Indiana Atheist Bus Campaign

Next stop for the atheist bus: Chicago (UPDATED)

May 21st, 2009

UPDATE: If you don’t believe we really have an ad this time, here’s a photo:

The Indiana Atheist Bus Campaign is excited to announce its over-the-border expansion to neighboring Chicago, Illinois with the slogan “In the beginning, man created God” beginning May 18th.

On May 11th we launched in South Bend, Indiana with “You can be good without God”, a slogan that challenges the notion that a good moral code requires supernatural direction and religion has a corner on morality. Our Chicago slogan espouses the idea that man created God as well as all religions, and encourages public and critical examination of the merits of religious belief.

The new slogan chosen for a Chicago was entirely paid for by a private donor to the organization. All other donations received up to this point have gone towards ads in South Bend with the original slogan “You can be good without God.”

These two slogans are favored by different members of our organization, reflecting the fact that atheism is not an all-encompassing worldview or philosophy. Our members all do not believe in a god, but beyond that we have different ideas about how to approach this campaign. Some of us wish to promote a positive message about atheism, and encourage atheists to “come out” publicly with their beliefs. Others wish to tackle religious belief head-on with science and evidence-based approaches.

As we move onward with the campaign, we would like to hear what you think of the two slogans and the statements they make. We will soon be adding a poll to the site where you can vote on which slogan you prefer. In the meantime, add your comments, and stay tuned for photos of the Chicago ads on buses.

If you are a Chicagoan, we’d love to see your photos; please email them to us at contact@INatheistbus.org . We can’t wait for this exciting new chapter in the Indiana Atheist Bus Campaign!

Entry Filed under: Uncategorized

181 Comments Add your own

1. Tommy | May 21st, 2009 at 5:15 pm

I have a slogan I would like to see on buses:
“I LOVE ROMAN LIONS”
2. Tommy | May 21st, 2009 at 5:37 pm

Here is another one:
“GOD IS NOT REAL. NONE OF THEM ARE”
3. Roy | May 21st, 2009 at 6:38 pm

What a bad bus slogan. That slogan pisses religious people off. Shouldn’t the goal be to prod them to think and discuss?
4. k | May 21st, 2009 at 7:32 pm

You guys are totally wrong!!! There is proof the GOD is real!!!! Read the BIBLE!!!! How do you think the world came about? GOD MADE IT!!! How do you think you got here, know you will say yout mother and your father, BUT WITHOUT GOD, YOU WON’T BE HERE!!! THINK ABOUT THAT!!!! GOD HAS ALWAYS BEEN AND ALWAYS WILL BE!!!! READ THE BIBLE, EXCEPT JESUS IN YOUR HEART AND REPENT NOW!!!!!
5. Tommy | May 21st, 2009 at 8:01 pm

K,
I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.
6. Simon | May 21st, 2009 at 10:09 pm

quoting ‘k’:
“EXCEPT JESUS IN YOUR HEART”

haha that’s typical

Maybe you should accept (ahem) that your world view is flawed, and begin questioning the brainwashing you have received, rather than accepting the Bible as a factual document.

In case it isn’t clear I take exception (huh?) to your post.
7. Vicky S | May 21st, 2009 at 10:11 pm

If there was ever a “god”..he’s gone on to “glory” now!

Love the slogan;)
8. Kevin | May 21st, 2009 at 10:17 pm

Comment number five. Tommy. Love that. Succint and illustrative. K, or whatever your name is, you sound either young, or uneducated. Maybe both. You may need to entertain the idea that you are brainwashed, as in a cult. You should seek an alternative viewpoint. It may save your sanity. Oh, and learn to spell for Crissakes.
9. Crim Gal | May 21st, 2009 at 10:55 pm

Sad that the INDIANA Atheist Bus campaign was so hell bent on spending hundreds of dollars to piss off believers that they left the state of Indiana to do it.

Non believers bent on making a change should focus their energy and money toward programming and building community centers for non believers to congregate and do good in the name of man instead of god. This whole bus project seems childish to me.
10. k | May 21st, 2009 at 10:58 pm

Tommy I still think you are a very lost person!!!!! I AM NO ATHEIST!!!!!!!!! i BELIEVE IN GOD!!!!!! DON’T EVEN PUT ME IN WITH ATHEIST. I JUST PRAY THAT ONE DAY YOU BECOME A BELIVIER!!! tEHN YOU WILL FIND HOW TRULY WONDERFUL IT IS TO BE CHRISTIAN!!!!!! i PRAY FOR YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
11. Sckhoo | May 21st, 2009 at 11:23 pm

K.

Which god? Zeus? Shiva?
12. nate | May 22nd, 2009 at 1:24 am

K,

I’d weep for you, but that’d be a waste of my precious time. I’m going to go read a book instead. Cheers.
13. Kyle Kivett | May 22nd, 2009 at 1:34 am

To “k”: While I appreciate your passion, you are pouring gasoline on the fire. Your emotional approach, while sincere, will only encourage your opponent (who has claimed the intellectual high ground) to continue their mocking. You might consider reading Paul’s travels in the book of Acts, in which he reasons with those who disagree with him. SCREAMING will only hurt your cause, but reasoning through the cosmological, teleological, & other arguments that have been discussed for hundreds of years might allow you to “give an answer for the hope that lies within you with gentleness and respect.”
14. nate | May 22nd, 2009 at 1:38 am

idea:

“Proof of God on other side of bus” (posted on both sides of the bus).
15. Simon Gardner (UK) | May 22nd, 2009 at 2:47 am

Will the Chicago atheist bus have its own web site?
16. rane | May 22nd, 2009 at 6:04 am

GOD IS REAL U CANT SAY HES NOT IVE SEENHIM AND READ BIBEL YOU CAN SEE FORYOUR SELF ITS THERE YOU WILL GO TO HELL I WILL BE SAVED ETERNAL HAPPINES HAHAHAHA HYOU DIE IN HELLFIRE AND IM LAUGHING TO YOU HAHAHAH ! ATHEISTS ARE SCUM I WIN
17. Simon | May 22nd, 2009 at 6:56 am

EXCEPT JESUS IN YOUR HEART AND REPENT NOW!!!!!
18. K | May 22nd, 2009 at 6:58 am

hahaha disregard that I suck cocks!!
19. BLeE | May 22nd, 2009 at 7:02 am

Tommy, while that quotation is great and often-used throughout the atheist pages and blogs on the net, you should give some credit to its original author. I believe his name is Stephen Roberts.
Your point is appropriate and well-worded though.
20. BLeE | May 22nd, 2009 at 7:04 am

And you’re right. There are certainly too few lion pits around these days. Perhaps we could start one, but let’s throw all the believers in there. The Romans had a good idea, but the Christians are only a fraction of the problem.
21. Apuch | May 22nd, 2009 at 7:08 am

Wow, what a great idea. Being good as in thoughtful, considerate, helpful and open minded etc. all just make sense. Seems to show caring for ones fellow man out of fear of some kind of spiritual smack down is more immature and sycophantic then living that way out of a desire to be more human and connected to humans. Religion is divisive by nature and design and quite thuggish in it’s practice of scarring children into following for fear of punishment.
Happy to see your campaign. Keep up the good work.
22. Paul | May 22nd, 2009 at 7:11 am

personally i find it very rude that K seams to think its ok to not only tell everyone else that we are all wrong because we don’t worship the same imaginary friend he/ or she does, but to push your mental problems off as helpful to me is just downright idiotic. You want to pray, pray for you, but leave me out of your delusion.
23. Chris | May 22nd, 2009 at 7:12 am

Love the slogan! Would be great to see something like that here in South Africa.
And “K”, try not to be so narrow minded, take all possibilities in consideration. Sit down and have a debate with yourself, think rationally about supernatural beings, read up a bit on religion, and other religions, how they came to be. You have a brain, so use it, try to grasp and understand all things.
24. Maia Caron | May 22nd, 2009 at 7:12 am

I love “You can be good without God.” It’s just pure clarity. Thanks to the donor who sponsored this bus.
25. jayextoo | May 22nd, 2009 at 7:17 am

if you don’t believe in God, Santa Claus makes your parents buy yo0ur xmas gifts. who0 wants that. except jeesus in your life.
26. oHai! | May 22nd, 2009 at 7:39 am

@Roy

Religious people are incapable of the same type of logical thinking you are used to do without a thought. That in mind, attempting to actually get a religious person to think is impossible.
27. Sarah | May 22nd, 2009 at 7:55 am

I really love this slogan. It’s simple and to the point. And Roy, don’t you think the bus ad has more than one function? It’s purpose is not only to provoke discussion among Christians, it is also to send a message to other nonbelievers that it’s alright to question and there are others like them! Also, I’ve been told I’m going to hell so many times I don’t particularly care if this campaign upsets people.
Great job on this!
28. TheHanna | May 22nd, 2009 at 8:43 am

I’ll be looking around for this when I get out of work this morning.
29. FlyingMan | May 22nd, 2009 at 9:09 am

To k:

Obvious Troll is obvious
30. Lee | May 22nd, 2009 at 9:59 am

Let the bus roll down to Dallas, TX! God didn’t create man, Man created god.
31. David Colquhoun | May 22nd, 2009 at 10:15 am

Great ro see that the atheist bus has reached the USA
That slogon is just so cool

Fiat lux. Let there be light (ie enlightenment)
32. Ron L | May 22nd, 2009 at 10:23 am

It’s time to play “Spot the Crazy People in the Thread”!

Your first clue…

Caplocks.
33. Sarah Smith | May 22nd, 2009 at 10:27 am

OMG I CAN’T SHOUT LOUD ENOUGH TO SAY I DON’T BELIEVE YOU UNBELIEVERS!

YOU MUST KNOW ALMIGHTY FLYING SPAGHETTI MONSTER CREATED US ALL!! HE HAS REACHED DOWN WITH HIS NOODLY APPENDAGE TO SAVE YOU.

REPENT NOW OR YOU WILL NEVER GET TO THE GREAT BEER VOLCANO IN THE SKY.
34. Paul Pickering | May 22nd, 2009 at 10:28 am

Fiat lux?

Chrysler, surely.
35. Charlie Hawthorne | May 22nd, 2009 at 10:49 am

I would love to donate to a Texas campaign if there is one in the making. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to donate to the others as well. I would greatly like to see the campaign spread to my home town…or at least near Houston.
36. Martin | May 22nd, 2009 at 11:13 am

I preferred the “You can be good without God” slogan. It was controversial, but also offered a small piece of wisdom on morality. It addressed only a part of religious belief, that is morality, so in a way it was bite sized wisdom. This new slogan is witty but doesn’t provide anything other than sheer controversy, by attacking the entire idea of God rather than a small manageable and defensible piece of it.

I realize causing controversy is part of the plan here, but you probably want to actually leave room for discussion and doubt amongst the religious community, rather than anger and dismissal of the atheist views.

I suppose what I’m trying to get across is simple. If a religious person and an atheist have a discussion about the first slogan, the atheist can easily defend the slogan with examples of moral atheist, and amoral theists. Where as defending the second slogan would be much more difficult as it covers a much broader range of topics.
37. Mike | May 22nd, 2009 at 12:43 pm

I love when people cry foul over these bus campaigns, forgetting (or not even noticing, since they’re so common) the amount of religious ads, billboards, etc all over the place. I’m with Dawkins and Hitchens regarding religion in that I believe in confronting it and calling it out for what it is – ignorance-inspired superstition, and nothing more. People are going to get pissed off no matter how you approach them to question their beliefs, but even anger can be and often is followed by introspection and thought.
38. Vicky S | May 22nd, 2009 at 12:45 pm

The way we do everything has evolved over 1,000’s of years.

Relgion is on it’s way out. Religious fanatics, you’ll just have to find another way to escape accepting responsibility for your own actions.
39. Denton | May 22nd, 2009 at 12:50 pm

@ Sarah Smith

pwned.
40. Denton | May 22nd, 2009 at 12:50 pm

@ Sarah Smith

epic win.
41. D. | May 22nd, 2009 at 1:03 pm

If God existed it would be necessary for us to abolish him.
-Bakunin
42. Tom Lewis | May 22nd, 2009 at 2:20 pm

One problem with a belief in God, IF he was real I am pretty sure he doesn’t want nutters making him look stupid, just thought i should bring that up… for all those who didn’t realize, I’m not religious, I’m a child and fed up having to be taught R.E in school.
43. Pat Z | May 22nd, 2009 at 2:25 pm

To everyone who has responded to “K”, welcome to the Internet. YHBT (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=YHBT)

“Excepted”??? Come on!!!!! Idiots.

Regarding the bus in Chicago, while I have yet to see it, I applaud your efforts. Keep up the good work.
44. Artemis Marie | May 22nd, 2009 at 2:58 pm

@ oHai!

Please have some consideration for the Christians that aren’t outspoken and can accept other person’s beliefs. I would like to ask why do you keep insisting on showing Christians that they are wrong, but then I would have to ask the Christians the same thing. I am a Catholic, and I enjoy finding out what the historicly (sp?) accurate version of the past is. But please while you continue to prove everything in the Bible inaccurate or just plain wrong, please don’t try to destroy my innocent belief.
45. Phil E. Drifter | May 22nd, 2009 at 3:04 pm

rAmen, Sarah Smith. I’ve been touched by His noodly appendage!
46. Phil E. Drifter | May 22nd, 2009 at 3:06 pm

Two hands working together accomplish more than a thousand clasped in prayer, k.
47. N | May 22nd, 2009 at 3:22 pm

I’m honestly hoping that K is trying to mock Christians by pretending to be a stupid one.

If not, please, try using lowercase letters where appropriate, and downloading a browser with spell check (Google Chrome is quite effective). You’re hurting your cause far more than helping it.

I do not fully understand the point of this campaign. It seems to simply be making atheism out as another religion. As an atheist, I find it more important to encourage secular thought than to draw battle lines on religious terms. The ad makes no argument, it simply declares the atheistic view; this isn’t the least bit helpful.
48. jesus | May 22nd, 2009 at 3:45 pm

I’m Jesus Christ and I approve of this message ~
49. j. frank parnell | May 22nd, 2009 at 3:53 pm

I just want to laugh at all the religious nuts who flip out at anything even vaguely against their beloved God and their so-called religion. The Christian bible is just a book written a couple thousand years ago that is not relevant today and makes an excellent doorstop. Keep up the great work with the atheist campaign. You have my support!
50. Matt | May 22nd, 2009 at 4:01 pm

how long till the adds are expected to be on smaller towns bussing?
51. Chris | May 22nd, 2009 at 4:02 pm

I just donated $50. I wish I could donate more.
52. Tomas | May 22nd, 2009 at 4:12 pm

The slogan is good. But I prefer the Indiana one, it provokes more thought. I wish we had something like this in LIthuania
53. God | May 22nd, 2009 at 4:21 pm

Here’s your proof that I exist! Repent!!!

I demand cheesecake! And virgins! For I am a hungry god! (If you know what I mean…XD)
54. k | May 22nd, 2009 at 4:28 pm

Say what you want about me and my beliefs, it doesn’t matter!! I was just trying to spread GOD”S WORD!!!! I know for a fact where I’ll be when the rapture happens I’ll be in HEAVEN with GOD and JESUS and ALL THE REST OF THE CHRISTIANS!!! I pray for all you lost ones out there!!!
55. just another rational thinker | May 22nd, 2009 at 4:36 pm

Great job fellow rational thinkers of Chicago! Let us brighten the darkness with the light of reason!

Also i would like to point out one exceptional thinker amongst us-Kyle Kivett (post number 13).
Your response was beautifully articulated, poignant and without arrogance. We need more people like you.
56. Cosmic Star Goat | May 22nd, 2009 at 4:44 pm

The one True God is The Cosmic Star Goat. StarGoat gave hir only Forgotten Son, Billy to die on the Wholley BBQ Pit for your sins. Believe in StarGoat and Billy and be saved or on Judgment Day StarGoat will eat you and you will stew in the Wholly Bile forever and forever. Braise hir Mane!

CSG
57. Troy | May 22nd, 2009 at 4:49 pm

TO: K

I really wish that the Christian ‘God’ existed and that he would ‘RAPTURE’ you all away like a thief in the night…maybe then we’d get to relax.

ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS,
CHILDREN OF THE BEAST.
FIGHT YOUR WARS FOR JEEEEESSUUUUUUS
FIGHT TILL YOU’RE DECEASED!!!!!!
58. J Dogg | May 22nd, 2009 at 5:23 pm

It is flat out AMAZING that people still believe in a higher power. It’s so so stupid. Read comment 41; quite embarrassing. I think I’m gonna go create a book with a bunch of crap in it and make up my own religion.
59. Jessica | May 22nd, 2009 at 5:26 pm

Sounds great!
I hope to spend a lot of time in Chicago this summer (though I probably won’t, I /hope/)
It would be awesome to see it. ^_^
60. . | May 22nd, 2009 at 5:29 pm

JEEBUS DOESNT EXIEST!!!!!!! I KNO BC HE TOLD MEEEEEEE!!!!!
61. Longhairguy | May 22nd, 2009 at 5:39 pm

K, what Tommy tried to explain to you earlier which you just threw back at him without understanding is that you ARE an atheist. for example, you do not believe in Shiva, Vishnu, Allah etc… Therefore you are an atheist to those religions. Why do you pass of those religions as false and believe your own fantasy? When you realise why you do this, you will understand why we believe that there is no god.
62. hik | May 22nd, 2009 at 5:42 pm

@k

did you know that prayer has absolutely no effect on our world as we can perceive it? many many studies and tests have been done involving (for example) one cancer victim being prayed for and another with the same kind of cancer (terminal) as the first not being prayed for, and guess what? none of them have ever showed any positive effect from prayer.

if i remember correctly there are passages in the bible where Jesus says that ANYTHING you pray for will be yours if you truly believe in god. my mom and sister used to pray every day for world peace, to end breast cancer (my aunt died of breast cancer) and to feed the hungry, heal the sick ect…
do you know what happened? if you don’t just watch some TV, nothing has changed, face it, prayer has no influence, if god DOES exist and he IS listening, he’s ignoring your prayers.
63. zg235 | May 22nd, 2009 at 6:26 pm

k: have fun with that. I look forward to the rapture, it’ll be nice going down the street without the religious bigots bible-thumping at me!

I love this whole thing so hard.
64. A | May 22nd, 2009 at 6:27 pm

y’alls is postin’ in a troll thread now
65. Zero | May 22nd, 2009 at 6:50 pm

Spread the message north of the border to MI, too. I’d be more than happy to see it here.
66. k | May 22nd, 2009 at 6:56 pm

DISREGARD THAT I SUCK COCKS!!!!!
67. Cassie | May 22nd, 2009 at 7:22 pm

K,

You are a wackadoodle.
68. Daniel | May 22nd, 2009 at 8:23 pm

Yawn.
69. Rrrrrrrrrraaaaawwwwrrrrr | May 22nd, 2009 at 8:35 pm

Spreading what, who now?
You’re spitting all over yourself, quit it, calm down for a minute..
What’s this.. God? Jesus? The rest of the Christians.. A bunch of assholes hiding behind masks?

I doubt I’d ever want to sit in a white cloud with a bunch of dip-shits who have the active personality of Holier-than-thou.

God’s word, tell me why God’s word has to be spread like a pyramid scheme?

“Say what you want about me and my beliefs, it doesn’t matter!!”
Do you think we give a shit?

Troll or not, find something productive to do with your life.
You’re a tool.
70. babaloo | May 22nd, 2009 at 8:35 pm

my main problum when peole say “raed the bilbe, its proof god exists” is that the bible was NOT written by “god” it was written by man in fact many men if i rember correctly seeing as how the bible has the torah in it.
im not here to fight or try to make people see my way, i dont care what your religion is or how you live your life, just dont try to push your ways onto me and well get along just fine.

(sorry for any spelling errors i just cant spell very well and dont feel like checking it)
71. lmnop | May 22nd, 2009 at 8:42 pm

‘K,’

The problem is that, if God exists, he’s a horrible monster. People are starving in the streets. Children are dying of malnutrition. Cancer and other horrible diseases kill our loved ones. People slaughter whales and elephants and puppies and kittens.

Either God can stop this suffering and he chooses not to, or he can’t, so he’s not really a God.
72. Alison | May 22nd, 2009 at 8:49 pm

I would just like to say thank you. So much Christian advertising, and when we try to advertise we get shot down immediately? Talk about freedom of speech and religion.
73. Nick | May 22nd, 2009 at 9:30 pm

This kind of dialogue between believers and nonbelievers is exactly the kind of intellectual dialog Jesus would have enjoyed and approved of….were he to have actually existed.
74. Absolute | May 22nd, 2009 at 9:42 pm

K, seriously. I’m not sure at this point weather or not you are trolling, but please listen. I’m not going to try and convince you of anything, but please, if you are trying to convince us that Yahweh does exist, at lease try to be calm about it. The capital letters are not needed. While we respect your opinions, make sure your statements are well thought out.

And please, if everything in the Bible is true, then why do most Christians ignore much of what is written in Leviticus? Is that not also the word of God?
75. Absolute | May 22nd, 2009 at 9:49 pm

Dang, I typed ‘please’ three times. Maybe that’s a bit too beggar-ish.
76. Mike | May 22nd, 2009 at 10:03 pm

K is one of those people who wants to believe.Nothing anyone can say will change his or her mind.
I think the idea of slogans on a bus is a wonderful idea.Some one wrote it was silly.It takes one pebble to start a mountain.Look how long it took for colored people to have rights.Changing or asking people to accept what is different isn’t an easy task.It will take time but people are getting wiser as time goes on.
Keep up what your doing!Others will follow and join in.
77. Sarah! (another one) | May 22nd, 2009 at 10:54 pm

I think it’s so stupid to argue over religion. Either being that god exists or he doesn’t. you know what? We’ll find out what’s real when we die – and that’s something I’m not ready to do right now.

And I agree with the other’s that are saying a better quote would have been the ‘being good without god’.

And, on a second note, I’ve known plenty of intelligent Christians who aren’t bible thumpers. I’m just sure none of them have internet. (: Or stumble. haha.
78. Brian | May 22nd, 2009 at 11:00 pm

Wow k. Such passion. Cute. You know, when people shout like you do, it is usually more out of fear than true conviction. You should look inside yourself to see why your faith is so easily shaken. Maybe it’s foundation is not as strong as you’d like to believe it to be. Maybe you should listen to that little voice of indecision you seem to be trying to drown out with your loud screamy voice.
79. Ryan | May 22nd, 2009 at 11:21 pm

Stainers, repaint!

‘K’ : as an FYI, God kills an unborn child for every extra capitalized letter you type, and one kitten for every superfluous exclamation point… keep that in mind baby killer!
80. reese | May 22nd, 2009 at 11:39 pm

after reading these comments i think the atheists have higher IQs k sorry you poor thing did you go over what you have rited up theyre
81. Kurt | May 22nd, 2009 at 11:42 pm

Someone smarter than me once said, “God is a Concept by which
we measure our pain.”
82. Megan | May 22nd, 2009 at 11:54 pm

MY NAME IS K. APPARENTLY MY PARENTS WERE TOO LAZY TO GIVE ME A PROPER NAME, AS THEY WERE TOO BUSY READING THE BUY-BULL.

I CAN’T WAIT TO DIE SO I CAN REALLY START LIVING, YOU KNOW?!?!?? I JUST CAN’T WAIT TO BE IN HEAVEN. GOD WILL BE THERE, AND JESUS, AND MARSHMALLOWS, AND ALL THE CUTE LITTLE PUPPIES EVER!!! LIKE TOTALLY OMG LOLOLOLOL!!!! EXCEPT CHRIST INTO YOUR HARTS AND LUV HIM WITH ALL UR SOLE.

On a more serious note, thanks for “spreading the word”, k. I don’t believe any of us have EVER heard that before. Ever. Really. You’re the first. You’re like some kind of hero.

Or maybe you’re just 12 years old and haven’t realized that one day when you’re finally 18, you’re going to be on Girls Gone Wild only wearing a crucifix necklace. But, it’s okay, because you’re a Christian and love Jesus, and he forgives that kind of thing.

Anyway, I like this slogan more than the others. And, like someone said before, I really wish this would come to Houston, too.
83. Arthur | May 23rd, 2009 at 12:41 am

i’ve been thinking for quite sometime now, that there’s a huge problema about atheism and stuff, speaking of words, atehist means, you beleieve in no god, i mean, atheist is by no means (at least in the strict meaning of the word) synonym of anti-christ.

i really think that people are free to believe in whatever idiotic shit they like, including gods, or fairies, or harry potter, cuz i know i don’t believe in gods, it’s enough for me.

but, i still pity those who completely devout their lives and bodies and minds to a useless cause like religion, but i don’t waste all of my time trying to discredit something that i don’t approve and don’t know either.

so, think about it, would yo like to be an atheist, or an anti-christ, actually reading the bible, and knowing what it’s about, far better than the average religious Joe and Sally?
84. Chris | May 23rd, 2009 at 1:27 am

Well I like both of these slogans. Great Idea.
K and all you other believers out there, I would appreciate it if you kept your beliefs to yourself and did not ‘pray’ for me. I have no problem with your religion, until you start advertising it like some kind of new fangled, non-working make-up product.
And one last thing that I will quote from a friend of mine who I shall call SubJunk: “God made me an atheist, who are you to question his wisdom?” In other words, if you believe in god, then you believe that he has a reason for everything, including me being an atheist. So don’t try to convert us. It won’t work. And for sake of our sanity, stop coming to our homes like sales-men trying to get us to join you.
85. Estabon | May 23rd, 2009 at 1:41 am

Fact: The Bible was written by men and is therefore a flawed document.
Fact: Nobody who wrote about Jesus met him.
Fact: Dirt + Water =/= Man.

To believe that the Bible is fact is to live in a bubble of ignorance shrowded in a veil of sheer stupidity. Believe what you want, but I for one will never allow myself to believe that a cosmic Jewish zombie who is his own father impregnated his mother who gave birth to him so that he could die on the cross like thousands of other criminals to save humanity from the evil that is both externally personified as a tiny man with horns as well as recognized as an internal motivation for everything “bad.”

Thank evolution for Reason.
86. Howie | May 23rd, 2009 at 1:43 am

lol In america, all the laws that were put in place were all created by mostly all religious people, Well having said that the ten commands are broken all the time in the name of god, by religious people and further more the death penatly breaks one of these commands lol. it seems religion is very hipacridical dont ya think,,I live by a set of spirtiual principlies, called morals and values,right and wrong
87. Michael Gray | May 23rd, 2009 at 6:23 am

I’m from Australia.
I want to ask a serious question, and obtain a serious reply.

Q: Why do the responses proffered by the “religious” on this type of forum always come across as absolutely and totally ignorant, infantile & INSANE?

Such embarrassing public superstitious imbecility is almost non-existent on this side of the Pacific.
88. Fred Sanford | May 23rd, 2009 at 9:22 am

I notice your slogan says ‘God’. Why be so ambiguous? If you are truly brave in your attempt to lure people into your way of thinking, why not be a little more honest?

You are mainly targetting Christianity, or at least that is who you hope to make the most mad with your campaign. I challenge you to go one further, so as to take out any doubts whatsoever, that you are TRULY atheist and believe ALL gods to be false. Have a ‘fair use’ campaign, have your stickers say ‘You can be good without Jesus’ and also say ‘You can be good without Mohammed’ and finally ‘You can be good without Yaweh’.

Lets see just how far you get with that campain. What could you possibly have to worry about? After all, you dont fear the ‘Gods’ themselves, so what possible problems could arise?
89. Brian | May 23rd, 2009 at 9:27 am

Fuck organised religion, atheism FTW.
How’s this for an atheist advertisement…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0fFuAK7uUA&feature=channel_page
90. Rene | May 23rd, 2009 at 10:41 am

HELP!!! I’m lost! Has anyone seen Jesus?
91. Kyle | May 23rd, 2009 at 10:47 am

Oh man, this is awesome, I was hoping these would come to Chicago!

I only wish the slogan was a little more pushy, like that other bus campaign with “God is probably not real”. With this slogan people probably aren’t going to grasp the meaning fast enough.

But that’s okay, I’m donating to this, I can’t wait to see them.
92. microwaveb | May 23rd, 2009 at 10:52 am

Successful troll is successful. +10 internets for twice admitting to being a troll yet being ignored.
93. Rene | May 23rd, 2009 at 10:56 am

Everyone is telling this troll “K” to find something better to do, but here we are arguing like a bunch of pompous douche-bags! Showcasing your philosophical knowledge on this board won’t win any battles against religion. Instead, it will piss off more people and reinforce their belief that they are right, and we are wrong! Wanna beat them at their own game? Become a better person! Volunteer your time to help those less fortunate! Donate your time, energy, and resources to a better cause! Help your community thrive so that others can share the comfort you take for granted. Only then will your views be appreciated and understood. Spitting your thoughts and ideas won’t convince anyone otherwise. Stop the talking, start the change!
94. BeatBox | May 23rd, 2009 at 12:42 pm

Funny how the element of proof of god is always the bible, although a great story for the human imagination it really can’t be taken seriously. Until people wake up and realize that the origin of the universe is far more complex than a story book character unleashing hate and disaster all over the earth, we are all fucked.

utilize the greatness of mother earth, take a look around and know that everything around you is why you are here….. Science will not fail us unless Religion destroys everything first. Atheist and all non-believing views must prevail for us to survive. These bus slogans are a good idea but i fear attacks upon them will come as narrow minded religious nuts can only turn to violence to express their views…. because that’s what the bible tells them to do.

“If we dropped religion what would there be to fight about?”

“A man with a belief in god is a coward without belief in himself”
95. Scott Pleune | May 23rd, 2009 at 1:43 pm

Great Ad! Funny! Thought provoking. We humans do create our gods, goddesses, hells, heavens, etc. Best wishes and efforts, Scotty
96. Laura | May 23rd, 2009 at 5:56 pm

Tongue and cheek, Love the ads. I’d like to see something about respect for diffent beliefs. I respect the rights of believers, why are my rights as an athiest not equally deserving? I’d like to see a clever slogan with that in mind. I’m a Unitarian universalist atheist. There are lots of “good books” not just one.
97. Juan | May 23rd, 2009 at 8:18 pm

Quite gender-centric, though
98. Eric | May 23rd, 2009 at 9:09 pm

“In the beginning, man created god.”

I like it!
99. screw it | May 23rd, 2009 at 10:31 pm

why can’t we all just live and let live? what’s so wrong with that? even richard dawkins acknowledges that could be a god, no matter how unlikely it may seem to us now. i’m an atheist, but more importantly, i am a free person, with all the freedom in the world to believe what i believe and to let others live as they live, because at the end of the day, everyone’s opinions and beliefs are just like assholes: everyone has one, and if left unchecked, it becomes vile and repulsive to others. So then, why must we taint ourselves with such unnecessary arguing? what difference will it make if someone says they believe or do not believe in whoever?
100. steve | May 23rd, 2009 at 10:35 pm

In the beginning – there was a big bang
101. H.M | May 23rd, 2009 at 11:09 pm

Obviously we all know arguing gets us nowhere. There is no way anyone can change someone’s mind for them, especially through blog…. However, I’m not understanding why some think that Christians are not logical and are against science, are Bible thumpers, and are out here thinking that they can change you? The hardness of your heart has caused you to misjudge Christians. You’ve met “hypocrite” Christians and now ALL Christians are that way, or a Christian came on too strong and now ALL Christians are Bible thumpers that want to scare you into repenting. Please understand that Christians do not gain anything on earth from talking to you about God. (which should be clue #1…) Please understand that God is merciful but He’s also just. If a guy robs a store and kills someone but before that was a “good guy” what should the penalty be? If the judge is a just judge they will give the guy just penalty according to the law right? It’s the same thing with God, He has laws that we ALL have broken. We ALL have free will. God doesn’t force Himself on us, we choose to believe or not to believe. I’d like to share w you that because of man’s free will, the world is in chaos, not cause of God. Everyone has their OWN standards of what is right or moral, leaving it pretty much a free for all. Please, when you have time (which I hope is soon cause tomorrow is not promised to ANY of us) take time to really examine and be honest as to why you don’t believe in God, your Creator. Whether Atheist or Christian, I hope for your well being
102. john | May 23rd, 2009 at 11:12 pm

When most ppl learn how to ride bikes, they use training wheels. Just like how most ppl need a vengeful god to be good. I grew out my training wheels, and still knew how to ride a bike. However, if ppl need their training wheels longer..who are we to deny them. Unless of course they take the training wheels and start using them to beat a stray cat. Then they should be set straight by any means.

Just for those ppl who do not understand the metaphors,
training wheels = religion and fear of god
riding a bike = having decency and morals
beating a stray cat = wars caused by religion
103. H.M | May 23rd, 2009 at 11:33 pm

But then who sets the standards for humans? Do we each pick and choose what’s right and wrong, we see where leaving it up to “man” has gotten us…. The ROOT of wars is not religion (which by the way is a vague word to me and I see Christianity as a relationship w God) that’s just a cover for the evil that’s already here. The world is running around like a chicken w their head cut off trying to decipher what is right from wrong. In the meantime, the devil is having a field day with us pinning one another against each other and trying to keep people as far away from God as possible. So yes, it’s a very intellegent plan. Make people think that the CAUSE of the turmoil is BECAUSE of GOD and belief in HIM, the very One we ALL need.
104. john | May 24th, 2009 at 12:04 am

I prefer to choose my own standard for good and evil, then let a couple of books, written by random people scare me when making my choices by threatening my afterlife with damnation by their invisible friend.

And I’m pretty sure all the non-believers have already picked a standard:
Don’t hurt others. Be it physically, mentally or financially.
Why?
Because you wouldn’t like it if someone did it to you.

Honestly, if someone, say your neighbor, claims he has a friend who no one can see, hear, feel.. would u believe them? The only reason people believe in God is because they have been repeatedly told of his existence by people they respect and trust (ie. their parents). But OMFSM! (flying spaghetti monster) they also told u about Santa clause! and the tooth fairy! .. I guess they’re not so trustworthy after all are they?

I had given the “One” plenty of chances to prove himself….but Mr. Omnipresent decided not to reveal himself. So to me, he either doesn’t exist, or likes to watch me while being in invisibility mode. and if it’s the latter…I’m not so sure I want him as my God :S .
105. john | May 24th, 2009 at 12:12 am

And also, i take offense to those referring to god as “the ONE”. I was raised a Hindu, and Hindus believe in many Gods.

And for those wondering why I’m stating this…I believe in what my religion has taught me… Any religion, if examined closely tells you the same thing.. be good. dont harm others…and since i follow that guidline… I still consider myself to be Hindu…and yet I do not believe in a higher being.

So I consider myself to be a better person than those being good because they don’t want to go to hell. I do it for myself. I wasn’t scared into acting morally. and by any off chance there is a God…I’d get in heaven…unlike the posers, who just act nice.
106. Konraden | May 24th, 2009 at 12:17 am

@k: Nice /b/ reference. *wink wink*

As for the campaign. THANK. GOD. I’m tired (really) or the pussyfooting around the issue. Most atheists here will contend to being strong positive atheists. They will make the claim that they 99.99% know that any gods exist. Slogans like this just further that view, and I’m happy for it. We need to get messages across on multiple fronts.

1. Atheist Outing: we need to come out of the figurative closet, and encourage other people to come out of that closet.
2. Atheist Morality: We need to disprove this old myth about amoral atheists, and more so, we need to disprove a lot of atheist myths. We need to better the image of atheism. It’s pretty tarnished among believers because of the hate and propaganda spread by the religious institutions.
3. We need to spread the message of disbelief (or rather, the lack of) and encourage open-minded, rational thought amongst people. One can have a personal belief in any gods, but when they start wanting to pass laws based on their gods and their religions, that is when I, and we, should be fighting back.
107. dave | May 24th, 2009 at 12:54 am

all I wanted was a Pepsi!
108. H.M | May 24th, 2009 at 1:00 am

There’s one main thing that separates Christianity from other religions and that’s dealing with sin. No other religion has the solution for their sins outside of what THEYcan do to fix themselves, the very people (all of us) that sin try to get themselves out of sin.Or people don’t know that we are all born with a sinful nature or people think that if there is a heaven good works will get them in. (or being a good person)

The only problem with being a good person is, who is the judge? Who’s to say that my works are good enough to get me into God’s Heaven? Wouldn’t God be the one to set the standard to get into Heaven rather than man? We’d all be running around trying to out do each other or be paranoid that our behavior wasn’t good enough to get in. Being a Christian is definetly not being scared into acting moral or good, how long do you think THAT would last?

Like I said before, no one can change another person anyway. It’s a thoughtful decision, not one just based off of emotions. It’s acknowledging that I am a sinner according to God’s laws and am separated from Him because of my sin. The wages of sin is death, meaning I’m going to hell without an intervention. However, there was an intervention, which is Jesus Christ. He died for our sins and took the punishment instead of us.

I wasn’t raised in a Christian home and actually both of my parents are dead. As a matter of fact, I was pretty much the only Christian in my family for a long while. I’ve walked out of churches because I didn’t like what the pastor was saying, threw Bibles, and was just over all frustrated and irritated with all of it and other things at the time. (i aplogize for the life story lol)
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word. Meaning the more you hear God’s word, which is through the Bible and other ways such as preaching from God’s word or music, the more your heart unhardens and God reveals Himself to you, and this is what you were praying about right? However, if you don’t pursue Him and surround yourself with opportunities (and not just one or two times) to hear the word, you think “Oh, He’s not real, this doesn’t work.” I know because I have tried it, not taking anyone elses beliefs at face value. (trust me that didn’t work!)

If you want Him to reveal Himself to you draw close to Him and He will draw close to you. But of course the decision is up to you. Have a good night
109. Derek Wilham | May 24th, 2009 at 1:17 am

“They say the captain goes down with the ship. So when the world ends, will God go down with it?” -The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Since God is “man-made”, the answer is yes.

With out people, there would be no God.
110. Jerseygirl | May 24th, 2009 at 5:34 am

Response to Crim Girl. I disagree with your assessment that the bus campaign is “childish”. However, I like your suggestion to have a gathering place where like-minded people can meet and exchange ideas.

How about it Atheist Bus people? I’d contribute to the cause!

Peace
111. Coolvibe | May 24th, 2009 at 6:36 am

If God is so all-powerful, why doesn’t he just make that bus disappear? I guess he can’t, as far as I know that bus is still driving around. The only thing that can get that sign off that bus is litigation.

Face it. God does not exist.

And an Atheist is as much entitled to an opinion as a christian is. So instead of litigating that sign off that bus, try rational discussion. Oh wait, christians like K aren’t capable of such a thing.
112. Kacey | May 24th, 2009 at 8:05 am

What’s the motivation for the signs?
Are we entertaining ourselves here, with these signs? Mooning people on their way to church? Because hey, that’s good sport sometimes, especially if you bring beer. Or are we trying to make more atheists?
If the latter, then perhaps we ought to rock out on the kindness and compassion, speak the language of love while their own ministers rail against this or that sin against God. We can say ‘Be happy. You’re moral because you’re human. Isn’t it awesome?’ and other such things. Let’s show these people the sh*teating grin of the unburdened spirit, or whatever, and lose some of that vitriol. I know it’s fun. I know it’s true. But nobody likes to have it waggled in their face, which is the move with the use of Genesis 1:1. The religious right has enough vitriol for everybody, with their ‘issues’, and moreover, they LOVE to be under attack. So let’s show them how nice grown-ups behave: good without god. And remember to smile!!
113. kymzii | May 24th, 2009 at 9:13 am

Excellent slogan! Keep up the great work.
114. Kyel | May 24th, 2009 at 9:48 am

@ Michael Gray
In answer to your question, it is because the intelligent Christians out there, and yes they do actually exist, know that there is no point waging an internet war about whether God exists or not. There is no proof in the bible he exists, it was written by man and should be taken with a grain of salt. Proof only comes from individual experience, understanding and acceptance of a world beyond our own. Not everyone will have the experiences that leads to the conclusion of God, and those who have merely been taught what to believe from a young age often have less of an understanding of who they worship than those who don’t worship at all. And, as an Australian, I have to agree with you – there’s no so many crazies down here, it’s rather nice.
115. Bill - mynameisonphire@gmail.com | May 24th, 2009 at 10:30 am

I’m certainly an atheist, but it’s shit like this that made me dislike Christianity to begin with.. The fact that they can’t respect you enough to keep from rubbing their beliefs in your face.

This is no different.
116. Tommy | May 24th, 2009 at 10:52 am

Science flew us to the Moon.
Religion flew us into the Twin Towers.
117. Jules | May 24th, 2009 at 11:25 am

There are hundreds of paths up the mountain, all leading in the same direction, so it doesn’t matter which path you take. The only one wasting time is the one who runs around and around the mountain, telling everyone that his or her path is wrong.

I’ve forgotten now who said this, but it rings true.
118. Jules | May 24th, 2009 at 11:29 am

also, http://rationalwiki.com/wiki/Agnostic_Atheism_Wager

and please bring these buses to Boston! =)
119. Ray | May 24th, 2009 at 12:13 pm

Hey people, don’t feed the trolls
120. ThinkingInsteadOfBelieving | May 24th, 2009 at 12:36 pm

One of the more amusing facts is that nearly all of the theists that have posted a response here display an almost complete lack of education and intelligence. Poor spelling, poor grammar, overuse of capitalization and exclamation marks, complete lack of reasoning skills; you name it.

But of course, we should believe them, since everything is written in the bible, the bible is the word of god, and therefore true (just ignore the circular reasoning). We should also believe that god exists because one of the poor bastards claims he “saw” god (stay of the ’shrooms).

On a related note and @H.M.: “If you want Him to reveal Himself to you draw close to Him and He will draw close to you. But of course the decision is up to you.”

No he won’t. If god is real, his presence / existence should be quantifiable / measurable; it should not be a subjective experience. It’s not a matter of “deciding”; he’s either real or not, and this should be falsifiable. However, theists have constructed god in such a way that his existence is not falsifiable. Way to go, theists. You have constructed the perfect scam.

Oh, and let’s not forget that if we do not yet have an explanation for something, it seems “logical” to simply claim that god must be responsible for it. Sure. No argument there.

Please. For the sake of logic. For the sake of reason. For the sake of mankind: get your heads out of your asses, stop praying for me to be saved (I’m already enlightened, I do not need to be “saved”), do something productive instead of praying, or get sterilized and remove yourselves from the gene pool. I beg you.
121. H.M | May 24th, 2009 at 1:17 pm

DISREGARD THAT HUEG POST I SUCK COCKS
122. Rachel | May 24th, 2009 at 1:19 pm

I think it’s good. I feel like atheists have spent too long being quiet and avoiding saying things that might offend believers.

Religious speech is too highly protected from dissent. It’s good to show the world that there are those who dissent and will do so openly and unashamedly.

I’m not saying the next bus slogan should be, “God doesn’t exist and if you believe he does you’re stupid,” but we shouldn’t shy away from advertising our position either.
123. Matthew | May 24th, 2009 at 1:55 pm

The slogan for the Indiana buses shows the atheists naïveté.

The slogan states, “You can be good without God”.
God from the Holy Bible teaches that no one is good, no not one. The Bible teaches that what you may consider good is the action you should have chosen regardless if you choose to make the right decision or not. So if you were supposed to make that action to begin with what makes it good? If a little child is thirsty or hungry and you help them with water or food that doesn’t make you “good”, you should do it, it was the right action to make.

The reason for God’s teachings, beyond salvation from Christ’s action to love us first by His sacrifice, is to lay a foundation for building character. When you choose to make the right choice it should be for the sole fact that it is what you were supposed to do not to say “look what a good boy am I”. Loving to choose the true choice in every circumstance of life is God’s hope for you. God wants you to trust and love Him, not because you have to, because he chose to love you first.
124. lol | May 24th, 2009 at 1:58 pm

why do christians do nothing to make themselves look less ignorant and stupid? stop posting here, you’re not helping your case.
125. Eat The Rich | May 24th, 2009 at 3:00 pm

There is no god. All Christians should be shot. There will be no rapture and they’re just going to continue to piss us off. Religion is a virus of the mind. It takes over the host and attempts to reproduce. Let’s cull them and outlaw religion. Then we can live without the stupid fuckwits always starting wars.
126. Eric | May 24th, 2009 at 3:23 pm

Matthew, have you read your “holy book”?

Psalm 137:8-9
“8. Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction happy are those who repay you according to what you have done to us.
9. Happy are those who seize your infants and dash them against the rocks.”

Is this a loving god? I would never seize somebody child and smash their head against a rock, no matter what they have done to me. No ‘loving’ god here….

Matthew 15:3-4 (New Testament; One of the “Gospels”!!!)
“Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’”

Did you know that even in the new testament, Jesus preaches that 10 commandments should be enforced under penalty of death? That sounds pretty immoral to me.

Deuteronomy 13:6-10
“If your brother, your mother’s son, or your son or daughter, or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’, you shall not yield to him or listen to him; and your eye shall not pity him, nor shall you spare or conceal him. But you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So you shall stone him to death because he has sought to seduce you from the LORD your God.”

Your bible is clearly instructing to not only kill atheists, but to torture them to death. If you do not, you are being more moral than your fictitious bronze age god.

And here we have mass killings ordered, committed, or approved by your (thankfully imaginary) god:
http://www.ffrf.org/books/bas/bas5.php

Overall, the bible is a terrible source of morality. Its a sickening book that is inappropriate for children to read. It teaches one to be accustomed to and accepting of violence, cruelty, bigotry, hate, and discrimination towards anybody who is not a member of the Christian cult.

Your god has no character. Without the serious amount of cherry picking that goes on at the pulpit, your (make believe) god is a vengeful, sadistic, and oppressive dictator.
127. wednesday | May 24th, 2009 at 4:44 pm

Thank you for doing this, I only hope the message is allowed to run on the bus. I am so very tired of “Christians” waving their religion and fanatical “Must Save You!” credentials in my face. What goes on in my spiritual life – or what doesn’t – is none of their business. I am also so very tired of man-made religions – the egos, the lies, the force feeding and control. I think your slogan is very right, and the fanatics are to be pitied. I’m also wary of them. Thank you for speaking up – I don’t believe in them or their god, which is guaranteed to piss them off. Please people, just go back and read your beloved bible and leave the rest of us alone. If you could do that, there’d be no need for slogans like this. Please, keep your god to yourself. There are those who simply don’t want he, she or it. Or the shite and baggage that comes with your witnessing to us.
128. God | May 24th, 2009 at 4:53 pm

Those motherfuckers.
129. Eric | May 24th, 2009 at 6:12 pm

I just found a good web site that lists a few of the various ways and reasons for which the Christian god likes to kill people…. all directly from the bible.

http://www.evilbible.com/Murder.htm
130. Stephanie | May 24th, 2009 at 7:09 pm

I like this. Perhaps those Christians and Catholics who believe themselves better, forcing their belief’s on other people, will realize that it isn’t so nice getting it right back. As for those who do believe in a god, I’ll go ahead and apologize if it offends as there are people out there who don’t completely take religion to a whole different level.

and k? People created the bible, apparently from those who supposedly heard God’s voice, which is also the reason some schizophrenic psychopath’s kill people. Because they hear God in their head. So, shove it.

…and, seeing as there are others here to which have interesting beliefs, hey /b/rothers.
131. Zack | May 24th, 2009 at 8:09 pm

I don’t think we should go down the “There is no God” road. Not all atheists believe there is no god. We just lack a belief in one. I think the “God does not exist” road is not where we want to be going. Stick with morality need not come from supernatural beliefs.
132. ... | May 25th, 2009 at 2:19 am

personally, I prefer the “You can be good without God” logo, because it states something positive about atheism, rather than the second logo which seems to be more focused on ridiculing theism.
133. Zib | May 25th, 2009 at 2:34 am

K, if the bible is proof that god is real, then go read Twilight! It PROVES to you that vampires are real.

&& also, go grab a dictionary and look up the word except.
134. Reba Boyd Wooden | May 25th, 2009 at 9:48 am

For those who are looking for a place where like minded people can gather, check out CFI Indiana, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis, IN 46202. Call 317-797-5892. We are open most days from 10 am to 6 pm and have losts of interesting programs going on. Every Sunday 10 am to noon people gather here for good conversation. Hope to see you here.

Reba Boyd Wooden
Executive Director
CFI Indiana
135. rose | May 25th, 2009 at 11:33 am

I was in an atheist bus on saturday. I saw the billboard when I got out and I was soooo happy. I really like the quote because it touches on many aspects of education. Reason and science must prevail…
136. Tommy | May 25th, 2009 at 1:35 pm

Thanks Rose!
137. jussumdude | May 25th, 2009 at 4:07 pm

Read “The End of Reason” by Ravi Zacharias.

It is possible to live together on both sides of this fence. The world, now more than ever, sees that religious fundamentalism is dangerous. Regardless of which god’s name is on the banner. But atheistic fundamentalism is just as equally dangerous. Hitler proved that.

The pervading sentiment now should be one of mutual respect. Neither interest has absolute answers This is the only FACT that can clearly be accepted by both.

I am a molecular biologist. I am also a Christian. Peace be with you all.
138. Jimmy | May 25th, 2009 at 11:11 pm

Well, here we go again with the Diablo fighting the truth! Acts 2:38 states, “The Peter said unto them repent, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall recieve the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Folks God is real, and the Holy Ghost is real! If you deny the Holy Ghost you have committed the sin of Blasphemy…. Please REPENT of all of your sins, so you too might make it into the kingdom of heaven. John 3:5 states, “Jesus answered and said unto him(Nicodemus), Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” You must be born of the water…. Jesus name baptism… Spirit is being filled with the Holy Ghost! The Holy Ghost with evidence of speaking in tounges is real!!!!!! I believe you can be good without God, but I sure know that you will not enter in to the Kingdom without following the Acts2:38 message. For all of the non- believers one day God(Name is Jesus) 1 Timothy 3:16- Will come back to judge acording to his will, and if your not ready or willing to acept his message you shall surely die in your sins and transgressions!!!
139. God Loves You!!! | May 25th, 2009 at 11:29 pm

THE BIBLE TEACHES US SALVATION! The Devil is a liar and the father of it! Praise and Glory be unto God the Almighty, The Great I Am, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace, The Comforter, The Alpha and Omega. READ your Bibles Pray everday and you’ll GROW, GROW, GROW!!!! You all have a chance to turn away from your heathen ways…. May God work on your hearts, and your minds… Turn away from your wicked ways and serve God according to his will… ACTS2:38 READ, READ, READ!!!!!
140. HAT | May 26th, 2009 at 12:54 am

so, this campaign is only to piss of people who choose to believe in religion or God… how sad on the part of the atheists. if you want to make people understand your point of view what a nice way to start of by these shallow slogans.
141. Artemis Marie | May 26th, 2009 at 1:35 am

@Eat The Rich- “All Christians should be shot.” Please consider how that makes you sound, I can’t help but believe that you sound no better than “All Atheists should go to hell.” Lovely sentiment, but maybe a little too vague. I admit to being a Catholic, but I would also love to see these buses all over the world and especially America. People are holding onto the need for everyone to have their religion, and that hurts other people, where is the individuality in that? Also I would like to ask that while I continue to encourage and support Atheists, that you don’t condem me for being different than you. Cheers!
142. Artemis Marie | May 26th, 2009 at 1:39 am

BTW, I think I forgot to just say it, but these buses are the best! They should be awakening all sorts of people who can’t see past the end of their nose.
143. youarelost | May 26th, 2009 at 3:16 pm

before anyone believes that there is no God. Try looking into the topic. There is probably more evidence that there is a God. No theory for how the universe came to be has been proven. It points towards the big bang theory but that allows the possibility of a creator. Microbiologist and physicists are trying to find answers to the most fundemental questions that humans can ask. What are we doing here? How were we created? More andmore discoveries are pointing to GOD, and i think it is awsome. http://www.y-origins.com
144. Peter | May 26th, 2009 at 3:17 pm

Successful troll is successful.
145. John Big | May 26th, 2009 at 4:09 pm

Put up some good, challenging and funny atheistic strips. How about Atheist Eve?
146. Freedom | May 26th, 2009 at 5:12 pm

I want a t-shirt with that slogan!

Great Job. Simple and to the point.
147. Thomas Lefler | May 26th, 2009 at 5:19 pm

I’m going to say that I think these buses, like most forms of religious advertisement, are a waste of time. If you have formed a religious belief, then you have built a faith in a hypothetical situation with no method of testing it. All of humanity is nothing more than ants in an ant farm.

The polytheant says that there are many creatures outside the farm and they watch the ants, laughing at their folly..

The christiant says that the good Ant god provides crumbs to good ants.

The athiant says that there is nothing outside the farm, or at least nothing that can be proven by any ant technology, and as such, the ants should focus more on ants than on outer-farm creatures.

Now, all of these ants are set in a belief. Tell me, do you think any but the athiants would give that billboard half a thought, no matter what it said? No billboard, no matter how compelling the argument printed upon it, can shake a person’s belief. The best you could do would be triggering a doubt that already existed within them. I will say it once more, advertisement of a religion (or set of views based upon the existence or lack of existence of divinity) is a waste of money. I would have rather seen this money invested in something. You are atheists, for Christ’s sake. Stop focusing upon the divine and do something more worldly.
148. God Loves You!!! | May 27th, 2009 at 12:30 pm

While Intelligent Design skeptics may claim there is no evidence of God, the actual scientific evidence for God’s existence is overwhelming, scientifically answering the question, “does God exist?”.

In science there is a Law of Physics called the 1st Law of Thermodynamics. Within it is a Conservation of Energy Law that states, as a key principle that all energy in a closed system must be conserved. Okay, fancy language, but what does that mean? It means that while energy can convert into matter (physical
149. God Loves You!!! | May 27th, 2009 at 12:31 pm

While Intelligent Design skeptics may claim there is no evidence of God, the actual scientific evidence for God’s existence is overwhelming, scientifically answering the question, “does God exist?”.

In science there is a Law of Physics called the 1st Law of stuff
150. Jimmy | May 27th, 2009 at 12:39 pm

I agree with God Loves You! I don’t think he or she is a Bible thumper!!! The only evidence that mankind has for our existence is a Bible! Scientist have not proved the Bible to be wrong, and that is where “Faith” comes into action. We must have “faith” that there is a creator of the heavens and earth. I also guess that u all do not believe in Evil V.S. Common Good? The Acts 2:38 message is a strong message it states, “Then Peter said unto them REPENT and be BAPTIZED everyone of you in the name(singular) of Jesus Christ and ye shall recieve the gift of the Holy Ghost.” The Holy Ghost is with evidence of speaking in tounges as the spirit gives utterance… God’s existence is overwhelming to me. It brings joy down in my soul when I think about the Lord! May God Bless You ALL!!!
151. nate | May 28th, 2009 at 3:39 pm

youarelost,

This is simply not the case. You are trying to provide a solution to a question for which you don’t have nearly enough information to take a educated stab at.

Science isn’t pointing us in the direction of God, but in the direction of “we still don’t know.” It’s reasoning like this that led to God being invented in the first place. I think people need to be patient. Also, God as a solution in that context would raise many more questions than answer because instead of answering the Big Bang Theory, you now have to explain God’s existence.

No matter how you slice it, it’s an infinite regress, and full of circular logic. Which leads me (an ad man) to plug my headline again (14.). I think it illustrates the basic flaw in creationism (besides mountains of very hard evidence.) Cheers.
152. ACTS 2:38, ACTS 2 Read IT, Believe it! | May 28th, 2009 at 3:43 pm

The Bible is the inspired word of God. I know that a lot of people that enter on this site believe in no God, or the Bible. I’m writting this out of the love of my heart. God is real, and he Created us to serve him, and to give him honour and glory. The only writting to ever have thousands upon thousands of prophecies full-filled has been the authoritive word of the Bible. Those who don’t believe I challenge you to read your Bible and pray and ask for guidance in the matter. I know inthe back of your mind your saying what a crazy!!!! I believe if God could deliver me from a life of Drinking, Drugs, and an unstable life; then he can also transform himself in you through the Holy Ghost! God is someone whom sticketh closer than any brother. May God (JESUS) guide you all into the path of salvation. GOD BLESS
153. Holly | May 28th, 2009 at 3:58 pm

Why are all the believers apparently illiterate? Bibel?
154. Tommy | May 28th, 2009 at 4:34 pm

Religion=Intolerance

It is time we grow up as a species and leave our myths behind. Gods are not real.
155. isabelle | May 28th, 2009 at 8:14 pm

Why can’t any of the religious people turn off caps lock?
156. isabelle | May 28th, 2009 at 8:15 pm

or spell. you think if they were trying to look intelligent, they would at least use spell check or something.
157. GWENNA | May 28th, 2009 at 10:11 pm

****************************** LOVE ************************************
How do you feel about your child…your parent(s) your spouse and your friends? You LOVE them. How do you know that you LOVE them? You cannot see LOVE, you cannot physically touch LOVE nor can you have a conversation with LOVE. However you know LOVE when you feel it. What about anger and hatred and fear? You feel these things yet you cannot see them. However they are real. Two people can make love and create another human…a human that lives inside the womans body. Something far beyond our capacity to understand put this in place. Its okay if you dont want to be a Christian or Catholic but just think outside of your comfort zone and consider what it means when you say that there is no GOD. Where did LOVE come from? No one needs to prove to you that you LOVE your children or your family. Just think on this please.

Thanks for reading.
158. Gwenna | May 28th, 2009 at 10:26 pm

**************LOVE***LOVE****LOVE****LOVE************************

How do you feel about your child?…your parent(s) your spouse and your friends? You LOVE them. How do you know that you LOVE them? You cannot see LOVE, you cannot physically touch LOVE nor can you have a conversation with LOVE. However you know LOVE when you feel it. What about anger and hatred and fear? You feel these things yet you cannot see them. However they are real. Two people can make love and create another human…a human that lives inside the womans body. Something far beyond our capacity to understand put this in place. Its okay if you dont want to be a Christian or Catholic but just think outside of your comfort zone and consider what it means when you say that there is no GOD. Where did LOVE come from? No one needs to prove to you that you LOVE your children or your family. Just think on this please.

Thanks for reading.
159. nate | May 29th, 2009 at 1:27 pm

The thing is that it’s absurd to think that love created the universe. Love is an evolved tool to perpetuate reproduction and protect kin. Sure it feels great. Brain chemistry is great. It is also something we don’t generally know much about. Religion is a tool used to fill gaps in knowledge as a means to provide comfort. You said so yourself that “we don’t understand”. Isn’t that okay? Can’t we leave it at that until sufficient evidence is found. You’re using the word God as a placeholder. God was just that. And then that placeholder developed into a story etc. And lastly, if Christians are so sold on love=god, then what may I ask is wrong with homosexuality. I sense a bit of hypocrisy in your romantic explanation of God.
160. ACTS 2:38, ACTS 2 Read IT, Believe it! | May 29th, 2009 at 2:09 pm

Well, Bibel is obviously a typo….. BIBLE CAPS LOCKS IS SHOWING AUTHORITY! As far as education I’m sure there are a lot of educated christians that stand for God. I happen to be one of them! PSALM14:1 States, “THE fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.” There is no reason to argue with these people on the fact that there is a God, because their hearts are hardened. They are the workers of iniquity. To the Christians remember we are promised eternity with our Lord. Revelation22:12-13 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 13 I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. If they are workers of iniquity then God will judge them according to their work.
161. nate | May 29th, 2009 at 5:53 pm

The Bible isn’t a supported text. I could cite Harry Potter in order to prove to you that invisibility cloaks exist, but it’s not going to get me very far with rational people. Also, cap locks doesn’t show authority but rather a lack of emotional control. It comes off as yelling.
162. LIEZL324 | May 29th, 2009 at 9:43 pm

“THE CLAIM THAT THERE IS NO GOD IS AN ESCAPE FROM ALL REALITIES part 2″
– from http://www.esoriano.com

Although there are hidden and camouflaged evil in every society, it is generally the norm in human society to condemn evil. The teachings of God in the bible are against all evil. To deny the existence of God is to favor evil. The slogan “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life” implies that there is a struggle deep inside the heart of the formulators of such a slogan. However they are trying to shrug it off, because they want to find a way of escape from feeling guilty in their heart due to all the evil they are doing.

(ROMANS 2:15) Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) (KJV)

The formulators of such slogans are trying to escape all these realities because they are not real people:

1. The reality that there is a Creator of everything that exist;

(ACTS 17:24) God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; (KJV)

2. The reality that everything that exists was planned and created for a purpose. (The harmony in the natural and physical universe cannot logically be the product of an accident or a Big Bang)

(ROMANS 1:19) Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. (KJV)

(ROMANS 1:20) For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: (KJV)

(JOB 34:13) Who has given the earth as a deposit with Him? Or who has set the whole world in order? (MKJV)

(PROVERBS 8:29) when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, (RSV)

3. The reality that the Bible speaks of scientific truth even before they were discovered by human science because such declaration came from an existing God.

(ISAIAH 40:22) It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: (KJV)

(JOB 26:7) He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing. (KJV)

4. The reality that present-day happenings were predicted in the bible thousands and hundreds of years ago before by an existing God.

(ISAIAH 46:9) Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, (KJV)

(ISAIAH 46:10) Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: (KJV)

(MATTHEW 24:3) And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? (KJV)

(MATTHEW 24:4) And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. (KJV)

(MATTHEW 24:5) For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. (KJV)

(MATTHEW 24:6) And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. (KJV)

(MATTHEW 24:7) For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. (KJV)

(MATTHEW 24:8) All these are the beginning of sorrows. (KJV)

5. And, the reality of their very existence that the prophecy of the coming of “scoffers” is being fulfilled in their person!

(II PETER 3:3) Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, (KJV)

Throughout the history of man, those who believed and served God with all their hearts were the greatest men that this world had ever seen. They were the best public servants, the best heroes, the best mentors, the best leaders, and the best neighbors — NONE OF THESE BEST MEN IS AN ATHEIST!
163. chris | May 30th, 2009 at 5:34 am

i’ll take heaven for the weather, hell for the company…
(anon)
164. ACTS 2:38, ACTS 2 Read IT, Believe it! | May 30th, 2009 at 2:49 pm

I understand now why you don’t want to believe in a God.You are set on trying to obtain as much attention from people as possible, and that is why you throb on being very anti- this anti- that!!! God will forgive you if you turn from your own lusts, and call upon his name. (Jesus Christ) You are right I could cite words from texts all day, but the fact of the matter is the Bible is no ordinary text like Harry Potter.The Bible has been supported by many for told prophecies that have happened. I’m just glad that I’m not ignorant of the devices of Satan. GOD BLESS YOU= Authority in the NAME OF JESUS
165. Vincent Truman | June 1st, 2009 at 11:57 am

To the organizers: I am in Chicago and have yet to see the ad, but am armed with a camera and will hopefully send along a pic or two soon.

To the commenters: this has been very enjoyable to read. The stereotypes are out in full force: the secularists (of which I readily admit I am one) are a bit snarky, sarcastic, superior and pithy; the religious are pious, predominantly illiterate, parrotting and desperate (HELLO ALL CAPS). All in all, a very good show!
166. Nitoku | June 3rd, 2009 at 8:54 pm

Why do Christians always have to try to preach us?That just makes me even more pissed off at them.At least Jews and Catholics don’t try to preach me,hell I even know Muslim people who don’t try to preach to me.
167. Nitoku | June 3rd, 2009 at 8:57 pm

One more thing:Do Christians not believe in turning Caps Lock off!?
168. Anonymous | June 4th, 2009 at 1:31 am

ITT:

Trolls trolling trolls trolling trolls.

(Reached this page via stumbleupon)
169. Artemis Marie | June 4th, 2009 at 8:22 am

@ Nitoku- Just in case you didn’t know, Catholicism is a sect of Christianity. It’s just that alot of Catholic Churches, at least that I know of, ask us not to force the “Good Word” on other people. It’s something they would hear on their own. See, the “Good Word” isn’t spread via word of mouth, its a feeling. The “Good Word” is a self realization, for somepeople the “Good Word” is a realization that they are being called to Jesus, for others it’s a realization that they belong following Muhamed. And even others follow Shiva or maybe they just follow their own consience. It a realizatin of the reason why you are here. That is the “Good News”, that you are here for what ever reason makes sense to you or is the closest to your heart. So have you hear the “Good News”? You mean something. Oh, and yes we can turn the CAPS LOCK off. Cheers everyone.
170. Menno Yoder | June 6th, 2009 at 10:16 am

Whether voluntarily or involuntarily, there will be a time when every knee shall bow and every knee tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. This means you!
171. Neil Thompson | June 7th, 2009 at 2:53 pm

I’m really pleased to see the positive work that’s going on to promote atheism. I would also like to recommend to those of you who haven’t seen him to take a look at Pat Condell’s contributions on YouTube.
172. Ω TurboPunz Ω | June 9th, 2009 at 7:58 pm

Ah, I love these buses. If only my town had Public transportation for people who are not seniors.

I hope to see these in November when I visit NYC. I shall take 80 bazillion pictures of them.

Now, not all Christains are alike. My friend who believes every single word in the bible, is younger than me, and has skipped 3 grades already.

Now, The other day, I got read passages from the Bible, while they were throwing one at me. And they believe almost everything I do, including evolution.

Hell, even my parents who are devout Catholics don’t care I’m an Atheist.

Once again, hope to see these in NYC! (Hint Hint Wink Wink Nudge Nudge)
173. Question | June 15th, 2009 at 9:46 am

Just saw this bus walking to work from the train in downtown Chicago! I was too slow to get my camera out, but I’m sure I’ll catch it again!

Great work – keep it up!
174. Chicago | June 16th, 2009 at 12:47 am

Saw the ad in Chicago during my lunch break. Loved it- really made me think.
175. Jennifer | July 24th, 2009 at 4:45 pm

Howie, thank you for your comments regarding morality, though to you and others regarding how this country was founded:
“You hear it all the time from the right wing. The United States was founded as a Christian country. What do you make of that?

Well, first of all, it wasn’t. The United States wasn’t founded as a Christian country. Religion played very little role in the American Revolution and it played very little role in the making of the Constitution. That’s largely because the Founding Fathers were on the whole deists who had a very abstract conception of God, whose view of God was not a God who acted in the world today and manipulated events in a way that actually changed the course of human history. Their view of religion was really a view that stressed ethics and morals rather than a direct divine intervention.”

From George Mason University’s History News Network
http://hnn.us/articles/9144.html

Fascinating, about all the founding fathers and their religious thoughts.
176. InterestedHoosier | July 29th, 2009 at 3:11 pm

Just out of curiosity, how many of the atheists who organized this campaign are actually from Indiana? Bloomington would just be another midwest town without the IU population. Of course, they’re all smarter than the rest of us and know better
177. admin | July 29th, 2009 at 3:52 pm

Almost all of us, actually. We’re based in Bloomington.
178. Mariano | July 30th, 2009 at 5:24 pm

Eric,

EvilBible.com is Dead

Large portions of evilbible.com have been considered, dissected and declared fallacious on very many levels.

Two examples of this fact are as follows:

Whilst besmirching the Bible for allegedly commanding rape evilbible.com, for some odd reason, neglects to mention the most relevant biblical text related to the biblical view of and law about rape. Why this omission? Who knows, but it would certainly have gotten in the way of a good session of emotive expression of prejudice—it would have discredited evilbible.com to reference this most important text. Indeed, those annoying little facts have an annoying way of getting in the way of good fallacious assertions.

Whilst besmirching the Bible for allegedly commanding human sacrifice evilbible.com, for some odd reason, neglects to mention that the Bible does not command but condemns human sacrifice. Evilbible.com, for some odd reason, neglects to mention that when the Bible reports that human sacrifices did take place they were carried out by Gentile Pagans who were not worshiping the God of the Bible but various false gods. When “Jews” were performing human sacrifices it was only when they turned away from the God of the Bible and joined Gentile Pagans in worshiping various false gods. Yet, in typical militant activist atheist fashion, evilbible.com does not condemn Gentile Pagans but only condemns the Jews.

Some of the resources provided in the original post are as follows:

http://atheismisdead.blogspot.com/2009/07/evilbiblecom-is-dead.html
179. casey | September 19th, 2009 at 12:08 am

@ Mariano,

So what? All you’ve shown is that evilbible.com is a bit disingenuous. That’s a shallow victory, considering all your work is still ahead of you if you would like to discredit the atheist view–or even to defend the Bible. We don’t need evilbible.com to tell us of the many contradictions and vile pronouncements attributed to your deity in the Bible. I notice you don’t bring those up–”why this omission” on your part? By the way, there was one true worshiper of Yahweh–a real Bible hero–who DID sacrifice his daughter to your god, apparently without consequence. Can you identify this murdering zealot/Bible hero?
180. wakca | October 1st, 2009 at 2:19 am

JESUS IS REAL EXCEPT HIM HELL SAVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111111
181. Ryan | October 18th, 2009 at 10:50 pm

I’m pretty far down the forum so i probably won’t be read but if you’re christian wouldn’t it be better to act like christ instead of yelling at people on forums with bad spelling ,grammar, and syntax? I’ve got christian friends who can argue quite well about their beliefs as well as atheist friends who can do the same. Yelling that someone will “burn in hell” and then laughing will almost certainly not get you into heaven regardless of whether or not you have read the “BIBEL.” About the ad campaign i think we should spend out money on things like centers where atheist and theist people can come together and have civilized and intellectual debates as well as doing things to help the community. It is my dream to build a place like this.

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Next stop for the atheist bus: Chicago (UPDATED)

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