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Riding the Atheist Bus :-)
How weird is it that I was absurdly thrilled to find one of the Atheist Bus Campaign ads on the side of my bus home last night?
I mean, I'm not an atheist (although, having read The God Delusion I apparently am an atheist by Dawkins' definition - he defines the term so narrowly, IMHO, that it pretty much covers anyone not a practicing monotheist), but I adore this campaign. Why? Because those poster in railway stations everywhere with Bible quotes annoy the shit out of me. Especially the way they threaten you: Jesus loves you so much that if you don't accept his narrow-minded rejection of your gender/sexuality/intelligence/independence you will burn in hell for all eternity! Then, if you look twice you'll see a URL. You have to look twice, because all posters have web addresses these days; they're at saturation level so we mostly don't notice. But if you actually check out that URL do you find love and hope, as promised? No, you find vile hatred, misogyny and homophobia.
The Atheist Bus Campaign started last year as a reaction to a specific Christian/Evangelical poster campaign in London. The idea was to post a counter-claim: There's probably no God, so why not just enjoy life. (or words to that effect), on just one bus. But there was so much support that they raised enough to put their message on buses nationwide. (Their ads also include a URL: to the Humanist organisation.)
I'm not an atheist. But I am very much of the opinion that religions should not be permitted to advertise unless, like drug manufacturers and beauty creams, they can prove their claims. Why should they be exempt from the legal advertising standards that apply to everyone else?
Advertising for tobacco is banned in this country because tobacco is deemed to be harmful. There are tight restrictions on alcohol advertisments for the similar reasons. Why is advertising hate not equally restricted?
So last night I rode an atheist bus. I suspect most people pay little attention to side-of-the-bus adverts, but even so, I got a real kick out of that one.
I mean, I'm not an atheist (although, having read The God Delusion I apparently am an atheist by Dawkins' definition - he defines the term so narrowly, IMHO, that it pretty much covers anyone not a practicing monotheist), but I adore this campaign. Why? Because those poster in railway stations everywhere with Bible quotes annoy the shit out of me. Especially the way they threaten you: Jesus loves you so much that if you don't accept his narrow-minded rejection of your gender/sexuality/intelligence/independence you will burn in hell for all eternity! Then, if you look twice you'll see a URL. You have to look twice, because all posters have web addresses these days; they're at saturation level so we mostly don't notice. But if you actually check out that URL do you find love and hope, as promised? No, you find vile hatred, misogyny and homophobia.
The Atheist Bus Campaign started last year as a reaction to a specific Christian/Evangelical poster campaign in London. The idea was to post a counter-claim: There's probably no God, so why not just enjoy life. (or words to that effect), on just one bus. But there was so much support that they raised enough to put their message on buses nationwide. (Their ads also include a URL: to the Humanist organisation.)
I'm not an atheist. But I am very much of the opinion that religions should not be permitted to advertise unless, like drug manufacturers and beauty creams, they can prove their claims. Why should they be exempt from the legal advertising standards that apply to everyone else?
Advertising for tobacco is banned in this country because tobacco is deemed to be harmful. There are tight restrictions on alcohol advertisments for the similar reasons. Why is advertising hate not equally restricted?
So last night I rode an atheist bus. I suspect most people pay little attention to side-of-the-bus adverts, but even so, I got a real kick out of that one.