What about MY God?

I’m a believer, sang the Monkees whilst pretending to play their instruments before venturing off on another “madcap” adventure. I loved the Monkees, and between them and the Banana Splits my weekend TV watching was a religious experience.

Ok, maybe not religious but certainly regular.

All of which is apropos of nothing to be honest but when I started writing this post and was revisiting some of the information that helped create it that damn Monkees track popped into my head.

ANYWAY.

Let’s talk about buses. Particularly the hoo-haa over the “atheist bus” which has had me laughing and shaking my head for two days now.

I’ve been following the atheist bus thing on Twitter. The premise is that, as some of the buses in yonder London town now have adverts for God on them, surely it’s just as fair to advertise the fact that there is (and the wording is important here) “There’s probably no God”.

When this was announced a spokesperson from Christian Voice, who obviously aren’t mad keen on the idea, said:

“People don’t like being preached at. Sometimes it does them good, but they still don’t like it.”

Yesterday, the same spokesperson from Christian Voice suggested that:

“There is plenty of evidence for God, from people’s personal experience, to the complexity, interdependence, beauty and design of the natural world.

But there is scant evidence on the other side, so I think the advertisers are really going to struggle to show their claim is not an exaggeration or inaccurate, as the ASA code puts it.”

Which does sound a little bit preachy.

However, as far as I can tell the argument boils down to this.

There is PROOF that there is ‘a’ God (just the one mind) but no proof that there probably isn’t a God.

It does seem a little ludicrous, doesn’t it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti-religion per se, although there are a LOT of bad things done in the name of religion (which I realise aren’t always the same thing the given religion stands for) and I’ll happily tolerate your belief system. I’m presuming here that the spirit of reciprocity (The Golden Rule as some christians would have it) isn’t at play here then?

Surely Christian Voice aren’t trying to change the rules, the very rules that they are trying to promote? Ohh well.

I really don’t want to get too into this as, from prior experience, religion (and politics) are just too polarising and no-one seems able to take a sensible middle ground.

However, if you are interested in this story I urge you to head over to SwissToni who has written the post about this that I wish I had (could have) written.

Comments

  1. Basic scientific/statistic fact – you can’t prove a negative, so by definition one can’t prove that there probably isn’t a God/Loch Ness Monster etc…

    Not normally one to hold back on Religious Rants, nevertheless I think in this instance it is one individual or one fringe group of a small number of individuals who are complaining.

    I can’t really see intellectuals like Rowan Williams or Jonathan Sachs or worldly-wise thickos like Murphy-O’Connor and O’Brien getting het up about it.

    I did overhear a conversation once, on a bus, as it happened between two women. One had seen an advert for Jesus on a bus on Oxford Street; this was a sign from God, a miracle, and proof of God’s existence; Praise the Lord, agreed the other. I did want to explain to them the connection between their tithe and this magical appearance of adverts on buses on Oxford Street. I decided not to.

  2. Hang on… There’s proof of God?

    I thought the strength of the Christian faith was belief without proof?

    If there’s proof, then they don’t need to believe, they can just know.

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