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The Living Force
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20081028/tuk-london-buses-may-advertise-there-s-p-a7ad41d.html
London buses may advertise 'there's probably no God'
London's iconic red buses could be plastered with the slogan "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life," in an atheist advertising campaign responding to a set of Christian ads.
Comedy writer Ariane Sherine, 28, objected to the Christian adverts on some London buses, which carried an Internet address warning that people who rejected God were condemned to spend eternity in "torment in hell".
She sought five-pound (7.80-dollar, 6.25-euro) donations towards a "reassuring" counter-advertisement -- and received the backing of the British Humanist Association (BHA) and atheist campaigner Professor Richard Dawkins.
The campaign has already smashed its 5,500-pound target and the slogan is planned to hit the side of several London buses in January.
"We see so many posters advertising salvation through Jesus or threatening us with eternal damnation, that I feel sure that a bus advert like this will be welcomed as a breath of fresh air," said BHA chief executive Hanne Stinson.
Dawkins said: "This campaign to put alternative slogans on London buses will make people think -- and thinking is anathema to religion."
A Church of England spokesman said: "We would defend the right of any group representing a religious or philosophical position to be able to promote that view through appropriate channels.
"However, Christian belief is not about worrying or not enjoying life.
"Quite the opposite -- our faith liberates us to put this life into a proper perspective."
A spokesman for Transport for London told AFP they had not received such an advertisement application and would wait to view it before deciding whether it met their advertising guidelines.
"No advertisement of this kind has been submitted to TfL at this time," he said.
"If approved, then it will appear on our network."
London buses may advertise 'there's probably no God'
London's iconic red buses could be plastered with the slogan "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life," in an atheist advertising campaign responding to a set of Christian ads.
Comedy writer Ariane Sherine, 28, objected to the Christian adverts on some London buses, which carried an Internet address warning that people who rejected God were condemned to spend eternity in "torment in hell".
She sought five-pound (7.80-dollar, 6.25-euro) donations towards a "reassuring" counter-advertisement -- and received the backing of the British Humanist Association (BHA) and atheist campaigner Professor Richard Dawkins.
The campaign has already smashed its 5,500-pound target and the slogan is planned to hit the side of several London buses in January.
"We see so many posters advertising salvation through Jesus or threatening us with eternal damnation, that I feel sure that a bus advert like this will be welcomed as a breath of fresh air," said BHA chief executive Hanne Stinson.
Dawkins said: "This campaign to put alternative slogans on London buses will make people think -- and thinking is anathema to religion."
A Church of England spokesman said: "We would defend the right of any group representing a religious or philosophical position to be able to promote that view through appropriate channels.
"However, Christian belief is not about worrying or not enjoying life.
"Quite the opposite -- our faith liberates us to put this life into a proper perspective."
A spokesman for Transport for London told AFP they had not received such an advertisement application and would wait to view it before deciding whether it met their advertising guidelines.
"No advertisement of this kind has been submitted to TfL at this time," he said.
"If approved, then it will appear on our network."
