Thursday 19 February 2009

Atheism — Celebrate Reason

Atheism! Pictures, Images and Photos

So, because we're such a progressive, forward-thinking, open minded country, some Australian outdoor advertising company has pulled the plug on a deal with Atheist Foundation of Australia to put slogans on buses.

"How offensive was the message? Was it, "Sucked in, there's no God. Ha, ha, ha"? Was it, "Those hours in church bored out of your brain, those years of guilt and all those prayers? Wasted. God's not real"? Was it, "The look on their faces when they find out God doesn't exist? Priceless."

No. It was, "Atheism — Celebrate Reason". How scary is that? That was after "Atheism — Sleep in on Sundays" and "Atheism — Because there is no credible evidence"* were knocked back. How flimsy does APN think people's faith is if they'd be rocked by a gentle comment like that? How fragile would someone's faith be if they were rocked by a gentle comment like that? If I were a believer, I'd be offended that someone would think my convictions were that shaky. How dare someone assume I was living in some state of suspended intellectual adolescence?

Spain and Canada are all running the British slogan ["There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life"], America's going with "Why believe in a God? Just be good for goodness' sake" and Italy, home of The Grand Poobah of The Roman Catholics, is going with, "The bad news is God doesn't exist. The good news is we don't need him." Ireland will run something similar.

Fancy advertising taking the moral high ground. Since when has the advertising industry worried about offending women by sexually objectifying them, Muslims by advertising alcohol, vegetarians by plugging meat and anyone even remotely interested in the environment by promoting petrol-guzzling four-wheel-drives as a fashion statement. This rejection of what is free speech and falls clearly inside the guidelines of taste seems odd. Perhaps, dare I say it, discriminatory?"


Atheism Pictures, Images and Photos

x
JAG

2 comments:

anahit said...

as a christian I take absolute offence to these posters.

JUST KIDDING :P they have this sort of thing in london too - there's probably no God, now stop worrying and enjoy your life. fair enough, people can say what they want, although it does seem a weird thing to advertise on the bus. the christians then followed with - there definitely is a God. So join the Christian Party and enjoy your life. I find the whole thing absolutely hilarious. One group trying to get even with another. oh the lulz.

Just a girl said...

Ha ha. I was wondering if perhaps I'd gone a little overboard on my atheist sentiments. ;-)

Religious advertising does seem a little strange - like conversion, I guess - but when we were driving across America (Texas, where else) we saw huge billboards on the side of the highway saying things like

"Lost? My book is the map.

-God"

It was hilarious.

x
JAG