Tonight:
5°c
It could be an atheist bus, but we're not quite sure
Evening Standard6 Jan 2009
A £140,000 ATHEIST advertising campaign on buses and the Tube was launched today with the slogan: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."
A total of 200 buses in London will carry the slogan, which will also feature on the Tube. The campaign was started by comedy writer Ariane Sherine, supported by the British Humanist Association and atheist campaigner Richard Dawkins.
Ms Sherine was criticised for using a slogan which is agnostic rather than atheist, as it does not deny the possibility of the existence of God.
Reader views (22)
Aaaargh! It be the Devil's work it be!
- Paul Freeman, London, England, 09/01/2009 15:35
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Why is that so many proponents of religion think that someone who doesn't believe lacks positive vision? When I die, my useless body will burn or rot. There's nothing afterwards. And it doesn't bother me in the slightest. I am perfectly at ease without having a creator, or an afterlife, or some grand design. I understand how and why I camne about and how I'll fade away. There is no heaven, it doesn't bother me. There is no hell. I sleep easy.
I am always staggered by how people can put so much faith into superstition and nonsense. GOd and religion are mans inventions and look how much pain and conflict has resulted.
- Simon, Southampton, 08/01/2009 07:22
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Gesus, Gary London - you sound like a ball of fun. What do you suggest then?
- Agent Squiirel, London burrows, 07/01/2009 16:36
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Why should anyone assume that believing in God equates to not enjoying one's self.
My experience is I enjoy myself more than many who are lost to materialism and the absence of any positive vision about life.
- Blake, london, 07/01/2009 15:42
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Agent Squiirel - Scripture never states that God forgives atheists. You are hellbound and Christ will not save you. And on what do you base your notion of goodness? Your philosophy has no basis for good and evil.
- Gary, London, 07/01/2009 14:18
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Matt, Huddersfield, The Church of England has invested assets worth well over 5 billion pounds and they are currently spending that promoting prayer for the unemployed. Perhaps you should start there with money for Africa ?
- Michael, London, 07/01/2009 13:16
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- Christina Grist, England.
I m sure 'God' will be alright with it. If he forgives sinners and politicians then surely he can forgive atheists. Richard and me are in a win-win situation.
I believe in being good and respectful to other people and having fun, there is no harm in that, at least none that I can imagine will send me to the fiery depths of hell.
- Agent Squiirel, London burrows, 07/01/2009 11:32
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Atheism is nihilism, plain and simple, so how does that make life more enjoyable? We come from nothing, we go back to nothing. The universe is dying and good and evil are meaningless concepts. And, hey, if you get stricken with cancer at 21 years old, well, that's all just part of the cosmic crapshoot. This is supposed to make people feel better as they trudge off to work on a cold winter's morning? Hmmm... It seems to me that if Dawkins and co are correct in their assumptions, then the serial killers and the rapists of this world have called the human condition just about right.
- Gary, London, 07/01/2009 10:39
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Surely £140,000 could be used for something more productive like aid to Africa?!
- Matt, Huddersfield, UK, 07/01/2009 10:06
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Mark, stoke on trent.
This would be true if this wasn't spurred by openly aggressive religious advertisements saying non-believers are going to hell.
Maybe it's wrong to arc it over and try and spread the view that no God exists instead of focusing on the specific adverts but why would they limit themselves.
But it's simply reactionary like a leafleting campaign to combat one of misinformation, I know I've had a few around here discrediting misinformed leaflets on immigration.
I imagine those who funded this are just in the view that the religious few of non-believers going to hell is detrimental to society.
- Thomas, London, UK, 06/01/2009 18:12
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If money in Britain can be wasted on gestures like this, then maybe its not all downhill for the economy after all.
- Doug Watt, london e14, 06/01/2009 17:49
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That Richard Dawkins preaching again?
Gaw Bless 'im.
- Jane, London, 06/01/2009 17:44
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I don't believe in Richard Dawkins.
- Neil, london uk, Airstrip ONE ., 06/01/2009 17:39
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I've always found it strange that athiests are so....erm... religious about their opinions. They go around forcing their opinions on other people, blind to the fact that they're spending their life's obsessing over something they apparently don't believe in. Any true athiest would say they didn't believe in god and then move on.
- Mark, stoke on trent, 06/01/2009 17:16
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Bloke, London: Make your mind up please. Is Dawkins either impeccable academic and distinguished writer or an ignorant illiterate? The evidence against him being either ignorant or illiterate is compelling. Prof. Dawkins can do what he likes with his money, as can you, and spending it on promoting reasoned thinking over fear and irrationality doesn't seem like a waste.
- Tom Du Pré, London, 06/01/2009 17:08
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Bloke from London.
The ads were paid for by public subscription, including my own. Prof. Dawkins contributed, but due to the overwhelmingly successful public fundraising (4300% of original target), his donation was dwarfed.
It's important to me that my voice and the voice of reason and rationality is heard, and I'm proud to see the ads running today.
- Dan Craig, United Kingdom, 06/01/2009 16:17
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Hey, the Church tells us worse things, at least this is a little light hearted!
- Rachelle, London, 06/01/2009 16:05
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Well, well, and when they all take their last breathe and find that they are facing the God they so strongly deny, what will they say then???
- Christina Grist, England, 06/01/2009 15:26
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One might not, perhaps, agree with Ms.Sherine, but how refreshing that we have free speech (and reporting, within limits of the law) in the UK. Can you imagine what would happen in certain other countries if anyone attempted to run a similar campaign featuring another god?
- Graeme, La Tour de Peilz, Switzerland, 06/01/2009 15:21
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With all the windfall profits he has acquired from his runaway best-seller, think of all the good Richard Dawkins could do with his money, and this is what he does with it: he pays for a meaningless slogan to be printed on 200 buses. What compels a man with impeccable academic credentials and a distinguished writing career to so dramatically parade his ignorance and illiteracy in public? Perhaps we should all be grateful that he didn't pay for ads during the christmas holidays gleefully informing us that there (probably) is no Santa Claus!
- Bloke, London, 06/01/2009 15:08
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Absolutely correct, it is agnostic not aetheist in sentiment, however, as I always say "there's nothing an agnostic can't do if they don't know whether they believe in anything or not".
- Bob, Cheam, 06/01/2009 15:00
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Surely enjoying life and not worrying was what got us into the mess we are now in.
- Jake, London UK, 06/01/2009 14:55
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