The Jewish Observer

Have you ever noticed the theological debate occurring on car bumpers? Cars are not only a mode of getting from here to there, but a billboard for expressing opinions and engaging in discussions on a variety of topics. Proud parents will paste something like this on their bumpers “Parent of an Honor Student at (fill in the blank) School.” The parent whose child is not quite as smart will counter with a bumper sticker that reads, “My child can beat up your honor student.” What has caught my attention is the religious discussion taking place on car bumpers.
It begins with the “Jesus fish.” I am sure you have seen this: a drawing of two curved lines intersecting in a way that creates a very simple picture of a fish. One story of its origin is that it was a way for early Christians to identify each other in times of persecution. One person might draw the top half of the fish in the sand, the other, if Christian, would complete the bottom half. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus refers to his followers as “fishers of men.” Further, the Greek word for fish apparently is an acronym for “Jesus Christ of God Son Savior.” In any case, the Jesus fish is a common symbol stuck on the backs of cars. The subtle version is just a fish with a cross where the eye would be. The more declarative version is the fish with the word “Jesus” in bold letters in the middle.
Here is where the debate gets interesting. The more scientifically minded are sporting a fish on their bumpers that has little feet on the bottom and the word “Darwin” emblazoned in the middle. This fish makes the statement that evolution trumps faith, or at least trumps the faith of those who take the first chapters of Genesis to be literal as opposed to metaphorical truth. The person displaying the “Darwin” fish probably believes that evolution is the opposite of faith in Jesus. But I have met Christians who do accept evolution as scientific fact. Where is their special fish? Perhaps it could be a fish with little feet on it but with “Jesus” written in the middle? Other Christians, however, have introduced a new fish into the debate. Their fish has the word “truth” in the middle and it is swallowing the footed “Darwin” fish. I would guess some theories are a little hard to digest.
There are other fish variations, each representing another group trying to join this bumper sticker conversation. There is a fat fish with the word “Buddha” in the middle. I first saw this fish about 10 years ago and I am still meditating on the connection between the fish and the Buddha. Buddhism is all about enlightenment, trying to recognize what is the false veil about the world in which we live. Buddhism is also about eliminating the barriers between the self and the rest of the world, seeing everything as a connected whole, attempting to free the self from the boundaries of ego and suffering. Perhaps the presence of “Buddha” inside a fish is a symbol of the interconnectedness of everything – but that seems a bit too deep for a plastic symbol pasted on the back of a car.
We Jews have a fish in this discussion as well. As you might expect, it has something to do with food. It is a fish with the word “gefilte” in the middle. Have you ever tried gefilte fish? I like it but many find it either too slimy or too fishy. I guess the deeper meaning of the Jewish fish is that if you put enough red horse radish on something, you can mask any flavor.
Expressions of “bumper sticker religion” go way beyond the various fish symbols. Between spending a lot of time behind cars and a little internet research, I have explored multiple religious bumper sticker slogans. You might have seen the sticker that announces “Jesus is my co-pilot.” Other religions have their response to this. Buddhists say “Buddha is my co-pilot.” Moslems say “Allah is my co-pilot.” Hindus say “Ganesh is my co-pilot.” What I have never seen is a corresponding bumper sticker for Judaism. I have to wonder why?
There could be no universal sticker for Judaism because of the different orientations of the different Jewish movements as to who or what the co-pilot might be. Orthodox Jews’ sticker would read “halachah (Jewish law) is my co-pilot.” For Chabad it might be “The Rebbe is my co-pilot.” The Conservative Movement’s bumper sticker would probably read something like “you only need a co-pilot if you are driving to synagogue on Shabbat.” Reform? Well it might say something like, “You get to make an informed choice as to who the co-pilot will be.” Reconstructionists would look for the new meaning in bothering to have a co-pilot and Renewal Jews would assert that we are all co-pilots.
I have to admit that I admire how Christian bumper stickers really put their beliefs about God out for all to see. Often they state something about how the Christian should be in relationship with God. For example, “Saved by Grace,” is a simple statement of basic Christian belief that salvation comes through the grace of God. Or this, “Die hard but die saved,” which I think is saying that the manner of your death is not as important as the state of your belief at the time of your death. Christian bumper stickers can be humorous like this one, “America needs a faith lift.” Clever if borderline politically incorrect. Lest you think that only jewish homes can house a princess, consider this bumper sticker, “Blessed by Jesus, spoiled by my husband.”
Yes, everyone is part of this bumper sticker religious discussion. Moslems say “Allah bless America.” Hindus say “yoga stretches the soul.” Even the atheists chime in with the mocking, “There is a sucker born again every minute.”
Jewish bumper stickers are rarely about theology. Usually they express something cultural or political. Our ethnic neuroses are exposed in stickers like, “I don’t need a shrink, my mother is Jewish.” I really like this one, “Genius on board – average student with Jewish mother.” “Never pay retail,” says one bumper sticker which is either an insult implying that Jews are cheap, or a compliment pointing out why so many Jews are indeed financially successful. My favorite one is, “Optimists see a bagel, pessimists see a hole.” It is Jewish because it focuses on food. It is Jewish because it gives a pithy truth, although if you think you can see a real bagel in Tallahassee you are truly an optimist.
But I think the real reason we Jews do not express theology through mobile symbols or signs is that serious Jews already know what the real symbols and signs are. They are Shabbat, which is called “a symbol for all eternity,” as well as tallit and tefillin, the ritual symbols Jews are commanded to wear as reminders to spend our day doing mitzvoth – the commandments. We are always supposed to be looking for the next opportunity to do a mitzvah, not for the next symbolic expression of hubris. Perhaps the first mitzvah we could perform would be to scrape all of the religious bumper stickers from the backs of cars. I wonder what debate that would start?