A controversial billboard featuring Donald Trump and a Bible verse has been taken down

An electronic billboard in St Louis, Missouri that suggested that Donald Trump might be God incarnate has been taken down.

The billboard featured a photo of the president alongside an edited quote from the Bible reading;

The word became flesh...

It also featured a reimagining of Trump's famous MAGA campaign slogan but his time it read

Make the gospel great again.

Images of the billboard have circulated on social media.

The full quote, which comes from John 1:14 reads:

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

DDI Media, the company responsible for the billboards in the area, removed the advertisement on Monday but could not disclose who had paid for it.

The bemusing ad, which was on display on Interstate 170 near Saint Charles Rock Road, left local residents very confused.

Speaking to KMOV 4, Sherri Chisholim said:

I didn't know what to make of it. I didn't know what message it was trying to send but I felt like it was somewhat offensive, I didn't know if they were trying to equate Donald Trump to Jesus.

Two churches in the area, the First Baptist Church of St. John and Nazareth Temple Church of God, have both told the Daily Mail that they have no idea who is responsible for the advert.

Pastor Nathan Hopping from Harmony United Methodist Church added:

I am very concerned with billboards and political ads that do more to separate us than to unite us.

When it comes to faith, my opinion is we are not right or left, but we are some of us for all of us, which is a very different perspective than what was conveyed on the billboard.

Of course, Donald Trump is not the word of God, any more than I am, and I'm not really sure what whoever placed the ad as trying to do except for perhaps grow the divide between us.

The profound truth of the word becoming flesh is that humanity now is united in grace, instead of torn part in division, and so to use scripture to that political end, I think, is disgusting.

However, a Facebook page called Make the Gospel Great Again appeared to take responsibility for the billboard and attempted to clarify that they weren't comparing Trump to Jesus but was instead suggesting that he was a messenger of God.

A statement given to Yahoo by DDI Media declared that the billboard did not meet their requirements for a political ad.

A recent billboard with an image of President Trump has been removed because of its political nature and the fact that it did not disclose the sponsoring organisation.

The ad did not meet our requirements for political ads and was taken down just a few days after it was placed. It is our policy to not disclose the identity of an advertiser without their authorization.

Make the Gospel Great Again are yet to give a further statement on the subject but have been contacted for comment.

HT Daily Mail

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