The irony is not lost on us that a national atheist group has a movie about the bible to thank for a billboard professing their beliefs.
The Freedom from Religion Foundation, based in Madison, WI, placed a 14-by-48-foot sign on the west side of Interstate 27, one mile north of Lubbock International Airport.
The billboard reads, "I Believe in an America where the Separation of Church and State is Absolute". It quotes JFK's famous speech as a presidential candidate before the Greater Houston Ministerial Association.
Dan Barker, co-president of the National State-Church Watchdog Association, said it was not targeting Lubbock in particular. The billboard was donated by an FFRF member out of Houston who gave the space after selling a movie prop.
"Some chairs that were in the 'Ten Commandments' movie, he sold them to a buyer," Barker said. "For one of the chairs, they just made a deal. They traded this chair for this billboard the buyer happens to own. So Lubbock sort of happened to be a nice accident."
The chair is being traded for the billboard space, which is valued at $10,000.
Barker said the FFRF believes JFK's bold statement is especially relevant in the current political climate.
