In 1988, the Royal Mail applied a machine advertising cancel with the slogan "Jesus Is Alive!" to mailings for cancellation. The stamp drew criticism from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie (1921-2000), who declared it “insensitive." Christian literature bookseller Paul Slennett had paid £50,000 for the Royal Mail to apply the stamp, claiming that God would speak to the nation through it. Atheists and agnostics were angered by the stamp. The Royal Mail refused to stop using the stamp.