God & Mammon

Ads for "Christians" only

In the past two years, Bible-toting Americans have snapped up 1 million free copies of something called the Christian Yellow Pages. Businessmen can buy ad space only if they sign a pledge that they have "accepted Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Saviour." That code language is designed to limit advertisers to full-blooded "born again" Evangelicals (or total hypocrites).

The 30 local editions of the Pages are run by W.R. ("Tommy") Tomson, a former ad salesman who operates the growing business out of his home in Modesto, Calif. The use of highly selective buying and advertising by special-interest groups is not new. But Tomson's Yellow Pages and the imitators it has inspired have drawn the ire of critics as diverse as the Southern Presbyterian Church and the Jesuit weekly America.

Worse, the Pages are "just plain anti-Semitic," in the opinion of Harvey Schechter, Southwest director of the Anti-Defamation League, because they imply that born-again Christians are more trustworthy than, say, Jews. In an attempt to close down the Christian Yellow Pages, the A.D.L. has joined Jewish and Roman Catholic businessmen in filing antidiscrimination suits against the Pages in three California counties.

Though the A.D.L. could win, federal appeals courts might give more weight to Tomson's claims that freedom of religion is involved. Adds Tomson with a chuckle: "The Lord said there's going to be a Second Coming. What a day of discrimination that'll be!"

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.