'Probably' the best atheist bus campaign ever

[Craigypooh]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...ariane-sherine

Basic premise:

A group of atheists in the UK got annoyed at seeing adverts on buses for various Christian groups promising salvation/damnation for believers/sinners. They decided to run their own counter-adverts with the slogan "There's probably no God, now stop worrying and enjoy your life"

A number of things amused me about this article:

[CrackFox]

the word "probably" was introduced due to advertising standards rules (it was considered less likely to offend)

Do you have a source for this? I thought they worded the ad this way because saying "There is no god, and you're a chump for believing in one. p.s. Fuck you!" would just get peoples backs up, and wouldn't get them thinking.

Shit, I should have read the link to the article. It has a source.

[v1y]

i disagree with the ad campaign. i don't know how anyone could assign a probability to god's existence.

the christian/muslim/jewish god's existence, yes i understand the probability of that to be about limx->infinity 1/x. but god in general...

[8bit]

the christian/muslim/jewish god's existence, yes i understand the probability of that to be about limx->infinity 1/x. but god in general...

Probability is a science, even a math. That being the case, it cannot assume. Only the person can. Afterwards, probability does it's job with your assumptions in mind. Garbage in, Garbage out. On the other hand, the word "probably" is rarely used in common speech to reference actual probability and instead is used as an expressive style.

This example however goes beyond merely using the word and instead references the math-science itself in an entirely expressive and non-scientific way.

Freaky stuff, people are. Seems like there's a deep lesson here, but I'm not sure what it is yet.

[Skillful]

Hmm, In "The God Delusion," Dawkins uses actual probability (not the colloquial form) to make an argument about the very very improbable nature of a being more complex than us (by virtue of omniscience and omnipresence) existing before the universe. He uses (I think) Daniel Dennet's analogy of a crane vs. a sky-hook.

There is almost definitely not a god as most of us understand the word "god" to mean. If you want to resort to pantheism as Einstein and Hawkings often did, you can claim that God just means life or energy, but you're ceasing to posit a supreme being capable of acts such as making the universe.

I for one hate all the pandering to peoples' religious beliefs where we'd openly debate their political or economic or environmental beliefs.

[Matt Stone]

i don't know how anyone could assign a probability to god's existence.

It's actually pretty easy. Only fear, ignorance, and childhood conditioning prevent more people from doing so.

the christian/muslim/jewish god's existence, yes i understand the probability of that to be about limx->infinity 1/x. but god in general...

God, generally, most likely does not exist. The ancients didn't argue it so much because they didn't have the sheer volume of scientific data, discovery, information, and insight, that we have available to us today. Period. They employed the god of the gaps to cover for that which they could not explain otherwise. We don't need that anymore. We've matured a bit since then, and no longer require myths and fairytales to explain, inform, or give meaning to our daily lives.

Grow up already. Like the bible says, at some point you have to put away childish things and start acting responsibly. Religion is irresponsible because it allows for excuses for everything being either god's or the devil's influence instead of just being the believer's fault only. We don't let children get away with that kind of bullshit logic, why should we allow adults to do so?

:biblethum

[Jim_Jude]

i disagree with the ad campaign. i don't know how anyone could assign a probability to god's existence.

the christian/muslim/jewish god's existence, yes i understand the probability of that to be about limx->infinity 1/x. but god in general...

Read up on Einstein's opinion on the existence of a god, or a personal god for that matter. I'd venture that he would know a little more about the "probability" of the existence of a god.
BTW, I agree with Einstein's views on the subject. If there is a god, which he thought was unlikely, there most certainly isn't a "personal god".

[Jim_Jude]

Hmm, In "The God Delusion," Dawkins uses actual probability (not the colloquial form) to make an argument about the very very improbable nature of a being more complex than us (by virtue of omniscience and omnipresence) existing before the universe. He uses (I think) Daniel Dennet's analogy of a crane vs. a sky-hook.

There is almost definitely not a god as most of us understand the word "god" to mean. If you want to resort to pantheism as Einstein and Hawkings often did, you can claim that God just means life or energy, but you're ceasing to posit a supreme being capable of acts such as making the universe.

I for one hate all the pandering to peoples' religious beliefs where we'd openly debate their political or economic or environmental beliefs.

Funny, the smarter we get, the smaller the gods get. What most people think of as "god" is most often, or most likely, natural processes that we're simply too stupid to be aware of. We don't know why +99% of the universe is the way that it is. That, & most of us are simply too scared of the unknown to say,"I don't know." It's pitiful, really. :bduh:

[marcusdbrutus]

Jerking off on the top of a hill in a thunderstorm makes you feel like god. Just saying.




Edit: Maybe more like Thor.

[theotherserge]

wonder what'd happen if the sign said "There is no Allah"


actually, I don't wonder...

[danno]

wonder what'd happen if the sign said "There is no Allah"


actually, I don't wonder...

it's the same thing. no god means no allah. but if you specify allah, you're only talking about muslims and not xtians, so then people might get offended.

[BackFistMonkey]

Grow up already. Like the bible says, at some point you have to put away childish things and start acting responsibly. Religion is irresponsible because it allows for excuses for everything being either god's or the devil's influence instead of just being the believer's fault only. We don't let children get away with that kind of bullshit logic, why should we allow adults to do so?

What do you mean WHY ??

For the money !

You ever wonder what would happen if all those donations went to education ? I will tell you what would happen . Our damn military would go to shit . There would be half as many young men and women throwing their lives away on the front line as meat shields . The terrorists would win .

The world would degenerate into a giant gay orgy . No more babies would be born . Satan would rise up from hell and kill any heterosexuals left spurting DNA into each other . Christians would be hung from the telephone poles and Muslims would weep and wail in the streets while the Jews took bets . The whole system of control would come crashing down .

Systema's magical laughing punch would once again hurt . All CMA would turn into San Shou .

Catholic priests would have to actual leave the church to get a grope on . Nuns would be forced to admit they are just bitter old women who had never properly received a man's loving touch .

Fish and amphibians would randomly change sex .

People NEED THEIR DELUSIONS .

[blisterstarr]

Im thinking of donating.

[Demon Eyes]

What do you mean WHY ??

For the money !

You ever wonder what would happen if all those donations went to education ? I will tell you what would happen . Our damn military would go to shit . There would be half as many young men and women throwing their lives away on the front line as meat shields . The terrorists would win .

The world would degenerate into a giant gay orgy . No more babies would be born . Satan would rise up from hell and kill any heterosexuals left spurting DNA into each other . Christians would be hung from the telephone poles and Muslims would weep and wail in the streets while the Jews took bets . The whole system of control would come crashing down .

Systema's magical laughing punch would once again hurt . All CMA would turn into San Shou .

Catholic priests would have to actual leave the church to get a grope on . Nuns would be forced to admit they are just bitter old women who had never properly received a man's loving touch .

Fish and amphibians would randomly change sex .

People NEED THEIR DELUSIONS .

No, if we were to let people just have their delusions, we may have to deal with more Happehs. I just can't. The man is so ridiculously idiotic that it has caused me to lower my standards. I now view Naruto fanatics, who apply naruto with actual ninjutsu, with a bit more respect. Yes, they may be stupid, but they're not as stupid as to apply Dragonball Z to actual martial arts.

[02Thief]

Lads we could turn this thread into 100+ pages of arguments, but no-one really wants to troll through that.

If people want to believe in a god etc. then let them. Personally it's no skin of my nose whatsoever as a proud atheist.
I dont ram my beliefs (or lack thereof) down anyones throat, and I expect the same. Lets not turn this into a big shitfight.

Although when I heard about it