrasing. (h/t Daily Mail)
Elim Church is next to a shopping center, and the manager of that shopping center objected to their Easter service advertising and forced it to be changed to read “Risen Christ” instead of “Jesus.”
Pastor Martin Duffy of Elim Church told 2GB Radio: “The phrase ‘Jesus is alive’ is the core message of the Christian faith and what Easter’s really all about. I think there’s a minority group out there that are distorting the message of Jesus Christ. It’s just going on and on.”
The shopping center claimed that the word “Jesus” might have been offending customers who weren’t Christian. The sign read: “The greatness of His power—Jesus is alive!”
Duffy said he spoke with the shopping center and they expressed regret over the request. The sign hasn’t been changed back yet, but a spokeswoman for the shopping center said, “It was an error of judgment to ask Elim Church to change its messaging, and we apologize unreservedly.”
