Christian actress Candace Cameron Bure has revealed that she "loves" that the activist group American Atheists put up a billboard urging people to skip church on Christmas, because it gives her an opportunity to share the Gospel.
During a segment of "The View" on Friday, host Joy Behar asked the former "Full House" star if she's annoyed or offended by the recent billboard, which says, "Go ahead and skip church! Just be good for goodness' sake" next to an image of Santa Claus.
"It doesn't...you couldn't feed me something better to say to have a conversation that would then lead into sharing the Gospel message," Bure responded. "Them just even saying, 'Go be good!' I would then say, well, 'What is good and what is the standard of goodness to you? What is God's standard of goodness?' I love that they put this billboard up, because it gives me the ability...to have that conversation."
According to Time Magazine, the billboard was intentionally placed in a predominantly Christian town in North Carolina.
"We want people to know that going to church has absolutely nothing to do with being a good person," David Silverman, president of American Atheists, said in a statement. "The things that are most important during the holiday season-spending time with loved ones, charity, and being merry-have nothing to do with religion."
American journalist Sunny Hostin, who joined "The View" as a guest on Friday, said that she considers herself a "good Catholic" who is pro-life, and is offended by the billboard.
"When you are an atheist telling people not to go to church, it is the equivalent of me trying to push my faith," she said, explaining that she also doesn't approve of billboards with words such as "Repent or go to hell!" on them.
In response, self-professing agnostic Raven-Symone contended that "all religions are about being good...just be a good person."
Faris and Bure quickly pushed back against that sentiment, arguing that Christianity clearly states that grace alone can save you -- not acts of goodness.
"What's the standard of goodness?" Bure asked. "In the Bible, God's standard is the Ten Commandments."
After Behar joked she's "good on those," Bure asked, "You've never told a lie before?"
"Is that one of the Ten Commandments?" Behar asked in a surprised tone.
"That's my point," Bure responded. "God says if you've disobeyed one commandment...you've disobeyed all of them. So, if God's standard is different by which he judges the world, then that's where the argument of only 'being a good person' leads to the Gospel."
As reported by the Gospel Herald, Bure was hired to join "The View" in August in an attempt to feature a "controversial conservative" personality, similar to that former co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who left "The View" in 2013 for a position at Fox News.
According to E! News, Bure took to Facebook shortly after joining "The View" to ask her fans to show her some support and give her encouragement as she is often criticized by "nasty" liberal viewers.
"Please encourage me if you watch the show. Please tag The View on your social media outlets if you have anything kind to say about me or my viewpoint," she wrote. "The majority of the feedback I get from "The View" audience is from liberals (whom I love) but are mean, hateful and downright nasty toward me. It's incredibly disheartening to read."
"And while I know I have the support of many, most of those supporters don't vocalize it on social media," she added. "So all I read and "The View" hears are the negative and discouraging comments I'm tagged to that call me a vile, disgusting, worthless and bigoted human being."
The mother-of-three asked her friends and followers on Facebook to "speak up" if they agree with her opinions and viewpoints on the show. "Don't do what many often do on voting day...not show up," she ended her post. "Be a voice-if not for me, but for a show like this so they can hear more than one point of View! If we don't speak up, they'll never know."
