What I don't like about this campaign specifically is the association of "enjoying life" and "stop worrying" with atheism. It just reinforces the Christian argument that people leave faith and stop believing in God in order to sin without guilt.
“There probably is no God…” is like saying the gun “probably is not loaded”. With the exception of the word “no”, this sign is only a 50 /50 proof or of little value.
The same would apply with any magical / religious figure.
“There probably is no Hindu God; there probably is no native indigenous Gods in New Guinea or Africa. One simple can not, in reality, disprove a non-functioning magical God who is only claimed to have at one time functioned in the distance past (as in the Bible).
What the Christians don’t understand, just about all the apologetic logic used to support the Judao-Christian God, can easily be retuned to support any God or Gods of any religion past (Greco-Roman / ancient Semitic) or present.
The basic question is: How does one disprove any superstition which lives in one of the major human condition, needing truth, but having doubt?
How did he lie? I might have missed something. But it seemed from the linked site that they are out there already. Plus don't be silly no one here at Debunking Christianity ever lies, jeez.
"How did he lie? I might have missed something. But it seemed from the linked site that they are out there already."
No, there are no busses with that advertisement. The picture you're seeing is photoshopped. They raised money for the ad but that's all. (This is perhaps a good thing for them, because they still have time to reconsider representing atheism with such an inane ad.)
I like how Charlie constantly takes jokes, puns, and half-serious remarks we make and acts as if they're actually arguments that we make, knocks them down, and declares himself the winner.
Interesting that he doesn't bother commenting on many of our actual arguments.
Not everyone gets into Valhalla, you know. Odin is very clear on that. You must die in battle in order to get to Heaven. You will need to join the Army, and soon. There's no time to waste. Why would you risk losing out on going to Valhalla? If you're wrong, you'll wish you'd listened to the Eddas.
Hey I notice you've got real animosity towards McCain, which is odd since you seem to be very pro-Christian. I really like McCain. Don't forget words hurt, and you said some things about McCain on your blog that hurt my heart.
Did you completely abandon Debunking-Debunking Christianity?
Christians love atheists. If it weren't for us atheists, christians would kill and eat each other. Hey Jesus lovers; just thank us that you haven't become the savages that muslims have become. You concentrate on us, secular humanists because you're afraid. Because of the enlightment, christians became a bit more civilized than the primitive religion Islam .
I love this sign and i'm proud of my country for having it on buses. This campaign has raised over £50,000 so far, not bad really.
Its a great counter to the christian heavy advertising that we usually find on buses. Its also light hearted and slightly joking, meaning hat its less likely that middle of the road christians will be offended. Always handy as it lets them think about it rather than just being outraged.
As for some of the negative comments on the message. No one uses adverts to explain their position. No one. Adverts are solely about brand recognition. Christians don't explain original sin, hell, redemption on bus adverts. They just have smiling people and a tag line that reads "Jesus saves!". This is about brand recognition. It gets into folks heads and says "Hey, atheists exist". Admittedly we have a population about 23% atheist over here but there is a rising tide of fundamentalist (emphasis on the mentalist part) that still needs fighting. Letting folks know that there are atheists, they appear to be unconcerned about the whole god thing and that they have the presence and money to run ad campaigns is a good thing.
Its also slyly insinuating that religious people DON'T have the answers since it implies that if you do believe in god you are worried about him (as you should be, the bible describes a real nutcase).
I'm all in favour of this and i do hope that we get some positive bus messages like this in Manchester where i live.
Charlie, don't be trite. You've surely heard of brand recognition? Its the phenomemon that gets incumbents re-elected so much more than challengers.
Of course people know atheists exist. But people can only say stupid things like Bush Snr commenting that he doesn't think atheists can really be considered either citizens or patriots, because atheists tend to be a silent minority. Only in recent years have atheists actually found a voice publically.
Reminding people that yes, atheists exist, yes, they have the funding and organisation to fund advertising campaigns and yes, they live in the same city as you, is a great way to remind people that there are other choices out there other than whatever daft faith they were raised in.
You make atheism common enough and normal enough and what you'll get is people leaving their religions in the same way that christians swap denominations.
Wow. Atheists really do not know how to advertise. They always make themselves look worse somehow.
Not exactly the kind of message I would have chosen.
However, based on the linked articles, it appears these ads are a direct response to previous bus ads placed by Islamic and Christian groups. These ads directed people to websites with threats of eternal suffering and hellfire.
We've got enough to worry about as it is, without subscribing to such superstitious fears.
This sign gives the impression that an atheist is a presumptuous, care-free, happy-go-lucky fledgling.
So, tell me Charlie,
As an agnostic, how can you sit on the fence?
If you don't have enough information to know if the Abrahamic God does or does not exist, wouldn't this ultimately put you in the same eternal "destination" as an atheist if he did? Doesn't this worry you? Or do you somehow rationalize that he would let you off the hook because you consider yourself "spiritual" person?
For the first time in the history of humankind we can quantify the probabilities around the particular universe we live in and the origins of life. The probabilities turn out to be so infinitesimally small as to be essentially zero. We should not exist. Put another way: the probability that we are here by chance is incredibly small. Conversely the probability that we are here by plan, and that means divine plan, are astoundingly high. Anyone who makes the statement “God probably does not exist” is ignoring the results of the two major scientific revolutions of the past 50 years: cosmology and molecular biology.
24 comments:
Hum, talk about wasting money.
What I don't like about this campaign specifically is the association of "enjoying life" and "stop worrying" with atheism. It just reinforces the Christian argument that people leave faith and stop believing in God in order to sin without guilt.
Wow. Atheists really do not know how to advertise. They always make themselves look worse somehow.
This sign gives the impression that an atheist is a presumptuous, care-free, happy-go-lucky fledgling.
And is it just me or does that picture look photoshopped? Note the deviating cut-out lines in minimizing and maximizing frames.
They aren't currently on London buses. They've raised enough money to put them on the buses. Should start appearing in January.
And, yes, it is probably photoshopped, since they aren't actually on the buses yet.
Sweet sweet Charlie, did you even bother to click on the link? Go work on your blog.
Do you imagine a Christian campaign: "Jesus probably rose from the dead". How lame would that be?
“There probably is no God…” is like saying the gun “probably is not loaded”. With the exception of the word “no”, this sign is only a 50 /50 proof or of little value.
The same would apply with any magical / religious figure.
“There probably is no Hindu God; there probably is no native indigenous Gods in New Guinea or Africa. One simple can not, in reality, disprove a non-functioning magical God who is only claimed to have at one time functioned in the distance past (as in the Bible).
What the Christians don’t understand, just about all the apologetic logic used to support the Judao-Christian God, can easily be retuned to support any God or Gods of any religion past (Greco-Roman / ancient Semitic) or present.
The basic question is: How does one disprove any superstition which lives in one of the major human condition, needing truth, but having doubt?
Answer: Objectively educating the human mind.
Scary Jesus,
Yes I read the links. Did you actually notice Touchstone's lie that buses are now driving around with that ridiculous sign?
Oh that's right, he's a member of DC so his dishonesty gets a pass.
How did he lie? I might have missed something. But it seemed from the linked site that they are out there already. Plus don't be silly no one here at Debunking Christianity ever lies, jeez.
"Probably" no God?
Why would that mean you didn't have to worry? Jobs, illness, crime, plenty to worry about.
How about,
"Maybe" there is a God. Start worrying.
"How did he lie? I might have missed something. But it seemed from the linked site that they are out there already."
No, there are no busses with that advertisement. The picture you're seeing is photoshopped. They raised money for the ad but that's all. (This is perhaps a good thing for them, because they still have time to reconsider representing atheism with such an inane ad.)
There's probably no such thing as global warming. So stop worrying and keep consuming.
Yay. Isn't atheist logic fun?
I like how Charlie constantly takes jokes, puns, and half-serious remarks we make and acts as if they're actually arguments that we make, knocks them down, and declares himself the winner.
Interesting that he doesn't bother commenting on many of our actual arguments.
Adam,
"Maybe" there's an Odin. Start worrying.
Not everyone gets into Valhalla, you know. Odin is very clear on that. You must die in battle in order to get to Heaven. You will need to join the Army, and soon. There's no time to waste. Why would you risk losing out on going to Valhalla? If you're wrong, you'll wish you'd listened to the Eddas.
Ok, Charlie you got me. You win.
Hey I notice you've got real animosity towards McCain, which is odd since you seem to be very pro-Christian. I really like McCain. Don't forget words hurt, and you said some things about McCain on your blog that hurt my heart.
Did you completely abandon Debunking-Debunking Christianity?
Talk about plegiarism - Jesus is the one that said not to worry - shees!
Christians love atheists. If it weren't for us atheists, christians would kill and eat each other. Hey Jesus lovers; just thank us that you haven't become the savages that muslims have become. You concentrate on us, secular humanists because you're afraid. Because of the enlightment, christians became a bit more civilized than the primitive religion Islam .
I love this sign and i'm proud of my country for having it on buses. This campaign has raised over £50,000 so far, not bad really.
Its a great counter to the christian heavy advertising that we usually find on buses. Its also light hearted and slightly joking, meaning hat its less likely that middle of the road christians will be offended. Always handy as it lets them think about it rather than just being outraged.
As for some of the negative comments on the message. No one uses adverts to explain their position. No one. Adverts are solely about brand recognition. Christians don't explain original sin, hell, redemption on bus adverts. They just have smiling people and a tag line that reads "Jesus saves!".
This is about brand recognition. It gets into folks heads and says "Hey, atheists exist".
Admittedly we have a population about 23% atheist over here but there is a rising tide of fundamentalist (emphasis on the mentalist part) that still needs fighting. Letting folks know that there are atheists, they appear to be unconcerned about the whole god thing and that they have the presence and money to run ad campaigns is a good thing.
Its also slyly insinuating that religious people DON'T have the answers since it implies that if you do believe in god you are worried about him (as you should be, the bible describes a real nutcase).
I'm all in favour of this and i do hope that we get some positive bus messages like this in Manchester where i live.
Talk about plegiarism - Jesus is the one that said not to worry - shees!
Jesus was supposedly one of many. Nor did he say it first.
Philip, let us know when you have something substantive to contribute to this discussion, rather than making up stories.
Scary Jesus,
"I really like McCain."
I'm sorry about that.
This is about brand recognition. It gets into folks heads and says "Hey, atheists exist".
Major accomplishment there. Nobody ever knew that.
Charlie, don't be trite. You've surely heard of brand recognition? Its the phenomemon that gets incumbents re-elected so much more than challengers.
Of course people know atheists exist. But people can only say stupid things like Bush Snr commenting that he doesn't think atheists can really be considered either citizens or patriots, because atheists tend to be a silent minority. Only in recent years have atheists actually found a voice publically.
Reminding people that yes, atheists exist, yes, they have the funding and organisation to fund advertising campaigns and yes, they live in the same city as you, is a great way to remind people that there are other choices out there other than whatever daft faith they were raised in.
You make atheism common enough and normal enough and what you'll get is people leaving their religions in the same way that christians swap denominations.
Wow. Atheists really do not know how to advertise. They always make themselves look worse somehow.
Not exactly the kind of message I would have chosen.
However, based on the linked articles, it appears these ads are a direct response to previous bus ads placed by Islamic and Christian groups. These ads directed people to websites with threats of eternal suffering and hellfire.
We've got enough to worry about as it is, without subscribing to such superstitious fears.
This sign gives the impression that an atheist is a presumptuous, care-free, happy-go-lucky fledgling.
So, tell me Charlie,
As an agnostic, how can you sit on the fence?
If you don't have enough information to know if the Abrahamic God does or does not exist, wouldn't this ultimately put you in the same eternal "destination" as an atheist if he did? Doesn't this worry you? Or do you somehow rationalize that he would let you off the hook because you consider yourself "spiritual" person?
For the first time in the history of humankind we can quantify the probabilities around the particular universe we live in and the origins of life. The probabilities turn out to be so infinitesimally small as to be essentially zero. We should not exist. Put another way: the probability that we are here by chance is incredibly small. Conversely the probability that we are here by plan, and that means divine plan, are astoundingly high. Anyone who makes the statement “God probably does not exist” is ignoring the results of the two major scientific revolutions of the past 50 years: cosmology and molecular biology.
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