What would Jesus do?: The rise of a slogan

[Gerald]

The Occupy movement has become the latest to use the slogan "what would Jesus do?", something that has been questioned by the Archbishop of Canterbury. But where did the slogan come from and is there ever an answer to the question posed, asks Stephen Tomkins.Like all the most enduring slogans, "what would Jesus do?" has inspired countless rewrites. There has been everything from political parody - anti-war T-shirts asking "who would Jesus bomb?" - to the beyond parody such as the "what would Jesus eat?" biblical diet plan. The original question "what would Jesus do?" has been taken seriously by millions of Christian teenagers who have worn it over the last 20 years as a reminder to live their life in the right way. But it's now been co-opted by protesters outside London's St Paul's Cathedral threatened with eviction. Particularly in the US, but also elsewhere, it's on wristbands, mugs, T-shirts, bumper stickers, necklaces and earrings, though most of those seem rather to defeat the purpose of reminding the owner about anything.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16068178


Note: 8 December 2011 Last updated at 00:51 GMT