A few weeks ago, comedy writer Ariane Sherine wrote a piece in the Guardian expressing her view that Londoners were being forced to face disturbing religious messages when they trundled half-awake to work each morning because Christians had paid to have quotes from the bible displayed on buses.
She wrote:
There was also a web address on the ad, and when I visited the site, hoping for a straight answer to their rather pressing question, I received the following warning for anyone who doesn’t “accept the word of Jesus on the cross”: “You will be condemned to everlasting separation from God and then you spend all eternity in torment in hell. Jesus spoke about this as a lake of fire which was prepared for the devil and all his angels (demonic spirits)” (Matthew 25:41). Lots to look forward to, then.
Now, if I wanted to run a bus ad saying “Beware – there is a giant lion from London Zoo on the loose!” or “The ‘bits’ in orange juice aren’t orange but plastic – don’t drink them or you’ll die!” I think I might be asked to show my working and back up my claims. But apparently you don’t need evidence to run an ad suggesting we’ll all face the ire of the son of man when he comes, then link to a website advocating endless pain for atheists.Imagine you’ve had a really bad day, and it’s only 8.30am. You’ve spilt killer orange juice all over your crucial work documents, you’re pressed up in a tube train against a commuter whose armpit smells like a biological weapon, and you’re late for work and your only excuse is “I glued my hand to a dog”.
You stumble out of the tube, and are confronted with the number 168 bus. It tells you that, along with your boss, a man with a beardy face is going to be upset with you, for ever, because you’ve refused to acknowledge his existence, despite the fact that he’s too antisocial to come down here and say hi. You promptly throw yourself under the number 168 bus.
At the end of her article she noted that you can buy a “bendy bus streetliner” advert for only £23,400 for two weeks. This means that if there are 4,680 atheists contribute £5, it’s possible to fund a much-needed atheist London bus ad with the slogan: “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and get on with your life.”
At the time, I thought it was an amusing article, and just left it there. But since then it has moved on. Her idea caught the imagination of political blogger Jon Worth who set up an online Pledgebank where people can pledge to pay the £5 if the total of 4,680 other contributors is reached. A significant number have already pledged their support.
In my former life I spent many hours and thousands of pounds supporting the promotion of the Christian message (something which I now personally believe to be a faith which prevents people from facing existential reality), so I was quite happy to pledge my £5 as a small gesture of trying to repair a slight bit of damage I caused.
Personally I believe that all people (including atheists) should have the right to promote their messages provided that they are not abusive or inciting to harm. Let others hear them and evaluate them and accept or reject them. However, if the campaign is successful, and the advert ever appears, I predict that at least three reactions may occur:
- Some possible support from the silent (and relieved) atheists in London.
- Some possible outrage from some Christians protesting that godless messages are being proclaimed on buses. Sadly these people are unlikely to understand the view that they have had 2000 years of proclaiming their messages (even today with state support) and that atheists have a lot of catching up to do. Doubtless the phrase “fundamentalist atheists” will be bandied around. There may even be pickets and prayer meetings at the bus depot in an attempt to stop the bus leaving.
- Some possible outrage from some Muslims, perhaps even burning of the buses, at perceived attacks on their god who has to be defended from the slight of mere human beings.
Despite two of these possible reactions, I do hope the campaign succeeds. Freedom of speech is important.
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See UPDATE.
Doubtless the phrase “fundamentalist atheists” will be bandied around.
Now, I do think you are having a dig at me.
Very amusing article and I agree you do have a point when it comes to freedom of speech and human rights and you know how much I am in favour of that.
I don’t think I will be travelling on a London bus today, when I am there, but I will look out for any slogans.
Tne next time I drink real orange juice I will now be tasting plastic.
Have a good day!
I hope you guys can get the message on a bus.
Also, I really like the phrase, “There probably is no God….”
It would make a great bumper sticker, or a T-shirt.
I have no problem with either the Christian or the atheist advertisement. Yes, I get tired of being saturated with god-speak, but everybody has a right to speak his or her piece. I can ignore it, laugh at it, or whatever.
I agree that free speech is essential and needs protecting. On the other hand, I am not sure that this is the issue here. After all, atheists are not prevented from expressing their point of view in the UK as far as I know, and Ariane Sherine does not claim this in her piece.
What Ariane Sherine does express in her piece is a certain irritation at being subjected to Christian messages (she went to the Web site of her own volition, by the way) and this leads her to a suggestion that atheists ought to respond in kind. That makes a nice piece for the paper but I am not at all sure about the logic of the argument.
If Ariane Sherine wants to advertise atheism on buses, good luck to her, as she has the perfect right to do so, but to do it to get back at someone whose advertisements annoy her seems to me mean spirited and rather pointless. She should also realize that, because her atheist adverts will annoy some believers just as the Christian adverts annoy her, she is thereby supporting Christians’ right to publish their annoying adverts. Feuding never did advance the cause of peace.
Another point: there is no sense in advertising unless you have something to offer. Christians think they do have something to offer. What, exactly, has Ariane Sherine’s atheism to offer? I can’t see that the proposed wording offers anything much to its target audience, presumably people troubled by religious doubts and fears. They would very much like to “get on with their lives” if only they could.
Think what else you could do with £23k. For one, you could set up an atheist information centre with a phone number and email address that could be contacted by people wishing to know more about the atheism or by people who are atheists but need support because they live in communities where it is dangerous to express unbelief. Religion causes a lot of pain and grief around the world and maybe it is time for atheists to organize in order to help the victims instead of sitting on their bums moaning about high-living evangelists and religious tube adverts.
I like the godless bus… but I think Silver Tiger has a point about the money being able to be better spent on something other than tit-for-tat advertising. Perhaps a new mitre for the Pope?
As for an atheist information centre, see http://www.humanism.org.uk/home