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All I have to say is.... Finally!!
Do you know how many billboards, commercials, birthday cards, christmas cards, books, schools, teachers, preachers, etc. have been offending Non-Believers for?
Do you know how offended I was to have been baptized and not had a say in if I wanted to or not? To be held against my will to believe in something I knew nothing about, but was forced to? With no freedom of speech to get in the way of my family's decision for me?
Please, don't tell me this is "offending" people, because that would just be an ignorant statement for a religious person to say.
I'm sick of people preaching things they have no idea even exist. Your mind is conditioned to believe things that you train it to believe.
Give me a break, I'm sick of religion causing war, and I'm sick of religion judging people, and most of all, I'm sick of religion controlling people.
Spare us the guilt trip you hypocritical closed-minded lunatics. It's nothing but a mental disorder to believe in something you've trained your brain to believe with no logical evidence.
Believe what you want, and allow others to believe what they want without getting in the way by telling them "you're offending me."If you're that easily offended by other people's opinions, then you really are not that confident in your religion.
You shouldn't need other people to follow you in order to believe what you believe. So cut the crap and let other people open their mind to their own desires.
What ever happened to Freedom of Speech? Or has that gone down the sh!t hole because of religion?
How many lives have been taken away due to this stupid argument.
I don't understand why people need followers to believe in their own religion. As if they need others to justify to solidify their faith.
It's between you and your mind. That's it. Karrie
I think you shouldn't be doing this. Everyone has beliefs, but many have faith. And you shouldn't be discriminating our beliefs. I, and many other believers, we strongly appreciate if you could take it down. Alexa
I think I speak for most atheists when I say “believe whatever you like”. That is your right but do not expect me to respect you for doing so and don’t expect the State to grant your belief any special privileges. Please make sure that your belief is not used to indoctrinate children before they are of an age (18) after which they can make up their own minds. Please also acknowledge that your religion is subject to all the laws of this country and to the declaration of human rights.
I will agree to these conditions, will you? Graham Davis
Margaret - I obviously failed to make myself clear. I was just making the fairly obvious point that it is impossible to prove a negative. Hence the "probably." johnnyess
OMG GUYS, how would you ever say there is no god, you, your self proves that there is a god. look at the way you have been created. look where you eyes are, look were your nose is, look were you heart is. guys this is only a small fact that proves there is a god. this is a big design of the human body which no one could ever make. but only god. i belive you need to do more research.. i feel sorry for the thoughts that are put in to those people.
A MAN WHO STANDS FOR NOTHING WILL FALL FOR ANYTHING. John
Bravo pour votre initiative que je soutiens sans réserve.
J'ai coutume de dire "l'idée de dieu est une imposture". Si ce slogan peut servir à quelquechose..
Lourdel Yves
(Congratulations on your initiative that I wholeheartedly support. I say "the idea of god is a sham." If this slogan can be used to something.....?)
FINALLY. Someone needed to stand up and say it, thank you for doing so. I just wish we had these on some of the buses in the US.
And, to anyone saying "Well if you're wrong then it sucks to be you": If this worried us, we'd be Christian. Thanks for caring anyway. Stephanie
In reply to johnnyess "What if..., what if..., what if... All based on no evidence whatever."
But, johnnyess, where's your evidence that there isn't a God? And I don't mean the usual list of war/famine etc, which only shows man's inhumanity to man.
A further general comment/observation: Interesting that the campaign slogan is "There's probably no God" - can we look forward to "There's probably no Allah/Krishna etc" or is this simply confined to the Judeao-Christian God? Margaret
What exactly do you hope to acheive with this campaign, (apart from a few hits on your website). Do you think that a religious person will see one of your buses and suddenly think "I have wasted my life praying to a God that doesn't exist." Why is it that people like you and Richard Dawkins are so offended by the religious. It seems like you would like a totalitarian world where everyone only believes in what they can see! Marc
What if its wrong, and we all go to hell.ooooer........... david prothero
Margaret - What if there is another god, one you haven't even thought of, who hates Christianity. Then you might be in deep do-do. But there's no more chance of his existence than of that of the one you have been taught to believe in. Or perhaps there's a god who prefers honest doubt, and will reward it. What if..., what if..., what if... All based on no evidence whatever. johnnyess
Great message. De Facto Atheism for all those who wish to reason. Robert J. Schmitt
Let's bring some of those buses to Canada!!! But please remember, drive them on the other side of the road here. Forgetting that, we could have some terrible accidents. I don't believe in god, and I'm in no hurry to prove it to myself! :-) Chris
If Mr God is waiting for me when I die then bring it on- His list of sins will be way longer than mine- and I'll be keen to hear his excuse. Chris
Excellent stuff. A great idea, great campaign. If I can help in any way with this or future campaigns, please let me know. Mark Wesson
Perhaps we could get the ASA to look at the "God is risen" messages.
We could have them replaced with: "God is risen, perhaps" Carniphage
Well done! About time that somebody went on the attack against superstition and ignorance.
I am amused at the selfishness of religion "I'm going to Heaven and you are not - yah, boo, sucks". Not to mention the criminal deception "Give us 10% of your income and we promise you eternal life". If you made a claim like this in respect of money eg "Give us 10% of your income and we will give you a million pounds in ten years time" you would go to prison.
As for the "probably" in your bus advert I understand that was insisted on by the Advertising Standards people.
If you want another advert you could try "There are 35,000 religions in the World - do you belong to the right one?" Bob Cory
I like it, where can I get the t shirt? Keith
Saw my first bus this morning. I was sat in a traffic queue worrying about getting to work and leaving my sick dog at home. Really cheered me up to see it. Thanks everyone. Liz
Welldone. It is wonderful to feel that my beliefs are finally being represented and heard on the national stage. Religious groups lobby the government and media powerfully and successfully and I often feel that those of us who believe in reason and logic are ignored.
Your slogan to me seems just perfect - yes there is a small chance some kind of God exists, until we can understand how something came from nothing in the big bang, but everything we do know and have proved properly and scientifically indicates that there is no God and certainly not one that sits in heaven, sent a son down to earth and intervenes in daily life in answer to people's prayers. I think people often just lack the courage it takes to face this and do not want to lose a comforting myth they have been brought up with since babies.
Thank you for having the courage to stand up and face the inevitable criticism from the fundamentalists of whatever religion. I will do my part and wear a T-shirt proclaiming proudly that there probably is no God. Caroline Piper
The whining, little girl voice I heard on BBC this morning will whine even more - if she's wrong and discoveres that too late! Why take a chance? Freda Bothwell
Well, let's put it this way. If the atheist position is correct and there is no God, then at worst Christians are simply wasting their time/no harm done/they'll find out that death really is the end etc etc.
If however, the Christians are right and there is a God, then you guys are in deep do-do. Margaret
A cursory glance at the British Code of Advertising requirements seems to disallow the claims made in virtually all religious advertising. So maybe admin could create a corner of this site where we could register details of religious advertising that we encounter in order to make complaints to the ASA
HONESTY
6.1 Marketers should not exploit the credulity, lack of knowledge or inexperience of consumers.
TRUTHFULNESS
7.1 No marketing communication should mislead, or be likely to mislead, by inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration, omission or otherwise.
TESTIMONIALS AND ENDORSEMENTS
14.4 Fictitious testimonials should not be presented as though they are genuine.
www.asa.org.uk/asa/codes/cap_code/
Graham Davis
Maybe the next phase of the campaign should be:
There’s Probably no God, but if there is this is what he has in store for you...
"When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod so hard that the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished. If, however, the slave survives for a day or two, he is not to be punished, since the slave is his own property."
Exodus 21:20-21
No child of an incestuous union may be admitted into the community of the Lord, nor any descendent of his even to the tenth generation.”
Deuteronomy 23:3
"If a man lies with a male as with a women, both of them shall be put to death for their abominable deed; they have forfeited their lives."
Leviticus 20:13
“A priest's daughter who loses her honour by committing fornication and thereby dishonours her father also, shall be burned to death.”
Leviticus 21:9
Graham Davis
At last - making it safe to declare proudly 'I am an Atheist!' This campaign is great - long may it continue; its about time the views of atheists stand up and be counted. Evans
Who are you to tell us to stop worrying? By what authority disposed to you do you declare? Job
Thank you for making my day! Alisha Lennox
Stop worrying and enjoy your life ? What's next ? Massive public road side orgies ? Sure you'll enjoy a lot. Religion is a set of rules for life. Get that straight. Lauren
I am glad to see that the message is a positive one, it is difficult to think of arguements against it. Seth Brundle
What a nice slogan. I like the "probably", and I don't think it's agnostic. The agnostic, as I understand it, holds that we can't know. But probablility is measurable, so "probably" implies that we CAN know, and that we're pretty sure we DO know, which is atheism.
It also makes the message more effective, because it can make people who are not already disbelievers ask themselves seriously what it is saying and what they think about it. In the same way, "God is imaginary" is a more effective sentence than "There is no God", and the capital G only reinforces the point. EJ
'Probably' is not good enough for me.... May I ask: is it enough for you?
If there is a God it changes everything. Being a Christian is not about 'feeling good' or 'finding a personal answer or contentment' - no indeed, the only reason why any person should be a Christian, is if they believe the message of the Bible is true. Did Jesus live 2000 years ago? Yes he did. Did he rise from the dead? Yes he did. I do not say these things without evidence, but because all the evidence which I have read (of which there was a considerable amount - I undertook this investigation seriously) informed me that these things are true.
Faith is not belief in things unlikely to be true, but trust in a God greater than ourselves who has shown himself to us.
Deciding what you think about God will be the most important decision you ever make - please think seriously.
Alice
I’m fascinated by this slogan – and the assumptions behind it. First, the ‘probably’. Clearly there was a failure of courage on the atheists’ part to come out and say ‘there is no god’. But since this is what atheists do believe, why not say it? Or does the atheist credo sound dogmatic and inflexible – which it is – when it is put so starkly? And who calculated the ‘probability’ of the existence of God? Is this mathematical probability? Or the anecdotal kind: ‘he didn’t save my dog, so it seems unlikely he doesn’t exist’? Probability, on the basis of what?
More than this, though, I am struck by the ‘now stop worrying’. There are a lot of things one can lay at the door of religious believers – and I certainly have – but ‘worrying’ isn’t one of them. Does the question of whether God exists or not cause people to worry? I don’t see much sign of it.
But then, while discussing it with my partner, I realised that this might mean something else. Like ‘stop worrying that God is going to judge you for your actions and... enjoy life!’ Now clearly some religious folk do worry about whether they are doing enough to win eternal life, or whether the weight of sin will consign them to eternal damnation. I don’t personally see this as a useful concern, but I am slightly concerned by this possible implication of the poster: ‘There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life – forget about your neighbour, look after No.1! Trample over everyone else to get what you want, because nobody is going to hold you to account for it...’ But I’m sure – at least, I hope I’m sure – that’s not what they meant.
In fact, I think that the belief that there is no God must be a cause for considerable worry – especially the way the world is today. If there is no ‘design’, no grace, no redemption, it would seem to be an almost inescapable conclusion that humanity is fucked. And, really, if all life has to offer in the way of this ‘enjoyment’ is the lifestyle of the rich and the famous – the celebrity, the hedge fund manager, the internet entrepreneur – we’re pretty much doubly f8888d Because those who don’t have it have a pretty small chance of ever being able to get it (especially in the present economic climate) and those who do manage to achieve it enjoy precious little in the way of satisfaction from it (a survey of millionaires in the US revealed that an overwhelming majority felt more worried after acquiring their wealth than they did previously).
This kind of ‘don’t worry, be happy!’ message is also rather curious in its timing, coming at a point at which most people are beginning to feel really very worried about what the next months and years are going to hold. And they’re not worrying about whether there is a God or not (although I suspect that those who intimate that there is might just feel a little easier about all this stuff).
A much more timely and relevant atheist slogan might be:
‘As if things weren’t bad enough already THERE’S NO GOD EITHER!!!’ James Souttar
I feel very sorry for you sad people. Bruce
As an atheist I find it very sad that the bus ads say "there is probably no god". That's like Christians saying "there probably was a bloke called Jesus". Atheists should have the courage to state the facts.
The ads should say "Of course there's no god, now stop worrying and get on with your life".
I'm sure "probably" came in to placate the advertising standards authority. But if they really do have a problem with this then simply make it a quote. I'm more than happy to provide it, as no doubt are thousands of scientists worldwide.
Why is it that religions are allowed to make unproven and un provable claims with impunity, but atheists have their words censored? Ed
Where can I buy a t-shirt with your excellent slogan!
I am sure many people would like one? Steve
This is absolutely ridiculous! What a big fat waste of money! Andrew
I was very happy to learn about the atheist bus initiative. But then I read the slogan and was pretty disappointed. The simple addition of "possibly", which may have been made to satisfy the ASA makes the message not atheist but agnostic.
An atheist by definition doesn't have any doubt about the non existence of god. The remaining of the slogan makes also in my opinion two wrong assumptions. The first one is that believers cannot enjoy life. The second that someone believes because he's worried. Most atheist may think that the reasons to believe are rooted in fear but this remains debatable.
I guess the aim of this slogan was to be as general as possible, trying to speak to as many believers as possible but unfortunately it fails to convey any strong message for all the aforementioned reasons.
I would have preferred something like "There is no god. Now stop fighting for it and be free." If the word possibly was really added because of the ASA, what about using the !
money to lobby for the right to freely express the real atheist views? FL Mommens
30 November
I am sincerely delighted that someone wrote to tell me that I was wrong. I am indeed.
However, I am not wrong in the way you think but in other ways. You can equate any word – especially if the word is ‘conceptual’ with any other word. God, Love, Truth and Good for example are all conceptual words. None of these have any scientific roots. In fact, no word has any scientific roots. Words are illusions. Words are simply sounds that we (and other animals) make. These sounds are made in reference to an experience and gradually, with time, we come to ascribe such sounds to objects, experiences and situations. Words are completely unscientific. The word ‘Science’ is just a combination of sounds that is made when we make certain movements between our tongue and palate and use the flow of breath in certain way through our breathing apparatus. Uttering the word ‘science’ does not render ‘science’ any uniformity of conceptualisation between the ‘utterer’ and ‘receiver’ of the word.
Of course, Professor Dawkins has hopefully not been diagnosed with being ‘ill and dangerous’. That was my personal view. It stays, for the time being. Shehzad
27 November 2008
Shehzad: You state that Professor Dawkins is "ill and dangerous". He hasn't been diagnosed with anything, and is no more deluded than a man who believes in god. If you want to say that 'God is an experience', then that's fair enough - but you cannot equate God with love, as love has solid scientific roots, whereas God does not. Richard S
23 November 2008
I think that Professor Dawkins is ill and dangerous. Delusion is a psychiatric term. It means a firm, fixed and false (above all) belief, contrary to the norms of the society.
God is a concept. It is an experiential concept and not an intellectual one. To make it into an intellectual entity and propose its falsity is illogical.
The thought of God is not God, just like the thought of Love is not Love. Love is an experience. Just like God. Help is available, only if you seek. Shehzad
28 October 2008
Believe in god if you want to, I'm going to live now and take my chances? H Chambers
27 October 2008
I've been thinking more and more about this, and the slogan is worse than appalling?
You should say: "Of course there's no god! Now stop worrying and enjoy your life"
If the ASA have a problem with that one, say it's a quote. Attribute it to me if you like, but I'm sure Richard Dawkins would put his name to it if you asked him? Ed Bowden
Whether there's a god or not should only be important to you if you think there is one. But for an atheist, it does become important because the consequences of the actions and morality of believers are forced upon all of us, witness absence of free choice on abortion, handover of state functions on imprisonment, health and schooling to faith groups, privileged position of religion in law and employments, etc.
And that's in 'secular' Britain; let alone Saudi Arabia. We non-believers have had to claim a commonality of what we *don't* believe in order to find a voice at all - it's almost as mad as having a special group and name for people who don't like football.
But it's the only way of combating the dangers inherent in a morality based on the non-rational. And this is only dealing with the direct results of religion - the use of religious justification to excuse all sorts of power motives (the "God is on our side" effect) is probably even more of a danger. Atheist!
We have to take individual personal responsibility for our morality. The more people that do that, the safer and better this world will be. That's why I'm catching this bus. C Langford
I think its great you have decided to come to a decision regarding your beliefs as many people just follow what their parents have taught them in blind faith. I heard Mrs Sherine speak yesterday on talk sport and she used the argument of science and primarily of the big bang theory as an argument against religion. I would just like to inform you that if you read the English translation of the Quran it mentions the big bang as well and is compatible with modern science but the difference is what science has come to know in recent times its has already been mentioned in the Quran 1400 years ago. You just have to Google ‘Dr Zakir Naik Quran and Modern Science’ and it will come up with his short piece explaining all the things modern science has discovered in recent time which has already been reviled.
Yasser Khalid
It amuses me how offended both the non-believers and the believers get. I don't consider myself religious, because the word 'religious' implies ritual, something that the God I worship doesn't care much for. I have a deep and meaningful relationship with my God.
The reason why these non-believers and believers are getting so aggressive with each other is simple: the atheist cannot see the logic behind a supposed 'imaginary' figure and thinks the Christian is a lunatic; and the Christian can't understand why the atheist cannot see what is so clear and real to them. As much as we try we will never prove to the other the existence or non-existence of God. Only God has this power. We can only pray that God changes hearts of atheists like He has done countless times before, myself included. In that moment, your entire belief system changes for the better. And why wouldn't it? Because you are suddenly confronted with the most amazing, powerful, all-consuming power of God!
It's just like what happened in the book of Acts to Saul (later Paul). He was so anti-Christian he was on his way to kill Christians! Until God changed him. In a second. So what is my point? My advice is to the Christians. Stop accusing people who don't believe in our God. Stop getting aggressive. They are our brothers in sisters in Christ, that Jesus Himself created, who are we to disrespect them? Our mandate is to portray Godly lives to all around us, not to attack. When God is ready to change hearts, He will do it. But God will never change hearts through our aggression, that you can be assured of.
D Taylor
I think the Athiest Buses are sick and should not be allowed on the streets.
Agnes
I am a young college student trying to decide what I truly believe. I feel that billboards preaching Christianity, Why Islam? ads in trains, and the atheist bus campaign are all the same. Each want people to support them. And this is just human nature. Everyone wants support. Everyone wants praise. Everyone wants to be "right". As soon as I decide what bandwagon to jump onto, I know that I will not be one to either offend nor be offended by others.
And that is what religion, or non-religion, truly is: a bandwagon. As taught in philosophy classes around the globe, there is only one answer to any debate, in the end. There really is only one "correct" answer. But honestly, with all the evidence pointing to BOTH directions (sorry atheists, but Christians have some decent ideas as well, if you look hard enough :) ) it really is impossible to pinpoint at this moment in time who is right and who is wrong. So why fight it? This is completely naive and completely ridiculously cliché to say, but can't we all just get along?
The Atheist bus campaign just wants to get its ideology across. I think its wonderful. I chuckle every time I read about it and the debate it has stirred up. It is not trying to convert. It's trying to reassure fearful agnostics and rally atheists to 'come out' of the religion closet. So let it be. <3
Kelly
Those Whom God Calls Fools:
The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." (Psalm 14:1).
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,....
(1 Corinthians 1:18).
You fools, when will you become wise? (Psalm 94:8).
Bible Prophecy
"I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how he could look up into the heavens and say there is no God."
-Abraham Lincoln
Dear Atheist
Jesus foresaw that there would be those (Atheist) who would not believe in Him.
Jesus said, "...there are some of you who do NOT believe." (John 6:64).
The cause of atheism may be that "Satan...blinds the minds of unbelievers,...."
(2 Cor. 4:4).
If a person does not believe, they can ask Jesus to "help them overcome their unbelief!" (Mark 9:24).
Bible Prophecy
This is a bit of a puzzle. Jesus said 'Don't worry about your life; don't worry about tomorrow' and 'I've come so that people can live life to the full.' There's a book in the Jewish scriptures that says, 'Banish anxiety from your mind' and 'There's nothing better for people under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad.' That's two major religions saying 'Stop worrying and enjoy your life', so how can this be an atheist slogan? Lisa
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