'There's probably no God' coming to a bus near you

BY KELLY BURNS
Last updated 05:00 11/12/2009
NEXT STOP PURGATORY: The controversial advertisement  has upset  religious groups in Britain.

NEXT STOP PURGATORY: The controversial advertisement has upset religious groups in Britain.

Opinion poll

Is there a God?

Yes

No

I'm not sure

Vote Result

Relevant offers

An atheist campaign plans to raise $10,000 to run controversial slogan advertisements on New Zealand buses.

The adverts, which read "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life", created a storm when they ran on the London Underground and British buses earlier this year.

The campaign was launched here yesterday. New Zealand Atheist Bus Campaign spokesman Simon Fisher said it would provoke discussion on religion and take away the stigma of atheism.

"It's okay to say you don't believe in God," he said. "We like the slogan. It works, it's catchy, it's not perfect, it's a slogan, but it roughly encapsulates what we want to say."

The campaign will be funded by donations from the public, online at http://nogod.org.nz.

Mr Fisher hopes to raise $10,000 to pay for six bus advertisements in Auckland, four in Wellington and two in Christchurch. He hopes the slogans will be on buses by March 1.

The campaign began in London with a fundraising target of £5500 (NZ$12,350); so far it had raised more than £135,000 (NZ$303,100).

Since January more than 800 buses with the advertisements had been on the streets in Britain.

Other countries, including the United States, Canada, Italy, Spain, Australia, Finland and Germany, have run similar campaigns.

But there was a backlash from some religious groups. People who said they were offended made complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority – but the British watchdog ruled it did not breach advertising codes.

In the 2006 census, 34.7 per cent of people said they had no religion.

NZ Bus said it outsourced its advertising on its bus fleet to an external company, i-Site.

Wayne Chapman, chief executive of i-Site, said the advertisement did not appear to breach an advertising standards code but he would reserve judgment until the firm saw a final copy.

* This article is now closed for comment. Read what readers said below:

Ad Feedback

- © Fairfax NZ News

341 comments
Zoe   #341   11:43 am Dec 11 2009

LOVE IT! why should religious groups be the only one's that can stand up and voice their opinion. They can preach to anyone and everyone wherever they want, but as soon as someone with an opinion differing stand up they 'take offence'.

Dean Wilde   #340   11:42 am Dec 11 2009

Nic: Freedom of and from religion in a secular pluralistic society does not mean that people cannot express their views. No one is forcing you to change your beliefs. Are there no theistic adverts in your country?

Jimbo   #339   11:33 am Dec 11 2009

The religious logic that comes through these comments is absolute fail. Religion has no evidence only fear and smug assertions that when we die we will find out.

cant beleive they are still brandishing pascals wager! You seriously believe in eternal damnation? thats just weird, really twisted... pain that never ever ends... if there is a god he is worse than chris brown

VV01   #338   11:26 am Dec 11 2009

By not knowing God you are missing out on live?

careen   #337   11:25 am Dec 11 2009

if there is a God is life over as you know it, joy laughter and happiness do not exist?! what is the message proposing? that God is all bad, that all he wants to do is control us?!

do we not have the freedom to believe in him or chose not to?

if he doesn't exist than, awesome, your sweet. but what if he does...

Jax   #336   11:21 am Dec 11 2009

@ Ken Shipe #91,MattO #4, bruce #9 Sam #20,Belinda #83 & many many more Noob! Thats the slogan and that statement does not breach advertising codes. 100% there is no such thing as a god, I actually cant believe how many brain washed idiots we still have in this day and age. There are thousands of gods Also watch "The root of all evil" by Richard Dawkins Brilliant Documentary shows you how religion actually destroys the world.

Allen   #335   11:12 am Dec 11 2009

Oh, how weak. This is a nonsense campaign. The key word here is not God, but 'probably' - athesits can't even back themselves to make a certain statement. Why? Because it's about faith. Faith overcomes doubt and uncertainity - that is why it is called faith! If we could prove God, then it wouldn't be faith. Duh! (Sometimes you have to wonder whether athesits really think this through...). In fact, the statement in a reverse sense actually suggests that God exists - so maybe you should stop 'worrying' that God doesn't exist.

Oh, also such questioning is not new. It is old hat as all cultures have, in some way, questioned God...it is not some latter day relevation because of science or enlightenment.

In the end, if you believe good, if you don't that is your decision. We all live by the choices we make - just that I believe some have an eternal consequence. If you are willing to take that risk, that is your choice...remember eternity is a long time.

Jay   #334   10:51 am Dec 11 2009

I would prefer that it said "There is almost certainly no god. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life!". But perhaps the aim was to give it a light-hearted touch, to get past peoples defence mechanisms.

Ben   #333   10:51 am Dec 11 2009

@Aleisha #55 Buddha isn't a god, he was a Man. Infact Buddism is technically a god-less religion.

-- Using the word 'probably' grounds their slogan. Atheism is based on scientific proof, it is not a Faith. You cannot prove that an omnipotent invisible creature doesn't exist... But you can definitely reach the logical opinion that it really, probably doesn't.

I think for the majority of Atheists it is about opposing the obvious stupidity of blind faith in imaginary characters like jesus based on mistranslated fictional stories and the evil that those organized religions are causing around the world

Hamish   #332   10:51 am Dec 11 2009

Charles #102 you couldn’t have said it better. There are some of us (me included) who would rather call myself an "anti-theist" unlike some people who don’t believe in God but would like to wish it was true, I find the very thought of a celestial North Korea abhorrent, so in this way I am much happier that I hold no belief and instead rely on rational thought. Still... The billboards is a bit tacky & there are more effective methods of putting the message across without being in your face like some religious people are. The ultimate commandment (if there was one) would be “Do to others as you would have done to yourself”, hence I say religious people cannot really complain about the advertisement.


Show 282-331 of 341 comments
Special offers
Opinion poll

Which word or phrase do you find most annoying?

Whatever

Like

You know

Just sayin'

Seriously

None of the above

Vote Result

Related story: 'Whatever' world's most annoying word: poll

Featured Promotions

Sponsored Content