Spokane7
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August 31, 2011 in City
Atheist coalition buys bus signage
Former minister says nonbelievers aren’t alone
A Spokane Transit Authority bus with a sign placed by the Spokane Coalition of Reason leaves the STA Plaza on Tuesday.
(Full-size photo)
An advertisement appearing on Spokane public buses was bought by a national atheist coalition and coincides with the appearance of an atheist booth at the Spokane County Interstate Fair.
The message, “Are you good without God? Millions are,” is running this month on 11 Spokane Transit Authority buses.
The ad campaign, which ends Sept. 25, was purchased for $4,516 by the United Coalition of Reason on behalf of the newly formed Spokane Coalition of Reason, an alliance of three local nontheistic organizations.
“It’s to let the people know that we are here, and we are at the fair for them to come talk to us,” said Ray Ideus, a former Lutheran minister who is coordinator of the Spokane Coalition of Reason.
Ideus said the point is not to try to convert anyone but to let fellow nonbelievers know they are not alone. The Spokane ad campaign is part of a larger effort.
Since 2009, similar ads have run on billboards and buses in 25 states and the District of Columbia, according to Fred Edwords, national director of the United Coalition of Reason.
“Nontheists sometimes don’t realize there’s a community for them because they’re inundated with religious messages at every turn,” Edwords said in a news release. “We hope our effort will serve as a beacon and let them know they aren’t alone.”
Ideus also said he hoped the campaign would show people reluctant to reveal themselves that “there are more atheists than people realize.”
“I have brought more people out of the closet than I ever converted to Christ when I was a minister for 30 years,” Ideus said.
He said the message chosen for the Spokane campaign was softer than campaigns appearing in other parts of the country because “we didn’t want to be that negative.”
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mmspowaus on August 31 at 3:30 a.m.
Nice touch STA; right at the end of Ramadan, 2011…
I wonder if the United Atheist League Alliance is going to do a Museum, Buddhist, Hindu and Jewish version of their ad?
Maybe:
Are you good without Buddha? Millions are…
Are you good without Shiva? Millions are…
How about
Are you good without L. Ron Hubbard? Billions are…
The United Atheist League Alliance only seem to attempt to antagonize Christians (Recall the 2008 State Capital atheist manger thingy at Christmas in Olympia?) They leave all the other religions alone…not very even handed are they…
Here are some suggestions if anyone would like to buy a counter ad on an STA bus….
The U.S.S.R. was officially Atheist…how did that work out????
In God We Trust
“If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him”, Voltaire
“When people stop believing in God, they don’t believe in nothing — they believe in anything”, GK Chesterton.
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none that does good. Psalm 14:1-3
jimvw2 on August 31 at 6:02 a.m.
…And what about those, like several of our founding fathers, who believe in God, but have no alliegance to any religious tradition. We used to call them Deists.
They believed in the existence of some literally universal intelligence that instigated in some way the existence of everything we see around us. They just didn’t believe we can have a personal relationship with that entity.
I think there are lots of folks like that, who don’t deny the existence of a supreme being, but don’t buy into the belief systems we humans have invented to try to communicate with that being.
Where do those folks fit in the atheist-to-zealot continuum?
Orphan on August 31 at 6:50 a.m.
Freedom is messy, why shouldn’t the Atheists be allowed to advertize their views? So what if its the end of Ramadan would 30 days later be acceptable to you?
We have religious tolerance in this country its called the 1st Amendment.
BTW I dont agree with the Atheists but I will fight so that they can do their own thing, if they are not free then neither am I.
philipgregory on August 31 at 7:22 a.m.
Oh boy. The godless state and society are doing so good, such examples of the benefits of being without god. You phonies. You just want to be free to do anything you want without being bothered by a conscience (where did that come from?).
There certainly are religions who have done harm, and that makes it simple for an informed reasonable person to determine if it is worth following. And, so-called Christian religions all say they follow the bible. But, a careful examination of most of them shows that is not so. However, the Bible can be proven to true - to a reasonable person willing to spend less time than they spend watching tv or movies in one week.
So, let the atheists publicize their beliefs. It is a constitutional right and should be respected. But, reasonable and decent people may want the benefit of God’s wisdom to help them in their lives. Others? Well, there may not be a literal ‘hell’ but they can go their ‘way’.
iamscott on August 31 at 7:28 a.m.
This is funny:
““It’s to let the people know that we are here, and we are at the fair for them to come talk to us,” said Ray Ideus, a former Lutheran minister who is coordinator of the Spokane Coalition of Reason.”
They are trying to tell people that God doesn’t exist, but they do! Interesting. My social partner and I believe it is a call for people to pray for the ones that don’t believe in God. Thanks for the reminder from SCR.
terryalan on August 31 at 8:01 a.m.
Why do christians always get so defensive if others don’t share their belief system? Many of us do not feel controlled by or need to placate some mythical ghost in the sky…
Ok without God?
I am……….
terryalan on August 31 at 8:02 a.m.
Oh, and Philipgregory? It IS possible to be reasonable and decent without sharing YOUR belief system…
DickAdams on August 31 at 8:13 a.m.
The next advertisement might be the ladies of the night from east Sprague pooling their money to have the STA decorate their wares dressed in bikinis.
detroitdude on August 31 at 8:15 a.m.
Why can’t people just believe what they want without criticizing or trying to indoctrinate those who don’t? They paid to put their message on the buses, it’s their right. It is your right to also pony up $4500 and have them print on the side of the bus that we are all going to hell, or something to that effect.
The_Seer on August 31 at 8:26 a.m.
dickedadams: So rational disbelief is now on a par with prostitution? Only in a Baggers world….
BTW, have you driven down East Sprague lately and took a look at the women “working” there? The last thing you want to do is see them in a bikini.
DickAdams on August 31 at 8:55 a.m.
Seer, my post intended to bring some levity to the subject. Oh, and BTW I`m diffidently not a bagger. Please stop the low shots.
Liberty_Bell on August 31 at 9:21 a.m.
Only in a Baggers World?
Like this one?
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2013725651_israelad21m.html
Darrell on August 31 at 10:35 a.m.
With Godless folks, (Atheists, Humanists, Freethinkers) being a larger group than even the Mormans, we should be able to have a voice in this culture. The problem has always been that we are not organized. Perhaps it is time to come out of the closet. The odds are that you have a friend who is an Atheist.
Hatter23 on August 31 at 10:54 a.m.
Wow, some of theist comments here only seem to illustrate their foolishness. Bible being proven ‘to be true?’ <snickers> It doesn’t even agree with itself, much less the historical record. Judas dies two different ways. It is legends, from the slaughter of the Innocents from a king the died in 10BCE to animals in a boat that is structurally impossible, just legends.
USSR being officially atheist. They had a religion, it was Communism. It had venerated Saints, holy scriptures, and doctrine that wasn’t to be question. The problem wasn’t it lack of religion, the problem it was just another religion.
UAL only bothered by Christians?, last I looked they didn’t have the excluse right to the use of the word “god.” Secondly, as soon as Bhuddist get stupid laws passed because of their voting block….we’ll talk about them. Until then the biggest group is the biggest problem
MrNatural on August 31 at 11:29 a.m.
Too each their own…as long as we continue to separate church and state…I personally like to believe there was a creator and seem to follow along the lines of a Deist…I get nervous when human brain manifestations become compulsory…
Otherwise here’s another link to enlightenment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_SubGenius
greenlibertarian on August 31 at 9:14 p.m.
In my experience, it is the most fearful folks who seemed to get riled up by atheists. People who are weak and conflicted in their own faith, of course they’ll never admit that because the think they’re god is watching there every move, every utterance, and they “slip”, blammo, off to burn in the fires of hell for all eternity, and no heaven.
I take comfort in the old KJV and also Jefferson’s Bible.
To say the Bible is “proven true” is a completely ignorant statement.
STA needs the money and it’s a completely innocuous advert. If this ad or a chat with these guys causes to you lose or question your faith, you had none to begin with.
greenlibertarian on September 01 at 12:18 a.m.
“People who are weak and conflicted in their own faith, of course they’ll never admit that because the think they’re god is watching there every move, every utterance, and they “slip”, blammo, off to burn in the fires of hell for all eternity, and no heaven.”
Jeebus.
TWO wrong usages of their, they’re, there… my apologies.