Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Professor Plum

Dead-eye Dick Dawkins is at it again. Dick and his humanist disciples are going to advertise on our bendy buses.

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

Let's just break that down, shall we?

"There's probably no God."
Yes, this is the best that science can come up with. "Probably". Science does not prove that there wasn't a creator. So it's basically a matter of belief or non-belief.

"Now stop worrying".
Just a minute. Who's doing the worrying?
Believers aren't worrying about whether there's a God.
Non-believers aren't worrying about whether there's a God.

"and enjoy your life."
If you're the sort of person who spends a lot of your time worrying whether there's a God, you sound like you've got a masochistic streak. So maybe you're the sort of person who enjoys this worrying.

Both the British Humanist Association and the Methodist Church believe the campaign will make people think.

It makes me think the £36,000 raised for the advertising would be better spent alleviating suffering somewhere.

18 comments:

  1. Anonymous3:16 PM

    This sort of thing wouldn't happen if there were still bus conductors.

    Some believers do worry: "I believe, forgive my unbelief" is a regular meditation; for (some) Anglicans it's ok to doubt.

    And I agree so very much. That money could be used without fanfare to quietly and effectively help people.

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  2. Thank you, I was trying to come up with something on this story. The Methodists also remarked that they welcomed the publicity for God, or some such trite nonsense (I suspect the media mangled this quote). I suspect that God is getting tired of all the publicity, and would welcome a day of rest.

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  3. Er, it's supposed to be an atheist slogan, how did 'probably' sneak in there? Hedging their bets, the wusses.

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  4. ER - well - actually it did make you think Geoff!
    And now you've made me think.
    But for £36,000 - I think it was a very expensive think.

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  5. Anonymous5:52 PM

    They had to say probably to satisfy advertising regulations.

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  6. it does make you wonder what they're trying to achieve ...

    Do people who believe in a god worry more than people who don't? Or vice versa?

    What is we're supposed to stop worrying about?

    Shit, I was enjoying life until I read this post and now I can't stop worrying about what it is I should be worrying about and whether I should/shouldn't believe there is/isn't a god . . .

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  7. No more bus conductors?

    You mean it's not like "On the Buses" round there anymore?

    *shattered*

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  8. The thing with these thoughts on buses though. You wait ages for a thought and then 4 come along together.

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  9. Arabella - It seems like it would need a lot of energy to worry so. And I'm sure the same would apply to some non-believers worrying if they're right. My dad turned from being a believer to being a non-believer when his sister died at 42. I'm sure it wasn't a sudden revelation, though. Maybe they're targeting people who are going through life-changing experiences.

    Vicus - Maybe God's own positive advertising should be on the top deck of the double deckers. Maybe on Boris's new Routemasters.

    Annie - "There is no God. Life is shit. There is no afterlife." That's what I would have.

    Kaz - It made me wonder who's going to "do" my funeral. I don't want no Christian and I don't want no humanist.

    Billy - The same thing happened with "Probably the best lager in the world."

    Ziggi - Look Dawkins, you've made Ziggi worried! You bastard!

    MJ - I'm afraid it's not anymore. But we still remember On The Buses.

    Murph - 4 bendy buses in a row would gridlock the whole of The Strand.

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  10. The only thing it made me think was 'bloody hell, it's expensive to advertise on bendy buses'. I like your slogan much more geoff.

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  11. You'd think Boris would want to keep them.

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  12. See, whether it's the Church or the ragtag Humanists, it's always the bloody middlemen that make everything so bloody expensive..
    bloody ad wizards!

    Actually I worry about "the question" morning, noon, and night. I'm good all the way back to the Big Bang and then I "got" nuthin? So then I have to imagine some facsimile of the "G" word.

    Atleast he is trying to get people to think about it instead of them killing the people who don't think about it exactly the way they do...
    which is really annoying.

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  13. Richard doesn't kill them.

    He has, however, got a large collection of voodoo dolls.

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  14. I'm beginning to think I'm going soft. First I enjoy 'Sunshine' and then I think, yes, that's a good idea - have a few slogans that don't encourage religion.
    I'm seem to be swimming upstream here.
    I like Richard Dawkins, if only because he dislikes religion. While I'm at it I might as well admit I like Blondie too!

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  15. I don't dislike Dawkins but he's in danger of promoting atheism on the same level as the obscure religious organisations you see advertised on public transport. Bus ads are very sad.

    Blondie are great.

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  16. Quite so Geoffrey.

    £36,000 would be much appreciated at White Hart Lane, I'm sure...

    ;?

    xxx
    Bob

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  17. A nice little earner for One Cup 'Arry.

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