‘What the f___ would Jesus do?’: Female VICAR under fire for using offensive car sticker

A female vicar yesterday insisted she has not sinned against God by putting an obscene bumper sticker reading ‘WTFWJD’ on the back of her car.

The Reverend Alice Goodman stuck the sticker, standing for ‘What The F*** Would Jesus Do?’, on the back of her red Subaru Legacy – sparking outrage from members of her parish.

But the Reverend insists the sticker is harmless and even the former Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams was happy to accept a lift in her car in the past.

The sign - a play on the Christian motto ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ - has offended some of the worshippers in the Fulbourn and Wilbrahams parish in Cambridgeshire where Dr. Goodman is the rector.

But the American-born vicar, 54, claimed she was simply using an Old English word.

She said: ‘F*** is not a blasphemy, it’s a vulgarity, an Old English word. Whoever saw this on my car perhaps did not notice that there are two other stickers on there, one either side of it. One is a Hebrew text about the transformation of the world, and the other from the sixth chapter of Micah, which says “Do Justice, love kindness, walk humbly with God”.
 
‘My bishop knows I have the sticker on my car, and has no difficulty with it, and I’ve even had the former Archbishop of Canterbury in my car, Rowan Williams, and he didn’t raise an eyebrow.’

The Venerable John Beer, Archdeacon of Cambridge, said he saw no problem with the sticker.

He said: ‘It sounds like the Rev Alice Goodman has responded in all good conscience to the criticism of this anonymous reader. Perhaps a way forward may be for the vicar and the reader to meet together to discuss it further.

‘Christianity has a long tradition of open debate where people can bring their differing views and share their perspectives.’

Rev Goodman sparked controversy in the U.S. in 1991 when she wrote an opera about the murder of a disabled Jewish man by Palestinian terrorists.

She is a former chaplain at Trinity College, Cambridge and married to renowned poet Sir Geoffrey Hill, currently a professor of poetry at the University of Oxford.

Dr Rowan Williams’ secretary today said the former Archbishop of Canterbury was on holiday and unavailable for comment.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby was also unavailable to comment as his office said he was visiting bishops in Latin America.