Sit Down and Shut Up

A car dealer recently ran a radio ad telling non-Christians "to sit down and shut up." In the ad, he talks about how most Americans are Christians who believe in God and so the rest should shut up and let God stay on currency. Ironically, the car dealer then states:

I guess maybe I just offended 14 percent of the people who are listening to this message. Well, if that is the case, then I say that's tough; this is America, folks-- it's called free speech.

But what about the free speech rights of those he is telling to 'shut up'? Actually, the bigger issue here is what in the world does this have to do with selling cars? He is complaining about efforts to remove civil religious references to God, but in the process he is using God to sell cars. He has turned God into nothing more than an inflatable gorilla or some other sales gimmick. The commercialization of God is far worse and more theologically dangerous than the actions of those he is criticizing. The car dealer was correct that someone needed to shut up, but he should have looked into the mirror for the answer before recording this ad. Although he has the right to say it, it was not right to say it.