Atheist bus ads are up and running in Toronto

 
I'm told that buses with the atheist ads are on the streets of Toronto, although I haven't seen one yet. If you spot one, you are asked to take a photo and post it on the official website of the Canadian Atheist Bus Campaign [Photos of the Atheist Bus ads in Toronto].

I'm pleased to report that so far there haven't been any reports of people fainting in the street and crime levels have remained steady in spite of the threat to Toronto's morals.

Meanwhile, the ads have been turned down in Ottawa and Halifax. We're waiting to hear from Calgary. Check atheistbus.ca for the latest updates. While you're there, donate some money to the cause. I gave them $100 and that's just a beginning. The campaign has raised $45,500 so far.

Click on the image below to see the fine print. It says "www.atheistbus.ca This advert was paid for by public donations." I'm really proud of the fact that the Canadian campaign doesn't shy away from using the word "atheist." After all, that's what it's all about.

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Cafe Inquiry: Freedom of Speech and the Atheist Bus Campaign

 
Join us on Friday night for a discussion about Freedom of Speech and the Atheist Bus Campaign.

Modeled on the highly popular Cafe Scientifique, Centre for Inquiry presents Cafe Inquiry. Join us for a series of interactive forums exploring contemporary issues in science, reason, philosophy and politics. We bring you 2 or 3 guest experts that open by addressing the issue from a variety of perspectives and responding to moderator questions. Then we open it to the floor for your questions and comments to the panel and each other. This is your chance to interact with a diverse group of people on CFI's broad topics.

I've met some of the people who were involved in the atheist bus campaign. This promises to be a fun evening. If you've never been to an event at the Centre for Inquiry you can get in touch with me. I'll be happy to meet up with you and take you to the location.

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Is the bus ad campaign working?

 
The atheist bus campaign is being run and organized by a small group of individuals who have put a lot or work into it. Most of them are members of Freethought Association of Canada whose President is Justin Trottier.

I support the campaign to put atheist ads on city buses for the following reasons.

1. It supports other atheists and encourages them to "come out of the closet" and discuss their atheism openly.
2. It stimulates debate and discussion within our society, often raising questions that many have never seriously considered.
3. For those who get it, it injects a welcome note of humor into a subject that really needs it.

The campaign will be a success if it attracts attention and gets people talking about rationalism and superstition. That discussion has already been kick-started by several best-selling books in the past few years and this ad campaign will keep the discussion going.

Up until recently, atheism was rarely mentioned in the main stream media and atheists were never interviewed on television. All that has changed in recent years and now you can hardly do a story on religion without getting the "other side." That's remarkable progress in a very short period of time. Today, it looks like more that 20% of Canadians are atheists and that number is growing rapidly in spite of what religious leaders might tell you.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about. The atheist bus campaign is worried because Global TV calls Atheists ‘Fanatics’?, but that's missing the point. The point is that a show like this would have been unheard of ten years ago. Look at how Christian, Muslim, and Jewish leaders are now obliged to defend their belief in God.

There's a remarkable segment in this video beginning at 4:30. The head of Toronto's Transit Commission is asked whether the TTC would approve some religious ads written up by the host of the TV show. The TTC head says, "These, would be more than welcome." That's the correct answer. Game on.

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The Bishop Is Offended

 
Donate to The Canadian Atheist Bus Campaign and get those atheist signs on Canada's buses and subways.

It's going to happen in Toronto, and Calgary is probably the next city according to the Freethought Association. An article in last week's Calgary Herald highlights some of the opposition to the atheist campaign [Calgary next for atheist bus ads, activist group says].

Calgary Catholic Bishop Fred Henry said the ideal date to launch such a campaign would be April Fool's Day.

"I don't know what the norms Calgary Transit uses to accept advertising, but if the benchmark is that it should be non-offensive, I'm offended," said Henry.

"This is insulting to us. The interfaith dialogue that goes on in this city is characterized by deep respect for all the individual players."

Henry characterized the ad's message as aggressive, inward-looking, self-indulgent and narcissistic.

"Aggressive, inward-looking, self-indulgent and narcissistic," now that's offensive. Is this what Bishop Henry means by "deep respect for all the individual players"?

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[Hat Tip: Jeffrey Shallit at Recursivity.]

Canadian Atheist Bus Campaign

 

Donate to The Canadian Atheist Bus Campaign and get those atheists signs on Toronto buses and subways.

The campaign is sponsored by the Freethought Association of Canada. They've raised over $10,000 in just a few days.

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The Atheist Ad Campaign on The Agenda

 
TV Ontario (TVO) has a daily program called The Agenda with Steve Paikin. It's usually very good.

Last week they had a show on the atheist bus campaign featuring Justin Trottier of the Center for Inquiry and Robert Buckman, a well-known Toronto atheist. Here's the entire show. I don't think any one of the participants is particularly proud of their performance. But see below ....


At one point in the show, the Christian woman, Kathy Shaidle, brings up the "Stalin, the atheist, killed 30 million people (therefore God exists)" argument and Robert Buckman tries to answer in a reasonable manner. He doesn't do a bad job (excerpt below) but Canadian Cynic has a suggestion: What Robert Buckman should have said.

I caution Sandwalk readers that CC's language can be a bit crude ... but it sure is funny.

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Atheist Buses in Genoa

 
"The bad news is that God does not exist. The good news is that you do not need him."

I wonder how long it will take until these signs show up on buses in the major cities of North America? Anyone want to takes bets on when we'll see an atheist bus sign in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, or Calgary?

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[Hat Tip: Friendly Atheist]

Come Ride an "Atheist" Streetcar on the Streets of Toronto!

 
The Canadian Atheist Bus Campaign is throwing a party on Friday night. Meet for food and drinks at the Centre for Inquiry on Beverly St. then take a one hour ride on a TTC streetcar bearing the atheist ad [Toronto Streetcar Party Tickets Now on Sale!].

A party in the downtown Toronto area on a streetcar and at the Centre for Inquiry building. Ticket holders will receive one ride on a streetcar around various landmarks in the downtown Toronto area and also have a chance to mingle, talk, and party with other atheists, secularists, and humanists at the Centre for Inquiry. Drinks and food will be available for purchase.

This is your chance to meet and thank the organizers who raised the money and got the ads on the buses (and streetcars). Buy a ticket and help support the cause in other Canadian cities.

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Free Speech in Ottawa

 
Some of you might recognize these people in spite of their attempts to disguise themselves!¹

They are protesting the decision by OC Transpo in Ottawa (Canada) to ban the atheist ads on city buses. Apparently it's okay to run Christian ads but the atheist ad is "too controversial."

The Humanist Association of Ottawa wants you to show up at Ottawa City Hall on Wednesday March 11 when the city council is scheduled to vote on a motion to overrule OC Transpo and allow the ads [Protest the bigots at City Hall]. Several members of council are sympathetic and the first vote last month was a tie. It only takes one more council member to get the ads on the buses.

Atheist Bus Ottawa has put up a petition that you can sign. Do it now!

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1. To find out who they are you have to sign the petition and see who else has signed!

Canadian Gets Booted Out of the Creation Museum

 
Derek Rogers is a computer science student at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada). I met him in Washington last April. He has been active in the atheist bus campaign and other events promoting a nonreligious point of view.

Derek was at the Secular Student Alliance meeting in Ohio and went along with the group that visited the creation museum. He was asked to leave. Here's the video of him explaining what happened to PZ Myers, Seanna and Steve Watson, and others who had just toured the museum.

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[Hat Tip: Friendly Atheist]

Putting the Atheist Bus Campaign in Context

 
You can skip to the two minute mark after watching for one minute.

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[Hat Tip: Friendly Atheist]

Should Atheists Have the Same Rights as Others?

 

From CP24. So far the correct answer is winning but 16% of the respondants think that atheists should not be allowed to buy ads because they might be offensive to some people. [PZ Myers probably affected the results of this poll: It's yet another atheist bus poll]

I wonder what those people think of the Conservative Party ads on the radio? I find them very offensive, and stupid.

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[Hat Tip: Canadian Cynic]

Evolution News & Views

 
From time to time I mention the Disco site called Evolution News & Views. It has a lofty purpose that's prominently displayed on every posting.

The misreporting of the evolution issue is one key reason for this site. Unfortunately, much of the news coverage has been sloppy, inaccurate, and in some cases, overtly biased. Evolution News & Views presents analysis of that coverage, as well as original reporting that accurately delivers information about the current state of the debate over Darwinian evolution.

Here's a posting from Robert Crowther dated yesterday afternoon.

So, Darwinists are admitting that up until Friday, Jan. 16 2009 @ 4:10PM, evolution was “mostly theory.” Interesting. I am now certain that dogs adapt to their environment, too. Last night my dog kept barking and I shook my finger and spoke very firmly to her and made her sit on her bed. She stopped barking. So, at 7:10 pm I had a perfect example of evolution. Or was it adaptation? Or was it bad parenting? Whatever, we now see that dogs evolve, which previously had been believed to be “mostly theory.” My peers, who were there reviewing the moment, are skeptical because they think my dog is asexual. Regardless, this is all speculation — except for poor Kali. She still lacks an opposable thumb.

We may need a better word than IDiot to describe these people.

Is there an atheist bus campaign in Seattle? I'd like to donate.

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What Fools Those Atheists Be!

 
Read Lord! What Fools Those Atheists Be! in Report Magazine. (Report Magazine is published in Edmonton, Texas Alberta. It bills itself as "Western Canada's Conservative Voice.") The author of the offensive article is Pastor Shafer Parker, a Texas native who is now with the Hawkwood Baptist Church in Calgary.

Before you read the article, answer the poll question in the left-hand sidebar: "Do you believe that there is a 'God'"? So far, the answer "Absolutely!" is leading over "Absolutely Not!" but it's early days.

Heathen Mike of Mike's Weekly Skeptic Rant has dissected most of the article at: Shafer Parker, Answered. You should read what Mike has to say. I'm sure you'll be convinced that it's not the atheists who are the fools.

Most of Pastor Parker's rant is against the bus ads promoting atheism. I want to address one particular point in Parker's article. He says ...

The Christian West's centuries-old tradition of free expression and open debate is unique in that nothing like it exists anywhere else on earth. No such tradition exists in any society dominated by a single non-Christian faith, including the atheistical Communist-materialist nations of China, North Korea and the former Soviet Union. It is not an accident that these ads have deliberately set out to offend the majority Christian theists living in London, Madrid and Washington, D.C. They would not have been allowed in Beijing, New Delhi or Riyadh.

Parker believes that Christianity is associated with free expression and open debate. He claims that no other religion has a similar tradition. This would have been news to the people of Cordova in the Moorish Kingdom from 800-1200 AD. It would also have been news to most Catholics throughout history and to most Protestant sects (e.g. Puritans). They aren't exactly noted for tolerating free expression and open debate. (Were the ancient Greeks Christians?)

But let's put history aside. It's obviously not one of Parker's strong points. Let's just look at Christian nations in the last century or so. Mussolini's Italy and Franco's Spain come to mind. So does Czarist Russia. I'm sure there are plenty of other Christian nations where free expression and open debate were not common—I'm thinking of several nations in Central and South America. I don't think he's making a valid point. I don't think the concept of free expression is in any way a product of Christianity.

What about modern states? Israel, Japan. and India seem to be non-Christian states that have a certain degree of free expression and open debate. Parker says that the atheist signs would not be allowed on buses in New Delhi. I suspect he's wrong about that. In any case, he ignores the fact that the atheist signs will never be allowed in some of the most Christian parts of America. Isn't that strange?

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The Toronto Transit Commission Stands for Freedom of Speech

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) has resisted attempts to have a controversial ad removed from their buses, streetcars, and subways as reported in The Toronto Star [TTC won’t remove controversial ads].

But a review that is automatically triggered whenever the TTC gets at least five complaints about an ad found there were no grounds to pull either advertisement.

That review was by TTC chair Karen Stintz and TTC commissioner Maria Augimeri.

“Although I would not personally condone the comportment outlined in the advertisement, I feel that I do not have the jurisdiction nor the authority to promote its cancellation; particularly because the TTC would not fare well in a court challenge should the promoter of the advertisement choose to make this issue one of rights and freedoms,” Augimeri said of the ... ad.

“There is nothing that violates any of our policies, and we do have policies around our advertising (based on) the Ontario Human Rights Code, not promoting hate or violence,” said TTC spokesman Brad Ross.

“You don’t have to agree with the message, you don’t have to like the message of the advertiser. Our suggestion would be that if somebody takes issue with the ad they take it up with the advertiser,” he said.

Congratulations TTC! That's exactly right.

It doesn't matter what sort of ad triggered the complaints but just in case you're interested, here it is. The first paragraph says, "Dear Jesus, My mom and dad do drugs at home and it scares me. Will you help them stop? Thank you for hearing my prayer." The second paragraph is, "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand." The ad is sponsored by Bus Stop Bible Studies.

Note: Hemant Mehta has a slightly different take on the issue [Christian Bus Ad Advises Child with Druggie Parents to Pray, Not Call for Help].

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[Hat Tip: Canadian Atheist]

The Streetcar We Desire

 
Last night we rode the atheist streetcar for about an hour and a half through downtown Toronto. Nobody reacted to the sign. That's probably a good thing.

Thanks to Chris, the Freethought Association of Canada, and The Centre for Inquiry for organizing the event and the bus campaign.

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