Porn-for-Bibles Campaign Flops: Texas Student Atheists Fail to Attract Attention
Group Attracts Only Two Dozen Students Willing to Trade Religious Texts
A group of atheist students at the University of Texas in San Antonio carried out its annual "Smut for Smut" campaign recently in an effort to "evangelize" students by luring them in with free pornography, but their efforts might have been wasted as members reportedly attracted very little attention this time around.
The Atheist Agenda, which made headlines in 2008 with its first campaign offering pornographic material in exchange for Bibles, reportedly attracted 30 students during its two-day campaign earlier this month. The group claims that Scripture is as "perverted" as pornography due to the Old Testament's depiction of "misogyny, slavery, rape, and murder."
Brett Harris of World on Campus reports that only a few students paid the group and its "free porn" and "smut for smut" signs any attention during the four hours members were assembled both days.
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"The point is not to hand out porn, but rather the primary purpose is to get people to come talk to us so we can get our message out," Atheist Agenda president Kyle Bush said, according to World on Campus. "We want to spread atheism and bring it more to the spotlight. We offer another alternative to people who might not fit in anywhere else."
In addition to offering to accept Bibles, the student group also reportedly accepted Qurans and books written by prominent pastors, such as Joel Osteen and Rick Warren. Students spent about $30 to purchase more than 100 pounds of adult material to offer in exchange for the "five Bibles, one Encyclopedia of Islam, and one Quran" they were given during this year's campaign.
One student who took notice of the atheist students expressed support for them sharing "their beliefs," but had no plans to give up his Bible.
Another group of students assembled not far from Atheist Agenda's table, Victory and Praise Choir, hoped to spiritually combat any influence their peers might have with the campaign. In a video published online, Victory and Praise Choir members can be seen standing in a circle and singing worship songs.
"We're fighting this spiritually. When we do this, we don't go over there and interact with them. We pray about it," Victory and Praise Choir member Tarvia Demerson told World Campus now.
