Sunday, January 18, 2009

Atheist Bus Advertisement


A photo from my London visit. I had read a bit about this advertising campaign and was delighted to see some buses bedecked. A strange text thought - "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life". Surely in these times what we need is a bit of certainty, that "probably" seems odd. If Christians said that there "probably" was a God wouldn't they be ridiculed. And then the "Enjoy yourself". Are believers usually down in the mouth sad people? My experience suggests not. It does raise the old question about how do you recognise a religious person and maybe challenges those who believe to stand out from the others. But not by showing worry surely!

The bus ad suggests that believers should be the less relaxed ones. Surely certainty in belief, even if it is mistaken, is more likely to bring contentment than worry and it may be those who don't believe who "probably" worry more.

Anyway I have no objection to an ad like this. Is the ad on the bus below not much more ridiculous, snobbish, false, elitist, selling a dream of happiness and wealth.

No time for more, it's Sunday and I have to read at Mass.

The homepage of the atheist advertising campaign here.
A Guardian report of an objection by a bus driver who is also a believer here.
Canadian-born Poet Todd Swift, who lives in London often comments on religion in his blog Eyewear. His blog entry on the bus is here.

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