Neighboring businesses in Jesus vs. Satan spat

Neighboring businesses in Jesus vs. Satan spat
Tattoo artist opposed to 'Beep for Christ' sign demands sympathy for devil

Two neighboring businesses that share a parking lot are locked in a dispute pitting Jesus and Satan against each other, with each posting streetside signs asking passers-by to honk for their favorite.

The first shot in the spiritual warfare now underway in a small shopping plaza in Naugatauck, Conn., began when Claudette Soden, a devout Christian and owner of Photos Onto DVD, posted a sign at the front of the parking lot proclaiming, "Easter: Beep for Christ."

For Soden, who told the Waterbury Republican-American Jesus is her "partner in business," the sign was just an opportunity for her to express her faith.

The sign not only drew beeps from drivers, it drew the attention of Phil Young who works next door at No Regrets, a tattooing and body piercing shop that's been operating since 2003.

Young put his artistic skills to work and posted his own sign next to Soden's.

"Honk twice for...," reads the sign, with a caricature of a red devil painted beneath the text.

Young, who insists he's not a satanist, says he doesn't want his clients, who come from a variety of religious backgrounds, to associate Soden's message with his business.

"My main point is that we share a parking lot, and what goes on in this parking lot represents not only hers, but both shops," he told the Republican-American. "What she does inside her business is her business. I would not tell her to get rid of the sign.

"More people have been killed in the name of God than over anything else, and so I don't think people should fight about religion," he said. "Satan is part of the same religion as Christ, so it's a contrast, not a competing religion."

Whether it can be called a fight about religion or not, both businesses say they won't remove their signs.

"His sign is not bothering me, but I know it's bothering Jesus," Soden said. "And children are going to pass by that sign and say, 'What is that? It looks like a devil.' And what are parents going to say to that?"