celebrate reason?
Do atheists waging war on religion make them just as bad as the religious right shoving it in our face? Just not sure how I feel about this.
Comments
Well I say it’s about time that atheists even had a billboard.
Most people who practice a religion still act okay with others practicing a different one. It always seemed like the atheists were most disliked though. I’m just pleased to see some atheists with enough money to speak out for us.
But, surely one of the biggest complaints atheists have is having other peoples beliefs forced upon them.
Is this not doing exactly that?
Let’s be honest, all this is gonna do is piss people off. It is not like it is going to cause people to turn from religion to atheism.
Yeah, I find stuff like this is silly. And I am as atheist as they come.
Yeah, I mean I guess its cool that atheists have jumped into the fray of roadside evangelism, but I’m not sure what the “Hey, you’re fucking wrong” approach really hopes to accomplish.
If anything, I think it only reinforces atheists being disliked.
Yeh, I’d would have liked to see more if an informational ad with just the website for atheists, rather then the school yard name calling.
There’s no point in trying to be polite and convincing. You can’t expect people to reason themselves out of a belief they didn’t use any reason to get into. The best hope is to get the youngins, and they appreciate being offensive.
Why would they need to convince anyone? When did atheists become missionaries?
I guess I’m sort of amused when a concept that is inherently anti-religion starts taking on qualities of an organized religion.
I’m all for atheist billboards, so long as they have an actual purpose. Like, perhaps, a billboard that states that the mormon church was the top donator to defeat Prop 9 in California and that churches are supposed to be prohibited from politicking or they lose their tax exempt status. Or a billboard that says just because you think Christ is coming in your lifetime, doesn’t mean you should fuck our planet for everyone else. You know… billboards with admirable goals; that fight back on religious encroachment into secular society.
“Yo, Christmas is a myth” barely seems worth speaking out loud let alone putting on a billboard.
Gotta fight fire with fire. You can call it evangelism, but at the core it’s just PR. You have to get your message out, and unfortunately you can’t just jump right into the realm of information and compelling arguments when dealing with any kind of ideological system, because evidence to the contrary will only reinforce a firmly held belief.
If anything, signs like this serve the purpose to raise awareness that yes, in fact, there are atheists out there, and seeing enough of them will replace the knee jerk reaction of distrust and disdain with a general acceptance that some people think that way. And in removing that stigma, more people will feel comfortable being open about their true feelings.
Just think about any big swing in cultural acceptance. 30 years ago, a guy with a shaved chest, manicured eyebrows, and a bathroom full of skin care products was a wuss and probably gay, now (some people) find that completely normal. Hell I saw a TV commercial on Comedy Central for a Trojan brand vibrator the other day, imagine that even 5 years ago. Someone has to be daring enough to put the message out there to create a market for their product, or in this case, idea, and stick with it until the culture shifts in its favor.
I agree with the need for PR, and think John’s point is right. Public Relations is supposed to be just that: “relating to the public”. Otherwise it’s just public insulting which isn’t going to win anyone over. Even the majority of annoying evangelicals ultimately try to win converts over with explaining why the way of Christ is best for the person they are targeting. Yeah, we all like to get mad at and make fun of the segment of them that choose the “repent or go to hell!!!!” path but ultimately they are a minority. I’m not saying the peace love and happiness of the lord types also aren’t annoying as shit, but at least they understand that you’re not going to win any converts by insulting.
Ultimately I’d be happy with us atheists taking more of the approach of judaism: “We don’t want to convert you, just don’t fuck with us, please”. I’m paraphrasing of course, but you get the point.
this is a great thread, some very well put, considered comments, but…
As I already said serious religious types, the same for most political people, are not going to have their mind changed by a billboard. Evan may have a point with maybe coercing some younger types, but even then that will only be due to them thinking they are being rebellious, not through considered argument.
There’s also the closeted community, so to speak. I couldn’t really say how many out there are actually atheists and just never admit to it, but there has to be quite a few. And think of how many people you know who don’t go to church, don’t even have a church, but don’t say they’re atheist. For all practical purposes they are, maybe this is the bump they need to go all the way, or at the very least to come out and say that they are, if not atheist, then agnostic, or completely indifferent. With all things there’s a spectrum here, not some solid demarcation, it’s about time the other end of the spectrum started speaking out.
It’ll be just like every other billboard ever. I’ll glance at it for about two seconds and then forget about it ever existing entirely roughly half a second later.
I know what you’re saying Evan, and I don’t disagree with the basic premise. I just think some of those same people are the type who are turned off by dogmatic approaches. Those same people don’t like evangelicals strong arming them so they won’t really like atheists doing it.
But yeah. In fact I think one fairly recent, fairly publicized poll showed that “non-religious” has some big numbers if you add up atheists, agnostics, and people who never go to church.
I don’t think the “don’t go to church” folks automatically fit into the atheist group; a lot of those guys would probably consider themselves “spiritual” and think of religion as more of a cultural thing. And anyone secure enough in his or her beliefs (or non-beliefs) isn’t going to be swayed or offended by a billboard.
They don’t need to fit the atheist group. Whether or not it’s the point of this campaign or not, just the idea that you can think contrary to the accepted christian belief is going to be welcome news to some people. And if not news, at least encouragement.
On a related note, why not send an email to some Scottish people who don’t believe in freedom of speech.
Oh snap! Billboard throwdown!
For the record, there is another religious billboard up in this spot right now. I never realized that I actually drive past this billboard every day. The new one says “God is” in huge letters and then there are a bunch of words jumbled around behind it ("good’, “great”, etc.). Bleh.