Amusing, in a headdesky way, or headdesky in an amusing way?

[tree_and_leaf]

Dawkins and Sherine back bus ads reading "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."

.... yeah. Atheist says: stop thinking and take my word for it!

(Actually, that's a little unfair, because the ads are intended as a response to a series of evangelical ones threatening non-Christians with hell-fire. All the same, the fear of hell is not exactly integral to the faith of most of the religious people I know†, and I cannot say that a sudden loss of my faith would improve my enjoyment of life; quite the reverse.)

On a side note, buried in the article is the information that Dawkins supports a Tory humanist group. I didn't know he was a Tory, but for some reason I'm not entirely surprised. (ETA: see comment from lizw below; this appears to be a misunderstanding.

† The only sense I can make of Hell is total alienation from God, and therefore all that is good, of becoming lost in myself and in hatred, which does indeed scare me quite a lot, but I suspect that's not the sort of thing Dawkins et al think I'm scared of.

Comments

[parrot-knight.livejournal.com]

Dawkins is usually identified as a social democrat; I've seen his interpretation of evolution contrasted with the libertarian political conclusions of Matt Ridley somewhere.

"Stop worrying and enjoy your life" is extremely pat, and open to all kinds of interpretations; I don't suppose they mean "Party on" but they might.

[sangerin.livejournal.com]

I'm rapidly becoming convinced that Dawkins et al only believe in one sort of Christian. The rest of us don't exist. (Got defriended by someone over Dawkins, although I can't say I'm sorry that I no longer have all sorts of pro-Dawkins stuff all over my flist. (I miss the Jenny Agutter squeeage, though. ~g~)

[lizw.livejournal.com]

I think when the article says "helped launch a Tory humanist group", it just means that he spoke at their launch meeting (http://www.conservativehumanists.org.uk/?p=46) at the Tory Fringe last month.

I remember being amused by the idea of the ads when it was first mooted, and briefly considered pledging.

[sigisgrim.livejournal.com]

I think I need to observe that the advert doesn't attempt to encourage one to lose one's faith. It just says stop worrying.

I think, in the context of the advert, that it's just as valid to believe and not to worry about the possibility in believing in something that doesn't exist, as to not believe and not worry about failing to believe in something that does exist.

[oursin.livejournal.com]

As an atheist, I feel that there are probably little earthquakes all over the places where a long tradition of freethinkers are buried. Because George Eliot, e.g., was all about enjoying life - um, well, actually, she was, cf various speeches by Ladislaw in Middlemarch, but in a responsible, ethical way that wouldn't really lend itself to glib soundbites.

While saying or implying 'You are a sad deluded person' may be less nasty than saying 'Ye're all damned!! There'll be no butter in hell!' I suspect that people are more likely to be insulted by the former than the latter.

[straussmonster.livejournal.com]

I would pay a great deal of monies (that I do not have) to see ads like that in various places back home, because the righteous indignation generated could power the country for years.

[dolorous-ett.livejournal.com]

That seems a bit over the top, but I've had enough experience of the idiotic kind of religious zealot to see why Dawkins's crowd are doing it. I'm not sure this is helping, as generally atheists should be proud of not backing people into corners and nagging them about the state of their souls, but there you go.

A plague on both their houses, as far as I'm concerned.

[el-staplador.livejournal.com]

I was amused by our dear friend Stephen Green: 'Bendy-buses, like atheism, are a danger to the public at large.' Interesting order, I thought. I wonder if he is a Routemaster diehard.

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

You've generated a good discussion here!

[scionofgrace.livejournal.com]

I think the bit I liked from the article I read was the Christian and Muslim leaders saying, "We don't mind, it'll get people thinking about religion and God and is therefore good press!"

Also, as I understand it, the hellfire wasn't mentioned in the ads, but rather on the associated websites.

Honestly, though... the idea that there is no overarching purpose to existence and no afterlife is actually one of the more depressing ideas I know of.