Atheists hope (don't pray) to bring ads to Toronto (G&M)

[wyliepoon]

according to the website, the ttc has been allowing religiously motivated ads to be advertised. is this true?

I think everybody has seen the Bus Stop Bible Studies inside TTC vehicles (they can also be seen in Burlington and Calgary).

http://www.busstopbiblestudies.com/

Here's what they have to say about the atheism ads:

We knew it would only be a matter of time. Canadian Press has just announced that the Toronto based Freethought Association of Canada hopes to copycat England's "THERE'S PROBABLY NO GOD" campaign.

Bus Stop Bible Studies has been posting Bible messages inside Toronto's buses and subway cars (also on Burlington, ON and Calgary, AB transit systems) for a little over two-years. The messages, which include more than 300 different designs, have challenged and encouraged millions of transit riders. It is estimated that these displays have been viewed more than 150-million times.

We have received testimonies of changed lives as a result of people reading just one or two verses from God's Word on the different transit systems. Although we see the occasional negative comment on someone's blog, we understand the TTC has received only five expressions of concern (even fewer complaints) since the first 'studies' were posted and none from the other transit companies.

Our position is that we strongly believe in freedom of expression and freedom of religion and commend the Supreme Court of Canada for the positive rulings they have made in this regard thus far. We encourage visitors to view "Religious Advertising in the Public Square" which addresses many of the issues people raise on this matter.

What an opportunity for the Christian community to confront this challenge! If 30,000 people of God donated just $5 per month, this would allow Bus Stop Bible Studies to post a display in virtually every bus and subway car in Canada year-round! Will you help?

Another example of "religiously motivated" ads were those taken out by the Falun Gong (labelled as a subversive cult in China) some years ago. They were big and yellow and read "FALUN DAFA IS GOOD!" with a photo of Falun Gong protesters waving banners in Tiananmen Square. Now they are using TTC to advertise their "Divine" dance show, going as far as getting people dressed up in Chinese costumes to hand out pamphlets in the Finch Station concourse.

*****

I think the floodgates for religiously motivated ads have been broken wide open by the Bible studies and the Falun Gong. As a Christian, all I can say is that I have to accept a level playing field in terms of religious ads, so there is really nothing I can do about atheist ads. What I can only do is to give a defense of what I believe in.

What I am against is when religious groups proselytize people on TTC property without permission. Jehovah's Witnesses standing at subway station entrances giving out tracts, Falun Gong members standing on the Scarborough Centre RT platform handing out copies of the Epoch Times, Mormons going up and down the aisles of buses talking to people, and, unfortunately, Bible-pounding subway preachers yelling at the top of their lungs in trains during the morning rush hour. Not only are they a nuisance, they are breaking TTC bylaws and they just get in the way of passengers getting from point A to point B.

 

[adma]

what? why?

Just taking subway wraps to its ultimate, i.e. what if some anti-abortion zealots bought a whole car.

Or maybe the opposite number: PETA-type zealots wrapping a car with maimed fur-bearing creatures...

 

[adma]

Then again, a "Jack Chick" subway wrap might be kinda kewl...

 

[Torontovibe]

That ad is brilliant. Bring it on I say.... it's fun to offend these religious types.

I totally agree! BRING IT ON. If I have to deal with religious BS, they can put up with a harmless ad.

 

[Brandon716]

If anything the atheist billboard is rather tame because it says there's probably no god.

 

[detroitbootybass]

I like that ad... i'm all for it.

It would attempt, in some small way, to counterbalance the almost overwhelming crush of Christianity in the English-speaking countries.

 

[jenny_zhang]

I don't see the point of it. Athiesm/agnosticism is something people either go towards on their own or not. Not convinced by an ad on a bus.

 

[khris]

I don't see the point of it. Athiesm/agnosticism is something people either go towards on their own or not. Not convinced by an ad on a bus.

What are you talking about? WE are born without a religion. Religion should be something a person chooses to believe in, not forced on you by your parents.

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

I don't see the point of it. Athiesm/agnosticism is something people either go towards on their own or not. Not convinced by an ad on a bus.

it's to counter the religious ads.

Just taking subway wraps to its ultimate, i.e. what if some anti-abortion zealots bought a whole car.

Or maybe the opposite number: PETA-type zealots wrapping a car with maimed fur-bearing creatures...

ah, gotcha.

What I am against is when religious groups proselytize people on TTC property without permission. Jehovah's Witnesses standing at subway station entrances giving out tracts, Falun Gong members standing on the Scarborough Centre RT platform handing out copies of the Epoch Times, Mormons going up and down the aisles of buses talking to people, and, unfortunately, Bible-pounding subway preachers yelling at the top of their lungs in trains during the morning rush hour. Not only are they a nuisance, they are breaking TTC bylaws and they just get in the way of passengers getting from point A to point B.

i was in a hospital waiting room a while ago and the tables in the room had copies of the watchtower on them. proselytizing is almost everywhere. while rolling down the sidewalk one day, this one lady wouldn't leave me alone, telling me that the world was gonna end and jesus was gonna come back. she kept pointing to fires and violence in the world and using those as proof for end of times. i also hate it when they come knocking at my door in the morning while i sleep. i have to get up and rush to answer and it's not easy for me. these people are absolutely horrible. they salivate at the idea of global destruction and worldwide suffering.


getting back to hospitals, on thing i don't like is how they keep your religious beliefs or lack of on their records. i never liked this, not as a catholic and as an atheist. i know it's for what ever procedure they have to take for when they care for you in your last days but it opens up the possibility for discrimination from hospital employees. i don't care what religion you are or not, you have the right to access health care without any possible detrimental treatment from a hospital employee even your belief or lack of contradicts theirs.


p.s, sure enough, as i type this, the tv nearby is showing some religious program with the words "god's master plan for your life". i thought bad things happen to good people because god gave us free will? tv really sucks at this time of the morning. but it's not all bad, sometimes i watch for a good laugh. i don't know about anyone else buy some times i wanna buy kerney thomas' prayer handkerchief. cause gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad!

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

What are you talking about? WE are born without a religion. Religion should be something a person chooses to believe in, not forced on you by your parents.

exactly. even when i was a catholic, i believed that it was my choice, constantly denying that it could be a bias of how i was raised, like why i like to eat chicken and not seagulls. how could it have been my choice if from birth the views of christianity we pounded into my skull? the majority of that exposure happened during about 15 years of catholic schooling. i may have received an education but most importantly, i received the programming to be an obedient catholic follower. i didn't go to a math, science, language or economics school, i went to a catholic school. the catholic comes first and is the most important objective of the institution or else it wouldn't be so prominent in large letters on the side of the building. it's where i spent most of my time, it was all i knew. of course they would succeed to mold me how they wanted. you think they taught us what logical fallacies were? ya right!

 

[Earlscourt_Lad]

I've got to fall into the who cares column. If they can come up with the money to pay for the ad, fine. If they can't, that's their problem. Whatever happened to the concept of an open market for ideas? I don't care for the bible ads, but really, I don't care for the innumerable learn to speak spanish ads.

As for you Mr. Prometheus, I find it ironic that you have spent the better part of this thread proslytizing for aethism.

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

As for you Mr. Prometheus, I find it ironic that you have spent the better part of this thread proslytizing for aethism.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proselytizing

Main Entry:
pros·e·ly·tize Listen to the pronunciation of proselytize
Pronunciation:
\ˈprä-s(ə-)lə-ˌtīz\
Function:
verb
Inflected Form(s):
pros·e·ly·tized; pros·e·ly·tiz·ing
Date:
1679

intransitive verb 1 : to induce someone to convert to one's faith 2 : to recruit someone to join one's party, institution, or cause transitive verb : to recruit or convert especially to a new faith, institution, or cause

1) i'm not trying to convert anyone to any faith.

2) i'm not recruiting anyone to join anything.

3) i'm not asking anyone to join a cause.

 

[lordmandeep]

Truth is those damn elitist atheists can do what and say what they want. There will always be something Humans follow.
The world is still as equally screwed with or without religion.
Start focusing on the real problems in the world...

I will believe in a GOD forever.

However do not fool yourself, I am a firm believer in Science fully.

The only theory I do not believe fully is the Big Bang Theory and not because I think Religion has a better answer. Its because we do not know much and the current theory is not very convincing. Of course over time we will know better and I take the Big Bang Theory over what religion says still.

I am still quite a spiritual person who does believe somewhat in the supernatural.

I find being a boring rational guy who thinks the entire world can be explained by theories and equations to be so boring. I want some mysterious factor to exist, it makes the whole world so much more interesting.
Like the stuff about Nostradamus. People say over time something will always happen that matches his prophecies.

True but a handful of his prophecies are so exact I think it is almost impossible to make up and hope it just plays out.

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

Truth is those damn elitist atheists can do what and say what they want. There will always be something Humans follow.
The world is still as equally screwed with or without religion.
Start focusing on the real problems in the world...

I will believe in a GOD forever.

However do not fool yourself, I am a firm believer in Science fully.

The only theory I do not believe fully is the Big Bang Theory and not because I think Religion has a better answer. Its because we do not know much and the current theory is not very convincing. Of course over time we will know better and I take the Big Bang Theory over what religion says still.

I am still quite a spiritual person who does believe somewhat in the supernatural.

I find being a boring rational guy who thinks the entire world can be explained by theories and equations to be so boring. I want some mysterious factor to exist, it makes the whole world so much more interesting.
Like the stuff about Nostradamus. People say over time something will always happen that matches his prophecies.

True but a handful of his prophecies are so exact I think it is almost impossible to make up and hope it just plays out.

elitist atheists?

would this then be humble?

it does not get any more elitist than religious hierarchy. it doesn't matter if your the catholic church or a tribe in the desert.

The world is still as equally screwed with or without religion.
Start focusing on the real problems in the world...

yes the world will continue to have problems even without religion.

just curious, is religious extremism not a real problem?

However do not fool yourself, I am a firm believer in Science fully.

The only theory I do not believe fully is the Big Bang Theory and not because I think Religion has a better answer. Its because we do not know much and the current theory is not very convincing. Of course over time we will know better and I take the Big Bang Theory over what religion says still.

if you don't "believe" in the big bang, then you are not "a firm believer in Science fully". a theory is not a guess, a theory is an explanation. scientific laws are part of scientific theories.

I find being a boring rational guy who thinks the entire world can be explained by theories and equations to be so boring. I want some mysterious factor to exist, it makes the whole world so much more interesting.

you are entitled to think things are boring. also, i want a naked red haired chick with big breasts to exist in my closet too but wanting something to exist, doesn't make it exist.

 

[khris]

I'm obviously not a moderator here, and I'm not trying to be one by saying this, but please you guys let's not get personal and have this thread end up closed.
Let's be constructive.