Posted on 10/22/2008 1:02:01 PM PDT by Constitutionalist Conservative
London buses may soon be plastered with ads proclaiming “There’s probably no God,” if a British atheist group has its way.
The slogan is the brainchild of the British Humanist Association (BHA), an atheist organization that seeks to promote a world without religion where people are “free to live good lives on the basis of reason, experience and shared human values.”
Among the campaign’s supporters is well-known atheist activist Richard Dawkins, who promised to match BHA’s goal of raising $9,000 for the ads, according to BBC.
But the group has now raised $59,000 on its own.
“Religion is accustomed to getting a free ride – automatic tax breaks, unearned respect and the right not to be offended, the right to brainwash children,” Dawkins told BBC.
“This campaign to put alternative slogans on London buses will make people think – and thinking is anathema to religion,” he claimed.
BHA will use the funds to purchase four weeks worth of bus-long ad space on the outside of two sets of 30 Bendy buses.
The complete slogan reads: “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”
Because more funds were raised than anticipated, BHA will also run posters inside the buses. The group is also considering to expand the campaign to other British cities such as Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh.
"We see so many posters advertising salvation through Jesus or threatening us with eternal damnation, that I feel sure that a bus advert like this will be welcomed as a breath of fresh air,” said Hanne Stinson, chief executive of BHA.
"If it raises a smile as well as making people think, so much the better.”
In response, a British Christian group warned that people don’t like to be preached to and that it wouldn’t be surprising if the public retaliated.
“I should be surprised if a quasi-religious advertising campaign like this did not attract graffiti,” said Stephen Green of U.K.-based Christian Voice.
But the U.K. Methodist Church, on the other hand, expressed appreciation to Dawkins for fueling a “continued interest in God.”
“This campaign will be a good thing if it gets people to engage with the deepest questions of life,” said the Rev. Jenny Ellis, a Methodist spirituality and discipleship officer.
She added, “Christianity is for people who aren’t afraid to think about life and meaning.”
It is well known that Christianity is in decline in the United Kingdom and across Europe.
A report by the United Nations, released earlier this year, found that two-thirds of Britons admit they have no religious affiliation. And a BBC poll last year found that four in five people believe Britain is in moral decline.
The Archbishop of York, Dr. David Hope, the second most senior member in the Church of England, declared in a 2004 interview that the United Kingdom can no longer be considered a Christian nation. He noted that Britons are less committed to the church and “secularist” tendencies were increasing.
The bus ads are slated to run in January.
The slogan is the brainchild of the British Humanist Association (BHA), an atheist organization that seeks to promote a world without religion where people are “free to live good lives on the basis of reason, experience and shared human values.”Serious question: What does the word "good" mean to an atheist?
A report by the United Nations, released earlier this year, found that two-thirds of Britons admit they have no religious affiliation. And a BBC poll last year found that four in five people believe Britain is in moral decline.Could there possibly be a connection between these two statistics?
Can you blame Militant Islam for wanting to take over?
Britain: where even the atheists don't have solid convictions.
““There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” “
This could have easily been said by Behe.
God is no doubt devastated by this.
I am now at the point where I find I can only pray that His will be done when it comes to these people. I used to pray that their hearts would open but it looks like they are impenetrably armored against divine influence and utterly determined to reduce everyone else to their own level of ignorance.
“shared human values”
Based on which culture?
Homosexuality has been universally considered immoral for thousands of years and yet it is now “acceptable” because of a small but influential campaign by those who participate in the act.
Or Jeremiah Wright. “I disown God unless he hates white people!”
“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’ “.
We already hear the advocates on the Left pushing for abortion and non-consensual euthenasia when it isn’t “a quality life”. So that is an indication of where not living the good life can take you.
And yet, among it all, people in prison with a life sentence are never found to no longer have a “quality” lifestyle.
I never got that. If there’s no God, there’s no reason. Nothing matters so who cares how you act?
The UN should ask Saudis how many of them are muslim by free choice and how many are forced to follow the faith under penalty of death.
Does that mean, there is probably no Allah, either?
Are you sure the Muslims will let this go unquestioned?
Nice tagline. Any room left to mention taxes?
And people wonder why England is headed down the toilet.
Proclaiming “no God” is idiotic.
What is needed is for England to reclaim it’s traditional culture, patriotism and values. I wonder when that movement will start?
and please... stand by your sign as a show of your convictions
UK: There’s your sign.
Someone should post ads reading “There’s probably no reality outside your own mind”. After all, there’s no more evidence of the existence of objective reality than there is for the existence of God.
Sigh. Materialists. These “if I cain’t poke it with a stick, it ain’t real” types almost never have any grasp of even the most basic philosophy.
That’s a bus I would refuse to ride on. Not because of any moral objection, I just don’t want to be struck by lightning.
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