I’ve written about the Highway Evangelism billboard a few times before and when it suffered a malfunction and they started a fund raising drive to repair it, Kristin Rodine of the Idaho Statesman came across one of my blog posts about it and asked me for a comment.

It’s actually a really comprehensive article with a substantial amount of real estate given to the Paul Rolig, the Media Representative for the Treasure Valley Coalition of Reason, and me.

Dustin Williams of Boise, whose blog is devoted to “sharing the good news of atheism, humanism, skepticism, secularism, free thought and whatever else I care about,” posted in June 2011 that the Bible billboard was a “hideous eyesore” that he disliked driving past.

On Saturday, he said he still considers the billboard an eyesore with messages “that range from cliche to comical.” But, he added, “they are certainly welcome in the marketplace of ideas.”

Williams’ free-thought group is part of the Treasure Valley Coalition of Reason. Last summer the group put up two Treasure Valley billboards to reach people who don’t believe in God.

One, on Caldwell Boulevard between Nampa and Caldwell, read: “Are you good without God? Millions are.” The other, along the I-184 Connector in Boise, read: “Don’t believe in God? Join the club.”

Paul Rolig, spokesman for the coalition, said the electronic billboards were a response, in part, to the Nampa Bible billboard and other billboards across the Valley spreading the news of specific congregations.

The signs, funded by a grant from the national United Coalition of Reason, were up for the month of July. The group might try a similar campaign or other media effort in the future to spread the word about secular humanism, Rolig said.

For the record, I never said that I “disliked driving past it”, but the rest is accurate.

In a place like Idaho, where it feels like the Mormons, Catholics, and Pentecostals run everything, it’s really encouraging to see that we have raised our profile high enough to be sought out for comment on matters of religion and the public eye. We are making a difference.

Check out the full article at the Idaho Statesman.