What is the "Atheist Bus Campaign"?

We are advertising a reassuring, "humanised" message. Originally intended for buses in London the message will now appear on buses across the UK... and on other forms of transport. The message reads:

There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life

The British Humanist Association is one of the atheist bus campaign partners and the slogan is accompanied by links to www.humanism.org.uk, www.richarddawkins.net and www.atheistcampaign.org.
How did the Atheist Bus Campaign start?

The Atheist Bus Campaign began when comedy writer Ariane Sherine wrote a Comment is Free article in June 2008 about the Christian adverts running on London buses. These ads featured the URL of a website which said non-Christians would burn in hell for all eternity. Ariane suggested that atheists reading her article could each donate £5 to fund a reassuring counter-advert.

The Atheist BusPolitical blogger Jon Worth read the article and set up a pledgebank page to which 877 people signed up to pledge £5. The campaign received a boost when the British Humanist Association (BHA) joined the campaign and Richard Dawkins generously agreed to match all donations up to a maximum of £5,500. The BHA set up a Just Giving page where members of the public could donate.

The campaign aimed to raise £5,500 but has ended up raising over £136,000 – enough to support buses all across the UK, adverts on the London Underground and two animated screens in Oxford Street.

Why say ‘stop worrying’?

The Christian ads to which the Atheist Bus Campaign is a response linked to a website that promised non-Christians an eternity of torment in a lake of fire. Pretty worrying. Our ads offer a dissenting view from this and are positive messages, urging that we enjoy our lives.

Why say ‘enjoy your life’?

People who do not believe in gods or other supernatural things, do not usually believe in life after death. Humanists believe that death is the end of our personal existence, that we have only one life and must make the most of it – as Robert Ingersoll, a nineteenth century American humanist said, "The time to be happy is now!"


Isn’t this just atheist preaching – like religions do?

This has been an overwhelmingly positive campaign, as evidenced by thousands of warm, good-natured comments at justgiving.com/atheistbus. It isn't, and was never intended to be an attack on religion or an attempt at "proselytising" for atheism. After all, an advert on a bus isn’t going to convert anyone, and whilst a few – but very few – commentators have seen it as "anti-religious", most have recognised it as a simple statement of non-religious beliefs.

.... and THAT's a matter of opinion and which test you are talking about

For a start, do not lump all muslims in the same pile.
A burka is only an item of clothing in some islamic countries.

Im guessing you are referring to the "ninja" look?

In Egypt it is called the Niqob. It is purely voluntary.
It is used so that the only being that can see the wearer is allah.
It is a religious item of clothing, and apparently is very refreshing for the wearer, as there is no one to stare at her. she is happy to be totally invisible to the "outside" world.

I had a long chat with a couple of Egyptian women. Both of whom cover their heads and do so because they want to, and not because they are forced to. They both said that they respect any woman who totally covers up, as it show religious devotion.

Just as some Jews wear a prayer shawl, and some xtians wear a cross around their neck to show their religious views, Egyptian women are proud to cover totally.

I am not saying that I am for subjugation of women, as anyone who knows me, will tell you that I am very much against anyone taking another's freedoms away, but you have to understand that some women do it voluntarily.

It may be abhorrent to you, and you may find it difficult to believe, but the power of someone's beliefs are an overwhelming factor.

LMAO!! I lived in Thailand for 7 years and there was no problem.
I currently live one hour from the border of the Palestinian occupied territories and I have just applied for a job in Beirut to teach English!

I obviously have a death wish!

It's all a matter for each to his own.

If you have the same imaginary friends as a few hundred thousand others then its a religion.

If you, alone, hear voices, then you are certifiably insane!

The difference is ... ?

Answers on a post card please to ...

The lines are blurred.
There is no black and white anywhere around here.

The Israelis respond with unreasonable force to a few missiles.

Hamas direct all aid to their own people.

Neither side is pure.

But what is true is that the Israelis use far greater force to achieve an aim than they need to.

They started by bombing the tunnels that they say are being used to transport weapons and supplies into the Strip.

They said (in 2006) that they targetted ambulances (with big red crosses and crescents) because they were being used as transport for weapons and supplis.

Im not so naieve to think that this didnt happen. I have lived with the Arabic peoples for a while and they do think differently.

But unless you stop the flow of money and weapons to the region from the West, there is no reason why they will stop.

All of the west is happy with destabilisation of the region. If it keeps them busy, then the West is not targetted for it's outrages.

If you plucked an Isreali, a Palestinian, a Lebanese christian and an Egyptian off their respective streets and put them in a restaurant and left them, they would actually peacefully co-exist, as they would use their common dislike of their own ruling parties to form a friendly respectable bond. (I have witnessed this, here in the Egyptian Sinai in a camp south of the Israeli border)

Studies prove they all are warm-hearted people and that being social and sociable is in their respective make ups.

It is only the governments and the counter-intelligence agitators that keep them from forming peace.

Amsterdam is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Because of the bikes, there is very little pollution.
The drugs you can take or leave. (I dont smoke)
Its very well laid out, if you can be bothered to read a map!
It has some stunning architecture.
Its cheap by comparison to London, Paris and Munich

So, you either had the wrong expectation before you went, or you didnt do any research.

Either way, you missed out.

The Middle East sees only a change in the dictator that will continue to support the Israelis - however they are are witholding judgment.

Until Mr Obama starts backing up his words with deeds, the Middle East will not take him seriously.

But then the money-men who put Mr Obama into office have more to say about that than he does.

If Bush and Blair havent been charged with war crimes, then the Israelis are very safe!!!

So, in essence, you dont know.

Just like the majority of the sheep - you will believe anything your media tells you.

1) The destruction of Israel is a rallying cry to a beleaguered people who need to know that they are getting bombed on a daily basis for something.
2) Gaza is not a city - this is obviously something you know nothing about - it is a region. The region doesnt have walls around it, it currently has 10,000 troops running amok.
3) Again, to bring the Israelis back to the table to debate why they are not even allowing humanitarian aid into the region.

... or stop shooting Red Crescent ambulances, blowing up schools and then get the US to stop funding Israel

You know this how?

Are you in the region?

Have you seen them transport weapons down the tunnels?

Ok ... cool

I happen to have a very close relationship with the region and it irks me that inaccuracies propounded by the US are believed, when in reality, nothing is further from the truth.

That is what you are lead to believe by your own media to justify the attacks made upon the US-backed Israeli govt.

I happen to know differently.

I happen to know that the Israelis bomb ambulances with Red Crosses on, I happen to know that the Israelis bomb the border of Rafah with impunity to prevent Egyptian aid from reaching the Gaza strip.
12km of flat desert is continually bombarded to break up the system of tunnels that the Palestinians use to get food to their people.

Hamas is your terrorist, they are, however, fighting for the freedom of their people and their right to exist

Im asking why you should have sympathy for me beating an annoyance and his family to within an inch of his life, when all the annoyance is doing is asking for the fundamental human right to exist - the answer is that you shouldnt.

Its a poor analogy.

Try this one.

I starve you, I prevent you from getting medical attention, I systematically brutalise your family, and then when you fight back with your bare hands, I then beat you senseless with a large stick and I get lots of friends to help you.

5 Israelis vs 500 Palestinians (mainly non-combatants)
F16s vs home made pipe bombs
10,000 troops armed with state-of-the-art weapons (funded and supplied by the US) vs rag-tag militia with old AK47s and sticks and stones (funded by Iran) - who were funded by the US.

Yep! seems totally justified response to me!

The goal of Israel’s campaign is to stop—or at least significantly reduce—the rocket fire, just as it was in the month-long war between Israel and the Lebanese Hizbullah in the summer of 2006.

Then, Mr Olmert was advised that aerial bombardment could silence the missile launchers, but Hizbullah’s missiles proved resilient (they were also more lethal than those used by Hamas now).

Three weeks later, and with a third of Lebanon virtually paralysed, grounds forces were sent in.

They performed poorly against the entrenched Hizbullah fighters and a cease-fire after three days left Hizbullah free to claim victory and Israel’s military and political leaders embroiled in mutual recriminations.

It is true that Israel has put up with the rockets from Gaza for a long time. But it may have been able to stop the rockets another way. For it is not quite true that Israel’s only demand in respect of Gaza has been for quiet along the border.

Israel has also been trying to undermine Hamas by clamping an economic blockade on Gaza, while boosting the economy of the West Bank, where the Palestinians’ more pliant secular movement, Fatah, holds sway.

Even during the now-lapsed truce, Israel prevented all but a trickle of humanitarian aid from entering the strip. So although Israel was provoked, Hamas can claim that it was provoked too. If Israel had ended the blockade, Hamas may have renewed the truce.

Indeed, on one reading of its motives, Hamas resumed fire to force Israel into a new truce on terms that would include opening the border.

Israel should not be surprised by the torrent of indignation it has aroused from around the world.

This is not just because people seldom back the side with the F-16s.

In general, a war must pass three tests to be justified.

A country must first have exhausted all other means of defending itself.

The attack should be proportionate to the objective.

And it must stand a reasonable chance of achieving its goal.

On all three of these tests Israel is on shakier ground than it cares to admit.

See, now I cant see this as being a good thing.

All year, we tell our children not to take gifts off strange men.

Then we say that we should call the police if someone breaks into the house.

So, on 25th December a fat old madman driving 6 flying reindeer will land on the house, climb down the chimney, eat the mince pie, drink the sherry/brandy/bottle of vodka and leave gifts all over the house.

... AND WE SANCTION THIS???
No wonder our children are neurotic!

Well, I wish they would just get on with it!

Then the US would be part of the British Commonwealth again!

Good plan ... I'd vote for it.

Rape is not about sex, its about power over someone. (either male or female rape)
Why do you think there were four of them? Because one of the spineless, chinless wonders didnt have enough power from his own scrotum to hustle up enough nerve to do it on his own.

They are nothing more than sub-human cowardly scum.

.......

I read with interest that there has to be some xtian in here bleating about how they are all so hard done by
A poor woman gets brutalised and he is moaning about how a group of people with an imaginary friend are getting marginalised!
... only here!!