Forums > Social Discussion > Atheist advertising on London buses FTW!

Posted: 21st Oct 2008
I like it... theres too much fear and hate generated by religion... the prospect of having lakes of fire and such things on busses is something I wouldnt want impressionable children reading.

I do like the "probably" included in there.

Its a hard sell with the prevalence of christianity western society, however given that the alternative to Christianity tends to be depicted as "depravity" is there an atheist dogma written up? If not, I'd like to see one. People need meaning in life... if they can find that in religion, then thats nice... but if people are only subscribing to religion out of fear I think we have an issue.

A revival of existentialist texts perhaps?? I'd be happy to see that, but thats because Camus wrote my favourite ever book.

Posted: 21st Oct 2008
Now...

1) Couldn't this money be better used that atheists are also capable of donating money to charity?

2) Why do atheists need to proslyetize?

-Mike

Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella



A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura

Posted: 21st Oct 2008
Originally Posted By: Doc LightningNow...

1) Couldn't this money be better used that atheists are also capable of donating money to charity?


In a word, yes.

Originally Posted By: Doc Lightning
2) Why do atheists need to proslyetize?

Why do Catholics need to Proslyetize? Or Christians, Hare Krishna? I'm forever seeing this happening in the streets of Melbourne, and it's something that I don't particularly want to confront every time I go into the city. Even though I'm Agnostic I wouldn't even want forced messages of Atheism blared out to me from PA's or emblazoned on buses.


It seems that somebody with a bit of money to throw around is sick of the pro-religion evangelists and this is their little vendetta against it, however if they use the advert shown in the article it still affords you the room to support/condone it. I'd be lying if seeing "There probably isn't a God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life" wouldn't raise a faint smile from me

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Owner of burningoftheclavey
Owned by Lost83spy

Posted: 21st Oct 2008
I think its the "probably" that really makes it... when theres so much around there being no alternative to Christianity except hell, there really needs to be an alternative shown.

Posted: 21st Oct 2008
Originally Posted By: Mother_Natures_SonI think its the "probably" that really makes it... when theres so much around there being no alternative to Christianity except hell, there really needs to be an alternative shown.

There is an alternative: Eternal damnation and purgatory *whip crack*

ॐ

Owner of burningoftheclavey
Owned by Lost83spy

Posted: 21st Oct 2008
Originally Posted By: Doc LightningNow...

1) Couldn't this money be better used that atheists are also capable of donating money to charity?

2) Why do atheists need to proslyetize?

1) Has nothing on the amount of money the Catholic church wastes that they could be spending on charity.

2) there's a lot of bad stigma about atheists and i think that it's only fair they get a chance to be heard that they're not evil satan worshipping monkeys.

plus i agree with brenn about not being able to hold back a smile

i would have changed ***** to phallus, and claire to petey Petey

Rougie: but that's what I'm doing here
Arnwyn: what letting me adjust myself in your room?..don't you dare quote that on HoP...

Posted: 21st Oct 2008
Thats brilliant.

And a little less blunt than Dawkins own advert...

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Posted: 22nd Oct 2008
yay

the probably does a wonderous job, especially because its ironic athiests would support an advert that allows for an agnostic view. but i understand simply saying " there is no god" isnt as friendly a message. the probably is needed to make it approachable to the public.

now....GO AND ENJOY YOUR LAKE OF FIRE!!! i'm sure some of us might

"but have you considered there is more to life than your eyelids?"

jointly owned by Fire_Spinning_Angel and Blu_Valley

Posted: 22nd Oct 2008
Yes, quite nice - I love it because this ad doesn't claim that THERE IS NO GOD... it's non-dogmatic, it's liberal...

Religion in itself IMHO has greatly outlived it's purpose (in the Western world at least) - please note: religion, not spirituality.

Morals and ethics are well established and I feel many of us don't need an omnipresent eagle eye. Those who do will keep their faith anyway - as long as they keep it to themselves, it's fine with me.

The rest of the class moves on to the next level please

the best smiles are the ones you lead to

Posted: 22nd Oct 2008
Prepare for...

Tom, I'm not so sure I agree with you there on Originally Posted By: FireTomMorals and ethics are well established and I feel many of us don't need an omnipresent eagle eye. Those who do will keep their faith anyway - as long as they keep it to themselves, it's fine with me.

I feel that its moreso that those who want to commit immoral acts and other such things no longer have the fear of God and that the position of God in todays society is that he's more of a safety blanket than to the individual than anything else... (My view on the position of Religion however is a different one that is too off topic to mention.)

Posted: 22nd Oct 2008
I'm loving it. I feel quite strongly on the topic of religion and don't agree with things like baptising children etc, the initiation of minors to something they have no say in seems wrong to me, if they want a religion let them see the choices and pick, but let them see ALL the options including none. Atheism never used to get that much airtime it's allowed a few minutes in my book.

A couple of balls short of a full cascade... or maybe a few cards short of a deck... we'll see how this all fans out.

Posted: 22nd Oct 2008
I love the third comment down, that Atheism is his/her PERSONAL belief. From what I know, atheism is the absense of a belief, and generally equates to an 'I'm not sure what's out there' philosophy, as opposed to an agnostic point of view being 'I don't think anythings out there'. Feel free to correct me if my information's a bit screwy - but in any case, the idea of enforcing uncertaincy on someone amuses me.

Mynci, I beleive that people should be free to follow their own spiritual path, but at the same time I'm not against baptising children. Spiritually speaking, the act of baptisim represents the washing away of original sin more than a formal indoctrination into Christianity - that part belongs to confirmation (which happens too early for my liking).

Kupo!

Posted: 22nd Oct 2008
Is the other way round Jarle- Atheism is 'There's nothing out there' (opposite to theism), agnosticism is 'I'm not sure what's out there'..

I'm very glad I wasn't baptised- at least in C of E christenings, the parents have to say they will bring the baby up as a christian- it's why my parents refused to do it... they were pretty unsure about the whole thing..

THE MEEK WILL INHERIT THE EARTH!


If that's okay with you?

Posted: 22nd Oct 2008
Jarle, what you said about Atheism/Agnosticism should be the other way around I think.
Atheists don't believe there is a god.
Agnostics say that the existence of god cannot be proven or disproven, so the "I'm not sure what's out there" philosophy fits them better.

as for baptizing, I'm not sure of the specific meaning of it in Christianity as I was raised Jewish, but I am opposed to the idea of labeling children with their parents' religion. Especially in religions like Judaism where labeling your child Jewish involves a Rabbi with no medical training circumcising your child using wine as an anesthetic.
As Marcus Brigstocke said - "a 4 year old is no more a Christian than he is a member of the postal worker's union"

On the original topic, I'm glad Atheism is getting some sort of a stage.
But knowing religious fanatics they're going to complain about it until someone gives in to pressure and decides to remove the ads. (complaining is the best case scenario to be honest)

Posted: 22nd Oct 2008
absolutely great ads. funded by donations from people, richard dawkins has also contributed £5,500. they raised over £26,000 in one day from donations not included richard dawkins contribution.

the parodies are even better than the actual ad


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"the geeks have got you" - Gayle

Posted: 22nd Oct 2008
HA!!!!...it's about time...

I suppose we could argue for days whether this is atheist, or agnostic sentiment, but given common usages, I'll go with agnostic. It all comes down to where you get your epistemological input from. SkepticWiki

I'm all for giving atheists equal time. Just think about how many times a day you're exposed to religion, from walking by a church to seeing people wearing crosses. Why shouldn't atheists be given equal time ?

Then throw in all the other "ideas" that pass for the amorphous concept of "spirituality" and we have a societal soup of bizzaro explanations as to how the world works.

I'm all for "advertising" the idea that these could all be cowspoo ideas or at least questioning the validity of those ideas.

Posted: 22nd Oct 2008
Yay for the British Humanist Society!

And Mike, I think it's less proslyetizing and more letting folks know they're not crazy if they don't buy into religion. That's how I see it anyway.

I rarely see athiesm portrayed in an organized, logical, intelligent manner. In fact, I rarely see athiesm portrayed at all...

I think folks should feel comfortable not believing in god and I think this will help that.

Well, shall we go?
Yes, let's go.
[They do not move.]

Posted: 22nd Oct 2008
Originally Posted By: Doc LightningNow...

1) Couldn't this money be better used that atheists are also capable of donating money to charity?

I think this qualifies as a charity - "benevolence to the poor." In this case, the poor are those people who find religious encroachment into their daily lives as completely unacceptable, but who are unable to do anything about it. It may not seem as charitable at first glance as feeding the hungry or curing the ill, but in a society where freedom of thought is supposed to be our foremost virtue, it is sometimes difficult to sit by and let one relatively small (but extremely vocal) group stir up controversy time and time again, pushing for absurd laws and preaching to anybody who will listen.

Quote:2) Why do atheists need to proslyetize?

They don't, probably. But like Brenn said, it isn't like the atheists started it. And personally, I look at it like any other form of advertising - people with an interest pay to have that interest advertised, whether it's a company's product, a community service, a humanitarian mission, or a religion. If you don't have an interest in, say, the latest Fall Fashions, just don't pay attention to the billboards near the mall. Same with religion - if you don't *actually* think you're going to have a summer home in a lake of fire, don't pay attention. But at the same time, it doesn't hurt to have an opposing point of view out there - just as there are consumer watchdog groups who will alert the public when a company's product isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Now as for Dawkins' ad there, that's taking it a little bit too far, I think. As soon as you start relying on cheap emotional pleas, you lose the atheists' best strength: balanced reasoning.

Anyway, on philosophical grounds, I have nothing against religion of any sort - a lot of good has come from organized religions (and I wholeheartedly agree with FireTom's distinction between religion and spirituality). But a lot of bad has come from religions as well. I consider myself more agnostic than atheist. It's just that Christianity isn't for everybody.

Bouncing Baby Pipe!

Posted: 22nd Oct 2008
uh this seems cool now, but if this trend catch's on it's going to be bloody annoying. Religious and agnostic/athiest interest groups fighting over advertising space/mediums. Last thing I want to see is some kind of advertising war between athiests and religious people. I find the advertising war between burger king and mcdonalds annoying enough.

The less people know the more they believe

Posted: 22nd Oct 2008
Hmm, railspinner... what if McDonalds was the only choice? For a lot of kids... thats the way it is. Theres no exposure to positive alternatives to Christianity in the Western world. Atheists are all going to hell, Muslims are terrorists, Jews are criminals as well as being petty.

I'd rather competition than a monopoly any day.

Posted: 22nd Oct 2008
Well this seems to have gone internet supersonic..

Apparently these buses typically carry hellfire and brimstone advertisements, so it's not so much McDonald's vs BK, it's more like McDonald's vs that little vegetarian place down the block.

I wonder if any of these signs will be in Arabic

Posted: 23rd Oct 2008
Originally Posted By: stout i wonder if any of these signs will be in arabic

or any language other than english, good question. i doubt it, i hear english is the official language of england but thats no reason the same campaign couldnt be run in other countries.

"but have you considered there is more to life than your eyelids?"

jointly owned by Fire_Spinning_Angel and Blu_Valley

Posted: 23rd Oct 2008
THE UK now needs pro-Jedi buses

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Owner of burningoftheclavey
Owned by Lost83spy

Posted: 23rd Oct 2008
they had them a couple of years ago when star wars was released..
lots of pictures pretty glowing swords

I wonder how these busses would do driving through the U.S Bible belt?

A couple of balls short of a full cascade... or maybe a few cards short of a deck... we'll see how this all fans out.

Posted: 23rd Oct 2008
Originally Posted By: NYCI rarely see athiesm portrayed in an organized, logical, intelligent manner. In fact, I rarely see athiesm portrayed at all...

That's because atheism is a name for a thing that actually doesn't exist. Atheism is a complete lack of religion, so it really isn't anything at all, but rather the lack of something.

So why does something that doesn't exist need publicity? It looks as if they're trying to convert people to atheism.

A far better ad campaign would be to start posting, say, contradictory Bible verses or something.

-Mike

Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella



A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura

Posted: 23rd Oct 2008
Originally Posted By: Doc LightningSo why does something that doesn't exist need publicity? It looks as if they're trying to convert people to atheism.

Sees like a rather humorous protest against religious advertising to me, which I think is an awesome idea considering all the religious advertising we get bombarded with in all forms of media.

Quote: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," Professor Dawkins said.

"Even on the buses, nobody thinks twice when they see a religious slogan plastered across the side. This campaign to put alternative slogans on London buses will make people think – and thinking is anathema to religion."

His outspoken comments are backed by BHA chief executive Hanne Stinson, who said the advert would be welcomed as a "breath of fresh air" by many.

"If it raises a smile as well as making people think, so much the better."

Counter religious advertising link p 1.

If we as members of the human race practice meditation, we can transcend our fear, despair, and forgetfulness. Meditation is not an escape. It is the courage to look at reality with mindfulness and concentration. Thich Nhat Hanh

Posted: 23rd Oct 2008
Originally Posted By: Doc Lightning
A far better ad campaign would be to start posting, say, contradictory Bible verses or something.

i like that idea

but then you are focusing on one religion, athiesm means all gods.

perhaps you could make tshirts with one bible passage on the front, then a contradicting one on the back

"but have you considered there is more to life than your eyelids?"

jointly owned by Fire_Spinning_Angel and Blu_Valley

Posted: 23rd Oct 2008
Posting contradictory bible verses is confrontational... I don't think thats the right message to be sending.

The main problem with religion is its ability to alienate anyone not within the religion and I don't quite believe thats the sentiment we want to be promoting without religion present.

Atheist has come to mean the belief that there are no gods, rather than agnosticism, though I really think this should be "Agnostic advertising on London buses" since it does say there probably is no god.


Why does it need advertising, Doc?? If we had lots of advertising for McDonalds as well as a lot of advertising from McDonalds slandering the benefits of vegetables (draw no comparisons of worth in the analogy, rather popularity and exposure levels) then how many people would be eating vegetables every night?

Posted: 24th Oct 2008
I don't think it's an agnostic I see it as a scientific atheist view. Probably means "more than likely" and is political enoough to say "show us proof and we will change our minds"
agnostic view would be
"lets be careful, there MAY be a God"

re. MNS's comment about McDonalds (I know you said about the analogy but)- The benefits of Vegetables are known there is no point offering a different veiw point. whereas the existance of any god is far from proved. Although i bet some people would doubt vegetables

Doc - of course you can advertise things that aren't there, cold, dark, quiet can all be used as positive advertising and they are all privitives (words meaning lack of heat, light and sound respectfully) Also Atheism isn't a lack of belief that's where people get it wrong, it is the belief that there are no gods, and that man, nature and science play the roles religions declare divine. If there was no religion there would not be no atheists, everybody would be atheist. It's the only religious perspective that can grow by inaction.

A couple of balls short of a full cascade... or maybe a few cards short of a deck... we'll see how this all fans out.

Posted: 24th Oct 2008
post deleted

A couple of balls short of a full cascade... or maybe a few cards short of a deck... we'll see how this all fans out.