Which of these Brunswick posters is most offensive?

I love living in Brunswick in the inner north of Melbourne and recently I was struck by two very different posters I saw there:

The contrast couldn’t be greater. One with the imperative to, ‘Read your Bible’ whilst the other promoted Schnitz n Tits.

I wasn’t quite sure what Schnitz n Tits was all about and I wasn’t game to click the link. Yet I could glean a general idea that Schnitz n Tits involved some kind of hedonistic voyeuristic experience. So the contrast between the two signs couldn’t be greater.

Yet which poster was most offensive?

In Brunswick, popular opinion might suggest a close call, as religion is decidedly unpopular there. Many in this progressive and egalitarian place might find the sign exhorting people to explore the Christian message as offensive and outdated, propagating a misogynist morality from an age long past.

Indeed it has become quite common to view the Bible as misogynistic. This view was most recently reflected by a group in the USA wanting to distribute a pamphlet with an image of a Bible sexually assaulting a screaming woman.

No doubt many in Melbourne would feel the same.

Yet the Bible is surprisingly liberating and empowering of women. Non-Christian sociologist, Rodney Stark in The Rise of Christianity, suggested that a key factor for the rise of the early church was that it was especially attractive to women. So much so that in 370 the emperor Valentinian requested that Christian missionaries cease calling at the homes of pagan women!

Women were not equal with men in the cultural milieu in which Christianity emerged. Indeed the principle of rationality laid down by Greek philosopher Aristotle was that ‘the reason of women is inferior to that of men’. Women were married young, and female children were particularly despised. A male offspring was ‘her principal source of prestige and validation’ whereas a female child was an ‘economic liability, a social burden’. This led to a high rate of female infanticide. Women were not allowed to give testimony in court and female widows were at a distinct social disadvantage.

Yet, the Bible affirmed the absolute equality and dignity of women. Jesus taught women and women were absolute equals when it came to sexual rights. Women were the first recorded witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus, which was unheard of in the ancient world. Not only is this evidence that the Gospel narratives were not fiction, but it also demonstrates the value placed on a woman’s testimony and integrity. Women were made in the image of God and were ‘co-heirs’ of the promise of forgiveness - the cleansing of sin through Jesus’ blood.

This egalitarian view of women in the Bible provides a lens through which to critique the Schnitz n Tits poster. The Bible affirms the value and equality of women, they aren’t commodities to be ogled at by famished gluttonists.

So, which poster is most offensive?

The one which affirms equality and forgiveness for all or one which suggests the degradation and objectification of women? I would be interested to hear your thoughts.