Let's say a bunch of atheists took some spray paint and defaced the side of a Catholic church, writing “There is no God” in 8-foot-tall letters on it. What are the odds that a Washington Post editor would write “You have to admit that what the vandals did was clever and relatively respectful”? Not very good, right?

Well, here's what happened in Charlotte, NC in June:

The “Under God” spray-painted by vandals onto an atheist billboard on Billy Graham Parkway over the weekend won't be erased until just before July 4, a spokesman for Charlotte Atheists & Agnostics said Monday.

That's how long it will take the billboard company to restore the sign, which featured an American flag background and quoted the original phrase from the Pledge of Allegiance - “One Nation Indivisible” - before “under God” was inserted after “one nation” in 1954.

“They have to print an entirely new vinyl and then schedule a crane,” said William Warren. He added that his group has reported the vandalism to Charlotte police and spoken with a nearby Shell station about letting investigators inspect video from security cameras, in hopes of identifying those who defaced the billboard.

And here's what Washington Post “On Faith” editor David Waters had to say in response: “you have to admit that what the vandals did in North Carolina was clever and relatively respectful.”

What are the odds that a Washington Post editor who called the vandalism of a church “clever and relatively respectful” would still have a job a month later, and would not have been forced to apologize? Not very good.

Boy, I just can't wait for the next time the Washington Post's On Faith section gives a bunch of bigots a platform from which to pretend to oppose religious bigotry.