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

[HotHotHeat]

An Atheist promotion group out of Toronto is planning to run ad campaigns in Calgary starting in March.

"We're not trying to insinuate that anyone's belief system is faulty. We're just trying to make the case for ours being just as acceptable," Trottier told CBC News.

The group is currently waiting for approval to put its ads on buses in Toronto. Similar campaigns have been launched in London, England, Madrid and Washington, D.C.

Trottier said the group chose Calgary as its second Canadian target because it has received a lot of support from city residents. It hopes to launch the Calgary campaign in March.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/sto...d.html?ref=rss

[burn_this_city]

I saw that the Bishop thinks this is offensive.

[FireFly]

That's not very atheist of them. That's more like an agnostic ad campaign.

[cKy]

Awesome. About time the other side gets a legitimate voice. Seems like they are doing it without trying to piss anyone off.

Atheist sounding or not.. I'm glad some group is coming out to say it without coming off as a bunch of super nazi rednecks.

[4X4]

Kinda lame if you ask me. I ended up atheist after being brought up in a fairly religious atmosphere. I didn't need anyone to tell me that there likely is no god. It's a deduction that I made on my own. And one of the things that I really have enjoyed the past few years, is that in general, Atheists do not 'preach'. This is preachy. I don't like it. Let everyone think what they want.

[pepper24]

Being an optimistic person I would love to know that there was a god-type figure looking over us and helping us be better people. Being a realist, I see no scientific proof to prove that there is a God. The Bible isn't proof. The bible was written centuries ago and translated many times by illiterate people many years after the dates that they write about with very few being witness' to these events. It doesn't add up and color me skeptical.

[malcolmk14]

in before this turns into a religion debate thread.

[HotHotHeat]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Kinda lame if you ask me. I ended up atheist after being brought up in a fairly religious atmosphere. I didn't need anyone to tell me that there likely is no god. It's a deduction that I made on my own. And one of the things that I really have enjoyed the past few years, is that in general, Atheists do not 'preach'. This is preachy. I don't like it. Let everyone think what they want.

That's a great point. I'm in the same boat...It was something I decided on my own time using my own deduction. I guess they would argue that this campaign is aimed at planting seeds in people's minds. We certainly hear enough from the other side.

I saw a Billboard one time that said "GOD IS WATCHING YOU". Creepy.

[pepper24]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Kinda lame if you ask me. I ended up atheist after being brought up in a fairly religious atmosphere. I didn't need anyone to tell me that there likely is no god. It's a deduction that I made on my own. And one of the things that I really have enjoyed the past few years, is that in general, Atheists do not 'preach'. This is preachy. I don't like it. Let everyone think what they want.

Agreed, let organized religion preach. If you don't have scientific proof then preaching and persuading people with theory not fact is all that you can do.

I also hate the word 'Athesist'. Folks that don't believe in God due to lack of scientific event should be called 'normal, sane people' instead.

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by malcolmk14

in before this turns into a religion debate thread.

whoops too late

[HotHotHeat]

Originally Posted by pepper24

Agreed, let organized religion preach. If you don't have scientific proof then preaching and persuading people with theory not fact is all that you can do. I also hate the word 'Athesist'. Folks that don't believe in God due to lack of scientific event should be called 'normal, sane people'.

I think a common misconception with religion is that faith is it's most important aspect.

Something that amazes me about humankind is the billions of people that have believed in a higher power, in some way, shape or form, throughout history. There is something to learn about human nature and desire when considering how many cultures have came to the conclusion that supernatural powers do exist without any communication between them.

I cannot grasp how so many people believe in something they've never seen. It's amazing actually. I don't mean to sound condescending.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by FireFly

That's not very atheist of them. That's more like an agnostic ad campaign.

It's a very common misconception that atheists stridently deny any possibility for the existence of a god. There might be a few atheists who make such a claim, but the vast majority of atheists I know, myself included, have the attitude more along the lines of "there isn't any evidence either way about the existence of god, and in the absence of such evidence, I choose to believe that no god exists".

[onetwo_threefour]

There is movement in the atheist/humanist camps to bring atheism out from the closet and represent it to the world as a legitimate way of thinking. By being fearful of putting this meesage out, the thought is that Religion 'wins' because it makes people think there is something to hide. By geting out there and matter of factly stating the atheist viewpoint, atheists are not preaching, they're just standing up in public the way any legitimate belief system should be able to.

Fred Henry makes me cringe and laugh all at the same time. He approves of Stephen Boisson publishing articles saying things about homosexuals based on his religious freedoms, but finds a public statement of the atheist viewpoint offensive. Sorry bub, some people feel that letting others delude themselves or be sold a bill of goods on evidence that no rational person should accept is wrong and bad for society, just like you believe it is wrong for gay relationships to exist and aren't afraid to tell anyone.

[octothorp]

I don't consider this really preachy. They know that nobody is going to be converted simply by looking at such a billboard, but if it does create dialogue, that's a positive thing. The ultimate goal should be to educate people as to what atheists are about, not to convert them.

Though the message of this poster does nothing to counter the perception that atheists are hedonistic. A moral code can be just as important to atheists as it is to religious folk.

[MelBridgeman]

Arrogant badstards!

[Locke]

Dont these people have jobs or hobbies or something else that should be occupying their time as obviously superior and productive members of society?

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

It's a very common misconception that atheists stridently deny any possibility for the existence of a god. There might be a few atheists who make such a claim, but the vast majority of atheists I know, myself included, have the attitude more along the lines of "there isn't any evidence either way about the existence of god, and in the absence of such evidence, I choose to believe that no god exists".

But the question of what is knowable is the primary concern of agnosticism. The position of this statement (as well as your description of yourself) is really the position of agnostic atheism. So a sort of atheism, yes, but not representative of the athiest viewpoint any more than that it's representative of the agnostic viewpoint.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by octothorp

But the question of what is knowable is the primary concern of agnosticism. The position of this statement (as well as your description of yourself) is really the position of agnostic atheism. So a sort of atheism, yes, but not representative of the athiest viewpoint any more than that it's representative of the agnostic viewpoint.

It's not an agnostic viewpoint so much as it is a weak atheism viewpoint.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weak_atheism

[4X4]

Originally Posted by octothorp

I don't consider this really preachy. They know that nobody is going to be converted simply by looking at such a billboard, but if it does create dialogue, that's a positive thing. The ultimate goal should be to educate people as to what atheists are about, not to convert them.

Though the message of this poster does nothing to counter the perception that atheists are hedonistic. A moral code can be just as important to atheists as it is to religious folk.

I suppose that I agree about sparking dialogue. And as for 'preachy', I don't mean that it's overboard or anything. Just saying that IMO, Atheism is not something that needs to be promoted. And I don't mean to come off as a snob, but it's not like religion. Religion needs new believers to perpetuate itself. Like tobacco companies need young smokers. (I am so going to pay for that comparison)

[HPLovecraft]

The best thing about being atheist and being with other atheists was that no one would be pushing a damn ideology on you. Now look!

What the hell am I supposed to be now?!

(I'm actually Agnostic, but still!)