Atheists hope (don't pray) to bring ads to Toronto
The atheist slogan, "There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life," may soon be coming to subways and buses in Canada's largest city.
The Toronto-based Freethought Association of Canada, inspired by a campaign that has plastered British buses with the phrase, has contacted the private firm that handles ads on the Toronto Transit Commission to see if the message would violate any rules. Organizers plan to launch a fundraising page on the website atheistbus.ca in the next few days.
read the whole story at the globe & mail
The atheist slogan, "There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life," may soon be coming to subways and buses in Canada's largest city.
The Toronto-based Freethought Association of Canada, inspired by a campaign that has plastered British buses with the phrase, has contacted the private firm that handles ads on the Toronto Transit Commission to see if the message would violate any rules. Organizers plan to launch a fundraising page on the website atheistbus.ca in the next few days.
read the whole story at the globe & mail
I hope (and pray) they use the same feeble slogan as appears on London buses: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy life".
I can't believe the outspoken atheist Richard Dawkins signed on to such a mealy-mouthed ad campaign.
Posted by: Scott Gilbreath | January 16, 2009 at 11:41 AM
i was talking about this with some atheist friends last night, and if i had to be really frank with myself, i would agree with this sentence, and hopefully they could replace the really ham fisted/simple minded daily bible studies one from some baptists in Scarborough.
Posted by: anthony | January 17, 2009 at 11:58 AM
Scott - it does seem like the "atheist" part of the campaign is on a slippery slope...
anthony - I suppose that the sentence would have great appeal to people who are enjoying their lives. On the other hand, I can't help but think what a platitude this must be for those who are not enjoying their lives. [Not that some Christians aren't into mere platitudes either].
What's up with the baptists in Scarborough? I'm thinking of my own bus ads: "Jesus is the bread of life: without him you're toast."
Waddya think? Will it pack them in?
Posted by: joseph | January 17, 2009 at 08:05 PM
just obvious and fairly poor hermeneutics, and bad design, i will take a shot of it next time.
Posted by: anthony | January 18, 2009 at 05:15 PM
anthony - I'll have to get you to do some design for me.
Posted by: joseph | January 19, 2009 at 09:39 AM
joe
i dont do it, i just critique it, and i think that you note the problem with the agnostic buses except i am unsure that xianity is supposed to comfort, i noticed that the priest didn't talk about the Corinthian reading last sunday for example, i think b/c it is a queer friendly congregation and they don't like thinking about fornication.
Posted by: anthony | January 19, 2009 at 08:48 PM
I don't think hetero-friendly congregations find it to be a favorite topic either!
Posted by: joseph | January 19, 2009 at 09:00 PM
I order you to be happy! The penalty for disobedience is unhappiness!
"Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."
Haven't we all tried to do that already, and failed? That's why we're turning to either God or Richard Dawkins.
The slogan is a nice problem description, "You're worrying and not enjoying your life", but if I was looking for a rule of life, I'd probably want to seek out one that was a little more... helpful? Illuminating?
The implicit assumption is that theism is the overwhelming source of worry and anxiety in our lives, which, reading the newspapers, is not the first conclusion I would jump to.
Posted by: scott (not Gilbreath) | January 20, 2009 at 09:06 AM
Somehow I picture leaflets with this slogan on it being air-dropped over parts of Zimbabwe. I think I read on BBC that the agnostibuses were being rather unwelcome in certain culturally demographed neighbourhoods...
Posted by: joseph | January 22, 2009 at 10:19 AM