Truth Decay

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As we mentioned earlier in this series, American churches often use their exterior signs to announce worship schedules, share upcoming sermon topics, and give general moral advice.  Happily for us, church employees often post clever messages with a sense of humor, giving passersby something to think about or chuckle about.  This week, our What's So Funny? segment continues a series of clever American church signs.  Do you get what's so funny?

Photo credit: www.says-it.com

Photo credit: www.says-it.com

Background

Many expressions in Christianity involve the theme of struggling or fighting against evil. Many hymns (church songs) involve a war-time metaphor, for example, “Onward, Christian Soldiers.”  Some of the evils that Christians may be fighting against are lies (or untruthful stories).

What's So Funny?  

When people tell lies, they consider that truth is becoming rotten.  The expression “truth decay” sounds like the dental warning about “tooth decay” (teeth becoming rotten).

Come back next week.  We will have more funny church signage for you to learn from!

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Alan Headbloom

Alan advises Americans how to be global citizens and expats how to fit in to Michigan culture without annoying their native coworkers and clients. He also tweets and blogs at the intersection of language and culture. Over decades, he's traveled, studied, or lived on six continents, putting strange foods into his mouth and emitting strange sounds from it. His use of English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Swedish, Hausa, and Japanese all improve with alcohol use. He gives invited public presentations on culture and unsolicited private advice on English grammar and usage; the latter isn't always appreciated. Visit his website for information on consulting, coaching, or speaking engagements.