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Christians retaliate against atheist bus ads

Atheist bus campaign in London; Richard Dawkins in the foreground. (Akira Suemori / AP)
Atheist bus campaign in London; Richard Dawkins in the foreground. (Akira Suemori / AP)

For the past month, the British Humanist Association has organized and funded an advertising campaign on London buses. The ads, placed on London's well-known red doubledeckers, read: "There's probably no god. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life," and are set to end on Monday. Needless to say, the ads have sparked quite a bit of discussion in their relatively short lives.

The religious strife isn't over yet, though. On Monday, several Christian groups plan to strike back with their own campaign. The Christian Party ("a religious group that fields candidates for elections to the European Parliament") is planning to run bus ads declaring: "There definitely is a God. So join the Christian Party and enjoy your life." Another Christian group plans to advertise Psalm 53:1 ("The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God,"), and the Russian Orthodox Church is chipping in as well with an ad that reads: "There is a God, believe. Don't worry and enjoy your life."

These Christian groups argue that the atheist ads are hopeless and misleading, while the British Humanist Association is accusing the Christian ads to be too dogmatic and narrow. "Our ads were undogmatic and funny, with the addition of the 'probably' in line with the continuing openness of humanists to new evidence," said Hanne Stinson, chief executive of the British Humanist Society.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29056903/

Question: What is your take on these ads? Are either of them offensive? Is this Christian response necessary, and were the atheist ads necessary in the first place?

In 2006, then-editor Steve Smith of The Spokesman-Review had the idea of starting a publication for an often forgotten audience: teenagers. The Vox Box was a continuation of the Vox, an all-student staffed newspaper published by The Spokesman-Review. High school student journalists who staffed the Vox made all content decisions as they learn about the trade of journalism. This blog's mission was to give students an opportunity to publish their voices. The Vox Box and the Vox wrapped up in June 2009, but you can follow former staffers' new blog at http://voxxiez.blogspot.com.