C’Mon Do The Bus Stop
Ideas.
They are fairly important.
You might even be inclined to suggest that we may still need them as part of our evolution.
Ideas are good.
So if ideas are important vital to our continued evolution and our survival why the hell are people not talking about their ideas and only posting them on the side of buses so that they can shout down the opposing idea alongside a maxi pad advertisement?
From the Toronto Star:
‘Does God care if I’m gay?’ ads irks TTC riders
Complaints about a new religious ad campaign on TTC vehicles have prompted a review.
Launched on March 18, the campaign by Bus Stop Bible Studies is meant to get people to “consider their relationship with God,” says founder David Harrison. The posters, featured on the exterior of buses and streetcars, pose 24 questions, including “What is hell?” and “God, is 2012 the end?” Each question is followed by the address of a website where the topic at hand is discussed.
The one that’s drawing ire is “Does God care if I’m gay?” The photo of a tattooed young man directs transit riders to the page www.answerme.com/doesgodcare. The long answer to the question reads, in part, “We know from passages throughout Scripture that God hates homosexual acts BUT no more than any other sinful act.”
By Wednesday night, the answer on that site had been removed.
“It has become apparent that, while one is free to ask the question, `Does God care if I’m gay?’ one is not so free to answer the question from a Biblical perspective,” the edited site said.
“It seems that the whole message of God’s justice and grace was being misinterpreted. If anyone was offended by the original narrative we offer our sincerest apologies, this was never the intent.”
Before it was removed, the answer to the question read, in part: “We know ….
TTC spokesperson Brad Ross said he didn’t know how many complaints had come in, but he did say that after five objections, the commission’s ad committee undertakes a review. The Ontario Human Rights Code obliges the TTC to accept ads from religious organizations, he added.
Harrison, who said he attends a Brethren church in the city, said reaction to the ad has been “blown out of proportion.” “I don’t think the Bible even teaches that homosexuality is a sin,” he said. “The Bible does teach that any sexual act outside of marriage, straight or homosexual, is a sin.”
When asked about gays and lesbians who have had legal same-sex marriages in Canada, Harrison said “Who made same-sex marriage legal? God or man?”
“The fact that it’s legal doesn’t mean in God’s sight it’s right.”
Bus Stop Bible Studies has been running ads on the TTC since 2006, as well as on public transit in Burlington, North Bay, Sudbury and Calgary. A registered charity, it funds its campaigns through donations.
Last year, the Canadian Atheist Bus Campaign ran an ad on the TTC that read “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” After a similar complaints and review process, the TTC decided to let the ad keep running. Ross said he doesn’t know when the decision whether or not to pull the ad by Bus Stop Bible Studies will be made.
There you have it my Kittens.
God either does or does not definitely take public transit to work every day.
Not only that he definitely wants you to know that he absolutely does or does not exist and he may or may not love you. God may love you if you are gay (possibly in a very gay way in a bath house somewhere) or he thinks you are a dick for being gay and doesn’t love you, not even very gayly. We now also know for sure that God is either really pissed at you or isn’t for believing in him. Or her.
I think.
Oh who knows or really even cares anymore?
At least these folks aren’t running around with swords fighting the crusades again but have finally decided to really get serious about their very important messages and take their firmly held sacred beliefs to something as important and awe inspiring as an ad on the side of a bus. This way we know they aren’t screwing around and have really thought their messages through.
Since when does anyones beliefs, non beliefs or casual passing ambient thoughts have any bearing on each others lives?
After a few thousand years of this nonsense isn’t it finally enough to belive what you choose to believe, respect each other and leave everyone else the hell alone to think what they want? How does forcing other people to believe what you believe somehow galvanize your own faith or lack of it?
Is god or the atheist movement paying commission for membership renewals?
Has it become impossible that if somebody even feels like they want to share their personal thoughts on these matters to find somebody of an opposing belief and just simply have a rational respectful discussion for the purpose of learning? If so, why and if not then who gives a toss anyways?
Do we also all need to walk around dressed in a sandwich board telling the world that we also secretly listen to Rick Astley, enjoy the colour mauve, own a doggie named Mr Puddles and on Fridays after work like to masturbate to the Nature Channel while smashing ourselves in the head with a rolling pin for kicks after dressing up as a RuPaul? Should also then try to make everyone we encounter do exactly the same thing?
It’s a bit like hearing over and over now in 2010 that some folks are here, are queer and we have to all get used to it.
Here’s the thing. We are.
Congratulation on the gayness folks, hopefully you are getting quite good at it by now but we are all very used to it.
The same goes with these people beliefs, non beliefs, partial beliefs and everything in between. Who cares?
It’s pointless for all of these people to shout their way into our lives with bus posters, church signs, lapel pins and bumper stickers. They never change anyones mind and all they do is act as a very loud ridiculous banner proving the closemindedness of all sides by showing their inability to accept other peoples beliefs.
Nobody ever found god or stopped believing in a god because of a bus advertisement and if they did, would you really want anyone who will change the very fabric of their lives because of a slogan?
I am an atheist. Big fat deal. Does it make me better or worse than anyone else? Nope. Just another stinky human mammal. I’m not looking for converts, tax exemptions, a club to join, donations, hand outs, salvation or even a holiday to celebrate nothingness.
Morality and actions make the person, not what they believe about what happens when we die and if I were to need an alter to pray at, I’d worship love and human kindness.
If in my spare time when the dishes were put away and there was nothing decent on television I liked to kill some time by setting my balls on fire while singing “O Come O Ye Faithful” dressed up as General Patton and stuffing furry animals in my ass it probably wouldn’t affect you very much. Mostly because it would be private and non of your damned business. It would be just another one of those goofy things that people do to make themselves happy that doesn’t affect any other aspect of their lives and yet nobody has any bus stop posters encouraging others to try that particular activity for a refreshing change of pace.
These people never ever spend their money on an advertisement saying things like;
“Did you know Albert Einstein and Steven Hawking are atheists?”
Or
“I believe in God because it gives me comfort, peace and has taught me more about tolerance of others.”
They only attack each others and provoke each other while encouraging others support their groups with more donations. That’s all they accomplish. The make more money for themselves and keep people divided and pissed off.
So why do we even care what these dummies think anyways?
If your message is bullshit and seeks to shout down others who oppose you then shouldn’t they just simply be ignored or at least chuckled at like a fat kid with pudding on his shirt?
Taking the freedom from these people to spend their supporters money on advertising campaigns would be stifling freedom of speech. It is everyones right to say what the hell they want and we should always fight for our own and other peoples right (especially the people we disagree with) to keep that fundamental right. It might also be a good idea just say “who cares what you think anyways? Now go wave your brochure around somewhere else because what I think is none of your damned business anyways.”
One thing is for sure about religion and atheism and is a bit too long and complicated to fit on the side of a bus.
You sure won’t find any atheists strapping bombs on themselves and blowing themselves to pieces in a crowded subway station.
There also wasn’t one religious person in The Soviet Union who thought that killing people of faith and destroying churches was a good thing.
Both sides have been very clear about their willingness to inflict their opinions about the after life in a very big way.
Here’s another bus poster you will never see an atheist organization pay for;
“Did you know Fidel Castro is an atheist?”
You’ll also never see any Christians print any posters that say;
“We got it a bit wrong. Jesus was black. White people with blue eyes didn’t live in that part of the world back then. Ooops. Sorry about that.”
