1. Comment #206486 by mordacious1 on July 8, 2008 at 12:06 pm

ok, yes need more ads like this.

The bus, being asked, said, "Damn right I'm an atheist, it's just the junkyard for me". But what about recycling, that's an afterlife, isn't it?

Bus: "No, you idiot, it's the circle of life, and I think this is your stop".

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2. Comment #206489 by JLD Calgary on July 8, 2008 at 12:08 pm

Great initiative! I would love to know how this turns out or if there are any problems encountered trying to purchase the space.

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3. Comment #206499 by Big City on July 8, 2008 at 12:18 pm

I'd donate, even though I'm American, if I knew they would be allowed to purchase an ad that said that.

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4. Comment #206504 by MRA on July 8, 2008 at 12:26 pm

Fantastic idea. It really is time for Atheists to start getting media savvy and actually donating to their cause.

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5. Comment #206505 by Luthien on July 8, 2008 at 12:26 pm

Signed! It's worth a fiver just for the entertainment value!

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6. Comment #206508 by SpiderBrigade on July 8, 2008 at 12:31 pm

The sad thing is that every time atheists (or even agnostics) try something like this the religious get offended and claim they're being oppressed by those "aggressive atheist fundamentalists."

Doesn't mean it's not a great idea though!

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7. Comment #206514 by MRA on July 8, 2008 at 12:35 pm

It is a good idea. A message needs to be repeated over and over again before it really starts to sink in. Religions do this through ceremony, schools, television stations and radio stations - us atheists do not - and it is time we did. It would be great to start with an atheist radio channel.

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8. Comment #206518 by Colwyn Abernathy on July 8, 2008 at 12:37 pm

"Help help! I'm being oppressed! Even tho I'm part of the majority and enjoy the same right to believe as I want...j-just stop making fun of me! Waaaaaaaahh!"

said a spokesman...

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9. Comment #206524 by mordacious1 on July 8, 2008 at 12:44 pm

I was going to take the bus to the pub where they didn't allow swearing, but now I'll just have to stay home. (sigh)

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10. Comment #206535 by bujin on July 8, 2008 at 12:52 pm

The Muslims have been going mental over a picture of a puppy sitting in a policeman's hat. Imagine how they'll react to an advert informing them that there's no God!

And yeah, the 2 billion Christians in the world will whinge about being oppressed again, despite the sheer number of pro-theistic adverts scatterered around the globe!

Sounds like a great idea to me!

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11. Comment #206540 by Colwyn Abernathy on July 8, 2008 at 12:56 pm

Imagine how they'll react to an advert informing them that there's no God!

And it's not even a FLAT OUT denial, just a probability. I'd add a Yank stint to it with a "QUITCHABITCHIN" somewhere.

EDIT: There's akshuly a group in the States that's called "Coalition Against Anti-Christian Rhetoric". Wonder what they'd have to say...ah, fuck 'em, who's up for a pint? Can we swear in that one pub again?

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12. Comment #206563 by Nova on July 8, 2008 at 1:20 pm

I would prefer "There is no God", is the "probably" just conceding something to agnostics? I know we technically can't know, but we technically can't technically know for certain anything other than our own existence ("I think, therefore I am"), but that means nothing when god's nonexistence is beyond reasonable doubt, when children run out of their rooms to their parents bedrooms scared of the monster under the bed, the parents don't say the monster under the bed "probably" doesn't exist.

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13. Comment #206568 by bitbutter on July 8, 2008 at 1:24 pm

Signed.

The beauty of pledge bank is that you will only have to transfer the money once enough people have pledged too, so you can be reasonably sure it won't go to waste.

This is a discussion that needs to be had, and a sign on a london bus would help stimulate that.

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14. Comment #206573 by rod-the-farmer on July 8, 2008 at 1:30 pm

4,680 atheists to contribute £5 each, that would pay for an ad on a London bendy bus for a two weeks.

That works out to 23,400 POUNDS for a two week advert. Good GRIEF. I didn't want to BUY the bus, just post a sign on it. Tell you what. I have a 20 foot long enclosed trailer, which I use to haul my race car to tracks around Ontario, New York, Ohio and Michigan. For the same money, I will put this sign and any others that will fit, on the front, back, both sides and even the roof. I will keep them on for a year, PLUS, we can use the body of the race car for whatever signs will fit. Please send your contributions (along with any suggested messages) via PayPal. PayPal ID will be supplied to those wishing to donate.

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15. Comment #206577 by Border Collie on July 8, 2008 at 1:32 pm

Good for a smile ...

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16. Comment #206599 by Captain Kendrick on July 8, 2008 at 2:13 pm

Cool, I like the sentiment, but I can't justify raising that kind of money to plaster George Carlin'ish sound-bites around town. If I had the money to pledge, I would rather spend it on funds to defend folks like Mark Steyn and others being railroaded because they hurt some Islamic religious feelings in Canada, or to buy spines for the Scottish Police so they can stand up to outraged Muslims over photos of cute puppies, or to make sure that creationism stays out of the public schools and that my kids actually get real educations.

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17. Comment #206613 by Captain Kendrick on July 8, 2008 at 2:46 pm

"Tell you what. I have a 20 foot long enclosed trailer, which I use to haul my race car to tracks around Ontario, New York, Ohio and Michigan. For the same money, I will put this sign and any others that will fit, on the front, back, both sides and even the roof."

rod-the-farmer:

How well would THAT go over with the NASCAR set ????? Excuse me if I'm stereotyping too much, but I can just picture Bubba standing outside his F-350 telling you "ya'll have anything to say 'bout *MY* God, then we have a problem!"

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18. Comment #206615 by notsobad on July 8, 2008 at 2:49 pm

They need to come up with a wittier and more offensive slogan than this.

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19. Comment #206616 by MorituriMax on July 8, 2008 at 2:50 pm

I would put this on the side of the Bus,

"God SACRIFICED his Son so he could bring him BACK to LIFE 3 days later. Is that commitment or what?"

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20. Comment #206623 by jonworth on July 8, 2008 at 2:59 pm

Just a word of explanation... All of this started out as a rather far-fetched but sweet idea in a column on The Guardian's website by Ariane Sherine. There was no strategy, no campaign.

I liked the idea, made the pledge on PledgeBank, and made the bus mockup image. Since then things have, well, spread rather widely.

But please, please don't take this too seriously. Were it ever to happen we would have to work out a better slogan, but it's a long way from happening. By even raising the idea we've achieved something small. Smile about that and have some fun dreaming up some slogans, and then if and when we have a full campaign together we can work out the practicalities...

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21. Comment #206628 by Szymanowski on July 8, 2008 at 3:18 pm

Just a word of explanation... All of this started out as a rather far-fetched but sweet idea in a column on The Guardian's website by Ariane Sherine. There was no strategy, no campaign.

I liked the idea, made the pledge on PledgeBank, and made the bus mockup image. Since then things have, well, spread rather widely.

Good for you.

What happens to the money if this project falls through?

EDIT: I thought it was a donations site, but it's merely a 'pledge' site. A better question would be: how do you gather the money when all pledges are made?!

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22. Comment #206664 by mrjonno on July 8, 2008 at 4:08 pm

Hmm I was about to say that Transport for London don't allow 'political' adverts on their system but there are a few Jesus prayers for the day around.

I suspect they would block an atheist one and it would make an interesting case due to their mixed private/public status

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23. Comment #206687 by Angelic_Atheist on July 8, 2008 at 4:49 pm

Isnt FFRF doing something similar with bilboards?

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24. Comment #206716 by Ed-words on July 8, 2008 at 5:20 pm

FFRF.ORG is putting up atheist billboards

in state capitols throughout the U.S.

Go! Go! Go! Go!

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25. Comment #206737 by Ned Flanders on July 8, 2008 at 5:53 pm

Bus slogan:

"GOD. WHERE THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU?"

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26. Comment #206748 by Vandemeer on July 8, 2008 at 6:16 pm

Along the same vein a couple of years ago my atheist friends and I considered buying a billboard to respond to the stupid god billboards that appear all over town. This video is a great response.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mziE5zu_Z0U

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27. Comment #206749 by Ed-words on July 8, 2008 at 6:16 pm

NEWSFLASH


Another atheist billboard is now

on display! (in SEATTLE)


And two are planned for the convention sites, Denver and the Twin Cities.

"KEEP RELIGION OUT OF POLITICS (FFRF)"

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28. Comment #206820 by King of NH on July 8, 2008 at 9:06 pm

In most of NH they don't allow billboards, and the bus and trolley have no outside adverts. It's hard to make any statements large enough to gain attention. The Scarlet Letter seems the best choice (especially since the book was written here).

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29. Comment #206847 by militant_agnostic on July 8, 2008 at 9:51 pm

I've added my name. As for the content of the add, I'd like to see a variation on a cartoon I can no longer find on-line.

3 religious men standing in conference, looking sage and wise and venerable, a priest, a rabbi and an imam, standing in front of them is a small child saying "Aren't you a bit old to be playing with imaginary friends?"

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30. Comment #206849 by MelM on July 8, 2008 at 10:03 pm

I wouldn't contribute anything unless the "probably" is removed. A corollary of "probably doesn't exist" is "possibly does exist". Agnosticism!!!

A god acting at all in the universe, would contradict the natures of things and is absurd. This is exactly the same reason that god is in direct conflict with science. If god did anything then the correct (true, valid) explanation of the event or condition or creation is "god did it" and scientifc naturalism would be false: scientists could propose as many naturalistic explanations as desired, but, they would all be wrong. This issue shows up at the detail level where "life after death" contradicts what we know about life and "walking on water" contradicts what we know about floatation,...
Scientists have one reality in common and can eventually converge but religion has no reality to study and just stays batshit crazy.

By creating a world of fantasy miracles, religion rejects our understanding of the world we actually live in--the one we must understand if we are to stay out of the caves and avoid shitting in our own water supply. Holy men attack the fundamental efficacy of reason (offering faith as a substitute--follow Jesus or Mo; don't think) and put off the reward for moral action until death; what could be more destructive?

Surely, contradicting things that we know and having no evidence (making it an arbitrary assertion), is enough to claim that "god doesn't exist."

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31. Comment #206858 by ration on July 8, 2008 at 10:45 pm

Here in Tampere, Finland the local bus company refused to take an ad that promoted the popular eroakirkosta.fi web service. The page allows you to resign from the church by simply filling out a form in the net. This was taken to court and the court agreed that the bus company had the right to disallow the ad.

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32. Comment #206861 by Dr Doctor on July 8, 2008 at 10:47 pm

"There is no God, don't let religion ruin your life. It's the only shot you have."

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33. Comment #206912 by DamnDirtyApe on July 9, 2008 at 1:06 am

WE NEED MORE SIGNS!

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34. Comment #206927 by Ramases on July 9, 2008 at 1:35 am

I think atheist ads are a great idea, especially given the number of religious ones we have to put up with.

I am bit worried about the value for money though. For this kind of figure I would expect to get prime time television ads on all channels for months.

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35. Comment #206933 by Bernard on July 9, 2008 at 1:51 am

How about:

"People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs"

I'm not sure who first said this.

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36. Comment #206936 by bugaboo on July 9, 2008 at 1:56 am

Dont know if you have to pay by the word. A short slogan would be better anyway.

"Religion Poisons Everything"

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37. Comment #207050 by rod-the-farmer on July 9, 2008 at 6:00 am

Comment 17, #206613 by Captain Kendrick

How well would THAT go over with the NASCAR set ????? Excuse me if I'm stereotyping too much, but I can just picture Bubba standing outside his F-350 telling you "ya'll have anything to say 'bout *MY* God, then we have a problem!"

Possibly true. I, however, am a believer in the one true faith, road racing. We regard ourselves as a superior sect, since we race in the sun, in rain, and in darkness. Racing in fog is a mortal sin. Drag racers and those who compete on oval tracks stop when it rains. Wimps. Their faith is weak.

From my experience, road racers tend to be non-believers, generally, possibly due to the fact that most race weekends have a feature/points race on Sunday. Perhaps I should purchase a bunch of those scarlet A shirts for my pit crew, such as they are. "Racing AGAINST Jeebus" doesn't really work, does it.

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38. Comment #207070 by Prankster on July 9, 2008 at 6:28 am

Fantastic idea-if it goes ahead.

At least the bus will turn up quicker that any proposed second coming......

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39. Comment #207101 by The-bleeding-obvious on July 9, 2008 at 7:35 am

Why not get enough atheists pledge enough to BUY the bus compny and make the add a permanent feature on all buses, that ought to get them going!

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40. Comment #207126 by Dhamma on July 9, 2008 at 8:09 am

They paid that much in order to put up such a crappy "ad"? Apparently, not all atheists are intelligent.

I'd probably become religious after reading it.

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41. Comment #207161 by Aquambulus hirsutus on July 9, 2008 at 9:00 am

Dhamma, nobody's paid anything yet. See Jon Worth's comment above.

I suggest "You wait aeons for the one Holy Book, and then three come along within millennia"

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42. Comment #207171 by Dhamma on July 9, 2008 at 9:08 am

Haha, yeah I skimmed through the light text and saw the picture(which I thought was authentic). Still, if they will put up that text, I'm not the least impressed.

Maybe we could convince them to put up a better text instead? Maybe a link to RD.net as well?

Serves a better purpose in the states though.

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43. Comment #207188 by flobear on July 9, 2008 at 9:27 am

How about:

If god were real, he'd take this sign down.

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44. Comment #207212 by Dhamma on July 9, 2008 at 10:33 am

flobear:
Haha, that'd be much better! Only problem is - Someone actually would take it down. Don't think god would, but still.

Interesting thing is though - What would happen if someone takes it down? Maybe they'd get a refund :)

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45. Comment #207224 by gcdavis on July 9, 2008 at 10:46 am

"There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and get on with your life."
Pathetic slogan!

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46. Comment #207228 by Sciros on July 9, 2008 at 11:01 am

Possibly true. I, however, am a believer in the one true faith, road racing. We regard ourselves as a superior sect, since we race in the sun, in rain, and in darkness. Racing in fog is a mortal sin. Drag racers and those who compete on oval tracks stop when it rains. Wimps. Their faith is weak.

YES. Road racing owns NASCAR any day. Are you a Corvette guy?

Oh and yeah the slogan on that bus is so lukewarm and unprovocative it's simply not worth the money. And actually I'd be ok with just a gigantor Darwin fish on the side of the bus.

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47. Comment #207318 by MelM on July 9, 2008 at 1:55 pm

"Faith is a vice. Reason is a virtue."

Most people have never seen anything like this. It takes the issue to the epistemological level and just might get some people to think about it--sooner or later. This is something people can see first hand and think about as contrasted with a "There is no god" type slogan. I think something has to be done to attack faith and support reason; "The Delusions Of Faith", maybe?

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48. Comment #207334 by flobear on July 9, 2008 at 2:13 pm

Dhamma: Only problem is - Someone actually would take it down.

Yeah, you're probably right. Either someone would rip it down (if it wasn't painted on) or they'd threaten boycott/lawsuits.

How about:

"If god were real, why doesn't he remove this sign himself?"

or on the more sarcastic side:

"If god were real, he'd cause his followers to threaten boycott or legal action to have this sign removed"

Other Comments by flobear

49. Comment #207413 by EvidenceOnly on July 9, 2008 at 5:35 pm

A couple of other slogans that I've seen lately:

"If evolution is outlawed, then only outlaws will evolve".

"Gods don't kill people. People who believe in Gods kill people".

Mine would be:

"If you believe that God gave you the ability to think. Then use your God-given brain and see for yourself that there is no evidence for any God".

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50. Comment #207480 by Tonocats on July 9, 2008 at 11:40 pm

MeIM:

"Faith is a vice. Reason is a virtue." This is something people can see first hand and think about as contrasted with a "There is no god" type slogan. I think something has to be done to attack faith and support reason;

I completely agree with you on this. I feel the key to getting people to see the truth is by letting them figure it out on their own. Words such as you suggested will make people think about the message and what it really means.

A favorite of mine is "Truth Doesn't Require Faith" which I actually have on a bumper sticker I got online.

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