Posted by Helen on: 02.09.2009 /
Three Christian groups are posting their own bus ads in London in response to the atheist ads. (Doreen thanks for the link to the TIME article about this)
I was disappointed to read that London’s Trinitarian Bible Society will be displaying posters which say “The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God.” (a quote from Psalm 14 and Psalm 53). I can’t imagine that quote doing anything except persuading atheists that Christians are jerks.
I read this in the Trinitarian Bible Society’s quarterly magazine (page 4), regarding the ads:
Prayer is [...] sought for the wise and gracious handling by the Society of the responses that may be received.
If they truly cared about being gracious why would they post an ad with those words in the first place?
I often disagree with Richard Dawkins about Christians but in this instance I agree with him that this is more offensive than the London atheist bus ad. (Which read “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”)
Richard Dawkins website has a copy of the TIME article posted and in the comments someone has responded with this Bible quote: “anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” (Matthew 5)
The other two Christian ads are similar to the atheist ad except for the God part
There definitely is a God. So join the Christian Party and enjoy your life.
There is God. Don’t Worry. Enjoy your life!
Not very original but at least they don’t insult atheists.
Comment by: seeking something
1Oh here we go…. I wonder if any atheist bus drivers will refuse to drive around the buses that carry these slogans….. :)
Personally I thought the Atheist slogan on the UK buses was unnecessarily inflammatory (although a fun idea!)I preferred the ‘Be good for goodness sake’ version in the US - much more playful and positive. Implying that Christians worry and don’t enjoy life was always going to stir up a backlash.
Comment by: Helen
2ss, I preferred the US version too.
But I think the Christian fool quote ads are even more inflammatory than the UK atheist ads.
Comment by: Anisha
3I think why a lot of people are turned off to Christianity’s message is because of things like this: if I had read the “fool” ads, I would have just thought they were exclusivist jerks.
I see no problem with the ads themselves - but you would think, that if the point of of the Christian ads were to attack the atheists, they failed, and if they were trying to reach out, they also failed. Hm.
Comment by: Benjamin Ady
4I hope it won’t be rude for me to point out that the Trinitarian Bible Society is a fairly fringe group. I know “fringe” can have bad connotations–I’m not meaning it like that. I just mean that their way of thinking/believing about the Bible (and presumably about other stuff as well) represents only a tiny fraction of Christians around the world.
I learned about them back when I was trying to figure out the whole “King James Only” thing, as I was sort of escaping the Christian sect I grew up in. They promote translations of the New Testament which are based on a Greek Text called the “Textus Receptus”, which has basically fallen almost entirely out of use among the great majority of Bible translators worldwide.
My understanding is that the largish majority of people who are currently working on Bible translation around the world believe the Textus Receptus to be inaccurate and outdated, and simply wouldn’t use it for translating the New Testament from the Greek. The Trinitarian Bible Society has tried to distance themselves from the King James Only controversy, but they totally buy into one of (or perhaps even *the*) main tenets of the King James Only Movement–the use of the Textus Receptus.
I’m just saying that I don’t think they should be thought of as fairly representing “Christians” as a group.
By the way, how crazy is this? Wycliffe Bible Tranlators claims there are only some 200 million people left on the planet who don’t have any part of the Bible translated into their own language–that’s out of 6.7 billion or so, or less than 3%. Crazy. Various people have translated at least portions of the Bible into some … 2000? languages. Wow.
Comment by: seeking something
5I agree with you Helen that ‘the fool’ posters are offensive. I guess the point I was trying to make is that if either ’side’ wants to engage the other side in conversaion then it’s probably best to stay away from offensive statements full stop.
I looked up the Trinitarian Society mag out of interest and it took me right back to my Brethren chapel days where people in the pulpit used a quite bizarre style of language that they didn’t use in their homes or the street. As I grew up and grew less in awe of them it became very hard to relate to.
Comment by: Helen
6Anisha, I agree - I can’t figure out what good the specific Trinitarian Bible Society ads can do although I don’t have a problem with atheists or Christians paying for ads on buses.
Benjamin, thanks for pointing out that the TBS Christians don’t represent all Christians by any means.
ss, I agree that avoiding offense is the most likely way to achieve constructive dialog. Some Christians certainly do seem to have their own language that they speak amongst themselves. Sometimes around others too, but not always.
Comment by: Jim J
7Helen — But I think the Christian fool quote ads are even more inflammatory than the UK atheist ads.
Incorrect. If God does exist, the atheist bus ads are infinitely more inflammatory…for the atheists, of course.
If God does not exist, how could the atheist possibly be offended? There always is that odd, atheist dichotomy, though. “Nothing offends me except God, who I believe does not exist!”
Comment by: Helen
8Jim, thanks for your comment.
Imo the Christians who posted the ads are being offensive regardless of whether God exists or not.
Comment by: Elaine
9So, Helen - how did you even come across the Trinitarian bible Society quarterly record? just curious :)
The thing that struck me when I looked at this (and I haven’t gotten any further) is this statement
They were founded in 1831 and they say they have the “uncorrupted version of the Word of God”.
That is a pretty bold statement.
I don’t think there is any such thing. While I think the Bible is the inspired Word of God…that is not the same as saying every word in the Bible is from the mouth of God…(men were the instruments that “wrote” it down.)
now, I’m trouble :)
Comment by: Helen
10Elaine, I can’t remember how I found it - I must have been googling key words and looking for something on the Trinitarian Bible Society’s site relating to the bus ads. And that’s what the search turned up.
You’re not in trouble with me for your views about the Bible :)