Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Fort Worth Buses: Good Without God


November 30, 2010 on The 33 News:
Advertisements on buses deliver all sorts of messages like "Hunger is here," or Hot & bothered." Starting next week a controversial ad will be zipping around Fort Worth on the sides of buses. It will read "Millions of Americans Are Good Without God."

"Kids are riding the bus and that is not showing a good thing for the kids." Denise Harvard said. She frequently rides buses with her son and believes the city made a mistake allowing four buses to carry the ad. The Dallas-Fort Worth Coalition Of Reason paid $2500 to have the ads run for 30 days. Coalition spokesperson Terry McDonald says the ads are designed to encourage non-believers to feel comfortable and come out of the closet.
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18 comments:

  1. "Kids are riding the bus, and showing free speech is not a good thing for the kids." Denise Harvard said

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  2. Perhaps they'd prefer we showcase some of the millions who are Bad With God?

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  3. I'd be for taking down the bus signs if the churches in my neighbourhood are removed and the Christian radio and tv networks were jammed. All are not a good thing for my kids.

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  4. Why not admit that the message is an attempt to counter two Christian views: that morality comes from God and that atheists are evil (Psalm 14:1 "<span>The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.</span> <span>They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.</span>" )? It seems to me that the main point of this psy-op is to convince Xns that we're not rotten to the core. We really need this if we are to avoid extreme persecution should a theocracy come to power in the U.S.  It's a concern to me that, should Xns have enough power, they'd decide that they really should do something about atheists who are a threat to their kids' salvation. It's also a good thing to convince people that, should they ever reject religion, they will not automatically become monsters.

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  5. "Ads...that equate being without God as good."

    Not exactly. The ad doesn't say that being without God is good. It doesn't really equate godlessness and goodness at all. It says that some Americans are good without God. A big distinction. Shoddy journalism.

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  6. At the end of the piece the reporter explains that Dallas won't be allowing the ads on their busses, because they no longer "accept faith-based ads" . OK, but whats that got to do with rejecting THIS ad?

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  7. Even though I don't agree with those behind the ad, I say let it run. It does me no harm for someone to hold different beliefs than I do.

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  8. Ricky, for something to be "faith-based" it need only be based on what someone believes to be true.

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  9. The ad isn't exactly clear on what it means when it uses the word "good". One possibility is that the authors are saying "we're without God and we're good with that." Another possibility is that the authors are saying, "we're without God, but we're still accomplishing good things." If that is the case then there is still the question of what things the authors consider good.

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  10. And the lesson from all of this? DOUBLE!
    ____________________________


    What do you want, you little ****ers?

    more of these idiots


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4C5yzFmC80



    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prizes_for_evidence_of_the_paranormal

    HOW N WON ALL THE PARANORMAL PRIZES!

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nostradamus


    pz myers does not exist…

    http://richarddawkins.net/discussions/543672-inhertitance-of-acquired-behaviour-adaptions-and-brain-gene-expression-in-chickens

    atheists, we’re gonna cut off your heads…

    THE HIGH PRICE OF REVOLUTION

    http://www.youtube.com/user/xviolatex?feature=mhum

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  11. How do you go from "Good without god" to "...that quote being without god is good"? (though probably true) And thats not even fox news...?!

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  12. It's fucking rediculous what these people who are against the bus ads are thinking. Let's break it down.

    - Atheist grows up in a country where millions of Christians are taught that there was it the only way, and many of those people are told further that those without god are BAD.

    - Thus, atheist is made an outcast.

    - Atheist stands up for himself, by putting on a billboard that they are also good.

    - Christians who've vilified the atheist say the atheist is being mean to the kids for telling both kids and adults, "We're not bad like some religions proclaim."


    I'm just so flabbergasted that the one woman says it's bad for kids. Did she explain why and the news story cut that out? I'd like to know more.

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  13. I don't know how to phrase it for an ad, but a 'teach the controversy' style atheist/theist-good/bad would probably be better at driving and directing the discussion.

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  14. Who knew Texas was big enough for atheists to live there?

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  15. What? "Faith based" is a code term for religion. It does not,--and nobody believes it does--refer to chemistry, for example. In this case, Dallas may be interested in stoping specifically religious controversy--for or against--on its buses.

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  16. "Good without God" means that, without religion, we're good people according to what most people think is good. There's no metaethics presented in the ad although there is an implicit view that ethics doesn't come from or require any god. Of course, for those who think ethics is obedience to some tyrant of the universe who--as if we're children-- hands out rewards and punishments, "Good without God" will make no sense at all. For me, ethics is about how to live a rewarding finite life--including doing so among others who're trying to do the same thing. But, this sort of ethics sees reason as a virtue and faith as a vice--a serious vice.

    From my perspective, the point of an ad like this is to counteract the outrageous nonsense of Psalm 14:1 ("<span>They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good</span>") We're not monsters. It's also a good idea to get across the view that, for people with doubts, they don't have to turn into monster should they finally come to reject religion--some have this concern.

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