Thursday 8 January 2009

A cowardly attempt at censorship

"There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."

I might as well start with this quote. This is depressing, but that was to be expected. A rather ingenious publicity campaign, led by the British Humanist Association and supported by prominent atheists such as Richard Dawkins, claiming that there is probably no God is being attacked by some Christian zealots, under the excuse that there are proofs of God's existence. Well no, there is not, that's the whole point: faith, whatever it might be, and its ultimate claim, the existence of a supreme being, is unverifiable. Personal experience is irrelevant: if people claim that they feel from experience God's presence in this world, I can just as easily claim that I feel none of it. The burden of proof is on their side. Hence, the claim that there is probably no God is correct, or can be defended and can certainly be expressed openly. I like a publicity campaign that urges me to enjoy life without consuming a particular product or adhering to a particular ideology. It is supremely ironic that a Christian association such as Christian Voice, which makes publicity taking for granted that God exists and he has the same moral as they have (although I doubt such organisation show any kind of real moral, as their faith often replace it), would ask to a governmental organisation to censor a message that disagrees with theirs. It is cheap, it is cowardly, it is disgusting. If you think the slogan is wrong, prove it. But that would be too difficult, as it would involve thinking. I hope they laugh at them at the ASA, because they deserve it. In the meantime, I'll enjoy life without worrying.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

A propos, je voudrais rappeler, en cette année 2009, un anniversaire important. A l'époque cela ébranla les piliers du temple.

http://www.hominides.com/html/darwin-anniversaire/charles_darwin-2009.php

Gwen Buchanan said...

We just caught this campaign yesterday and saw the slogan on the buses on the national news.. looks like it is causing a bit of a raucous..

Your statement..."If you think the slogan is wrong, prove it. But that would be too difficult, as it would involve THINKING"... That is exactly right!!! when everybody starts thinking and taking responsibiliy for their part of making the world better... things will improve...

Jazz said...

Well, since we're talking fundamentalist christians, I'm not surprised that logic flys out the window.

Guillaume said...

Gwen-my bet is that on long term the controversy will benefit rationalists. The fundies are proving how ridiculous they are.
Jazz-Sadly, they will try anything to impose their view, even using legal actions. They are a cowardly lot.

Ariane said...

Thankfully the ASA ruled that they weren't going to adjudicate on the existence of God or not!