Mary and Joseph bed billboard defaced

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A mischievous biblical bedroom billboard was defaced just over five hours after it was erected in downtown Auckland today.

The controversial billboard, erected by St Matthew-in-the-City Church about 11am, shows Joseph looking down dejectedly and Mary looking sad.

Underneath is a caption, "Poor Joseph. God is a hard act to follow."

It was seen defaced with brown paint about 4.10pm, with both faces and the caption covered.

Family First national director Bob McCoskrie earlier described the billboard as irresponsible.

"The church can have its debate on the virgin birth and its spiritual significance inside the church building, but to confront children and families with the concept as a street billboard is completely irresponsible and unnecessary," he said.

"The church has failed to recognise that public billboards are exposed to all of the public, including children and families who may be offended by the material."

Archdeacon Cardy said on the church's website that "the true importance of Christmas" was in the radical hospitality Jesus offered to the poor, the despised, women, children, and the sick.

"His death was a consequence of the offensive nature of that hospitality and his resurrection a symbolic vindication."

Archdeacon Cardy said the church had received emails and phone calls since it made the public aware of the billboard yesterday.

"About 50 percent said they loved it, and about 50 percent said it was terribly offensive," he said.

"But that's out of about 20 responses - this is New Zealand."

Archdeacon Cardy said one person had threatened to rip the billboard down but nothing worse had been offered up.

The archdeacon said the plan behind the billboard was to lampoon the literal interpretation of the Christmas conception story.

"What we're trying to do is to get people to think more about what Christmas is all about," he said.

"Is it about a spiritual male God sending down sperm so a child would be born, or is it about the power of love in our midst as seen in Jesus?"

Archdeacon Cardy said the church had asked an advertising agency to come up with a few ideas in November, and that the billboard they chose wasn't the most radical one offered up to them.

"One of the options we turned down had a sperm coming down with the words `Joy To The World'."

The archdeacon said St Matthew-in-the-City was at the progressive end of the Christian continuum, and that he believed God was "more like a force but not a being in any sense".

Last week a campaign by New Zealand Atheist Bus Campaign raised $20,000 in public donations to fund bus ads which read "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life".

Those ads created a storm when they ran on the London Underground and British buses this year. Similar ads have run in the United States, Canada, Italy, Spain, Australia, Finland and Germany.