"There definitely is a God. So join the Christian Party and enjoy your life"

[Occam Bandage]

Christian groups are launching their own advertisements to run across the side of London buses following an atheist campaign.

The British Humanist Association launched adverts earlier in the year proclaiming: 'There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.'

Now the Christian party, the Trinitarian Bible Society and the Russian Orthodox Church have paid for their own pro-God adverts that will run on 175 buses across central and east London and the West End for two weeks from Monday.

The advert for the Christian Party includes the slogan: 'There definitely is a God. So join the Christian Party and enjoy your life.'

The Russian Orthodox Church, meanwhile, has booked 25 bus adverts, backed with a sponsorship deal with Russian Hour TV.

The Trinitarian Bible Society's advert uses a line from Psalm 53 that reads: 'The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God.' It will appear on 100 buses.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1136162/There-definitely-God-Christians-hit-atheists-bus-adverts.html

This is probably the best use of money I can think of. Nothing is more important, for humanists or for the religious, than ensuring that buses are theologically correct.

:popcorn:

[navarth]

1. god forbid they spend that money to help the poor. n/t

[tridim]

2. Show me the scientific proof.

And no, the bible isn't proof.

[Occam Bandage]

7. Ah, but you see, the Bible is proof that the Bible is proof, so there's your proof. nt

[sakabatou]

30. O NOES! Not circular logic!

[MineralMan]

3. Good for them. Instead of whining and moaning about

the "War on Christianity," they're answering in kind by buying their own ads. Not a thing wrong with that, even if I disagree with what they're saying.

[trotsky]

Well sure, except that they fired the first shot.

Koresh forbid they let atheists get a word in unchallenged.

[MineralMan]

6. I don't care about that. What pisses me off

is the Christian Reich that whines and moans and gets all paranoid about some sort of atheist ad or billboard or something, but doesn't take advantage of our 1st Amendment rights and put up their own damn message.

As if a few atheists are really a threat to their religion. Basically, what the fundamentalcases are saying is they don't really want freedom of religion, but freedom for their religion.

When groups counter the atheist bus signs with signs of their own...well...that's how it's supposed to work in a free society. Nobody but them gives a crap anyhow. A sign on a bus isn't going to convince anyone of anything anyhow. It's just masturbatory nonsense.

[RoccoR5955]

4. Just remember that god is dog spelled backwards! n/t

[ZombieHorde]

5. Buses are the cause of all wars!

Is the Christian Party an actual party?

[moggie]

8. They are

And they're as nutty and right-wing as you'd expect, from the name. Anti-abortion, anti-contraception, in fact anti-woman in general (they really don't like women being addressed as "Ms"), anti-gay... even anti-dragon. One of their policies is to drop the dragon from the Welsh flag, because it's "Satanic". They want to introduce compulsory Christian state education, with parents having no choice in the matter. They are not your typical cake-or-death British Christians.

[BattyDem]

9. So ... God hired a publicist who likes buses?

:shrug:

Wouldn't that money be better spent on food, clothing and shelter for the poor? Saving souls is fine, but there are plenty of physical beings that need help even more.

[bunnies]

10. Can we sue for false advertising?

:shrug:

[stopbush]

11. So, the Xians went to the Brit ad authority and complained that

the atheist bus ads should be taken down because "they were misleading because the advertiser would not be able to substantiate its claim that God "probably" did not exist."

The Advertising Standards Authority ruled the adverts were an expression of the advertiser's opinion and that the claims in it were not capable of objective substantiation.

Yet, the Xian ads say that there "DEFINITELY IS a god."

I assume the Xians have been able to substantiate their claim. "Definite" is a much more, er, definite word than probably.

[Occam Bandage]

12. If you can't beat 'em...

[SidDithers]

13. They're going to get in trouble with Advertising Standards Authority...

"There definately is a God" sure sounds like a statement of fact to me.

I hope they do go ahead with this campaign, just so someone can sue, and force them to defend that statement in a court of law.

Sid

[Manifestor_of_Light]

16. I wondered about the Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

Every time I pass by a place with no windows labeled as a "Gentleman's Club".

:rofl:

Truth in Advertising???

[moggie]

25. It's unlikely to lead to a suit

If someone complains, the Advertising Standards Authority gets to investigate. If they rule against the ad, on the grounds that it makes an objective claim which can't be substantiated, the ad gets pulled.

[SidDithers]

27. Thanks for the clarification...

it would still be fun, tho, to watch them try to defend their ad to the ASA :hi:

Sid

[Strong Atheist]

14. .

Nothing is more important ... than ensuring that buses are theologically correct.

Now THAT's funny! :rofl:

:toast:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

15. The Christian Party's idea of a good time-

No legal abortions.

The death penalty for "severe" crimes.

Taxes on alcohol and tobacco.

Personal responsibility for self-inflicted diseases.

No drugs.

Curfews for children.

Corporal punishment.

No working on Sundays.

Chastity before marriage.

No homosexuality.

Mandatory Christian education in schools.

Creationism in science class.

The smacking of children by parents.

Levies against mind pollution (video games, CDs, comic books, masturbation, etc.)

Removal of the use of "Ms." in addressing women of unspoken marital status.

Reintroduction of Biblical standards of evidence- witnesses over forensic evidence.

Changing the Welsh flag from a dragon to St. George, because dragon's are Satanic.

I bet the Taliban throws livelier parties than these guys.

[elshiva]

17. BWhahaha!

"Changing the Welsh flag from a dragon to St. George, because dragon's are Satanic."

They need to lighten up. They probably think Harry Potter is satanic, too.

[Occam Bandage]

18. Darn, and they had me until the Welsh dragon. Cymru am byth and all that. nt

[elshiva]

28. My mom had a good point about the Welsh flag.

What she said when I discussed the dragon and St. George, she said, "Why would the Welsh ever accept a symbol of British authority?" St. George is a symbol of British domination. Everyone knows that the British hate the Welsh, think they are stupid hicks in the hills. The Welsh hate the British for thinking that way.

[anonymous171]

23. Dragons aren't satanic, they are AWESOME! nt

[vixengrl]

19. Bumper sticker slogan: "The bus says it, and I believe it"-- or

"The words of the prophets aren't yet written on the subway walls, but it's a matter of time, really." There is a little frivilousness to any ad campaign. Although what I like about the "atheist buses" is it's almost an "experiment" on how controversial a godless message is in relation to pro-god ones. Where belief is the assumed default choice, it's the alternative that stands out.

[Chulanowa]

20. Christians saying enjoy your life?

Well, what sort of Christians are they talking about? I know here in America we mostly have the apocalyptic death cultist theocrat types...

[Manifestor_of_Light]

21. Which God are they talking about?

Zeus, Athena, Minerva, Apollo, Dionysus, Osiris, Isis, Bast, Anubis, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Garuda, Ganesh, Hanuman, Rama, Sita????

Cthulhu? FSM? Invisible Pink Unicorn?

Unitarians worship the giver of life --- the Coffeepot. :rofl:

[Chulanowa]

24. Yeah, what's up with that "A" god stuff?

Sounds to me like they're hedging their bets. "We're certain there's at least one!"

[laconicsax]

29. I think they're talking about Baal.

[anonymous171]

22. Now this is starting to get funny. I hope other religions get in on this as well. nt

[moggie]

26. It probably won't happen

Most of the others don't see the need to advertise.

[knitter4democracy]

31. The Russian Orthodox Church?!

Dude, we have many other places to spend that money instead of on bus advertisements. There are still churches in Russia that need to get rebuilt, monasteries having all sorts of money troubles, and more. What a frackin' waste of God's resources.

We're Orthodox--we don't advertise. We suck at advertising and pretty much always have. Now isn't the time to start right when we get a new Patriarch and have so many poor within our own ranks.