The Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Religion Report recently reported on the Atheist Foundation of Austraila's recent failed bid to engage APN Outdoor to run advertising on Australian buses.
In the report, David Nicholls, President of the Foundation, outlined three slogans that were rejected in turn. 'Atheism, because there is no credible evidence', 'Celebrate reason - Sleep in on Sunday mornings', and 'Atheism - Celebrate reason'.
I'd like to suggest that perhaps APN Outdoor did the Foundation a much bigger favour than Mr. Nicholls realises. Besides of course the fantastic media opportunity of atheists being able to claim religious discrimination, (that their ads were rejected because of their beliefs). I submit that the Foundation's claims would probably have wound up coming afoul of certain 'truth in advertising laws'.
The first slogan, 'Atheism, because there is no credible evidence', presents what on the surface appears to be a statement of fact. Of course if one considers it a bit further, it becomes obvious that it is simply a statement of opinion. Unless of course, the Foundation wishes to assert that every piece of evidence that supports belief in a deity (any deity) has been examined and found wanting, and that they also possess an individual who possesses the charism of infallibility, to proclaim such definitively. Also there is the matter of the veiled insult to the billions of people on the planet who do find the evidence, such as it is, 'compelling'.
The second slogan, 'Celebrate reason - Sleep in on Sunday mornings' is perhaps the least problematic from the point of view of any 'false advertising' type claim, but also the one that, while clearly intended to be humorous, does most to display a complete failure to reason. One must ask, Why and/or how does sleeping in on Sundays promote good reason? Rather this statement most clearly shows the religious zeal of the 'True Believer' atheist seeking to convert people from the prevalent Judeo/Christian worldview to their own belief system.
Finally, with the third slogan 'Atheism - Celebrate reason' we have the veiled insult is doing a provocative strip tease. The common feature of such slogans throughout the advertising world is the implication of the converse. By equating atheism with reason, the Atheist Foundation is implying the converse, that 'all theists are unreasonable'
The other thing about the piece that really caught my attention was Mr. Nicholls 'definition' just what atheism is 'Atheism is not a lack of belief, atheism just doesn't see any evidence.' Well I did a quick search of dictionary definitions of atheist, and every definition I came across defined 'atheist' as one who lacks belief in the existence of God(s), or holds the positive belief that there are no Gods, (or is a technical death metal band from Florida, USA). Even on their website, the Foundation defines 'ATHEISM is the acceptance that there is no credible scientific or factually reliable evidence for the existence of a god, gods or the supernatural.' So it seems that either the Foundation is seeking to misrepresent it's beliefs, by attempting to redefine the words atheist and atheism, or what we really have is a bunch of sceptics who chose the wrong word when naming their organisation.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I know this is off topic but; is there a coffee cup in here?
Hi AA, I decided to check your blog out after reading some of your great comments on Dave Armstrong's blog.
The definition of 'ATHEISM that the foundation gives is an interesting one as it actually the definition of agnosticism. Just as a skeptical person would claim that there is no credible scientific or factually reliable evidence for the existence of a god, gods or the supernatural, if they were in any way honest, they would have to acknowledge that science could never prove the non-existence of a god, gods or the supernatural. It is just as much a matter of faith to believe that there is no god as much it is a matter of faith that there is one. Besides, folks in Australia have concrete reliable proof that there is a "god". There is no way that anyone but a divine personage could have thought up a platypus.
Seriously though, there is factually reliable evidence in the form of the living witness of the Church which has existed since Christ established it. The notion of apostolic succession and the magisterium gives a guarantee of truth that is no atheist could match.
Anyways, God bless!
With the bus ads reading “Atheism - celebrate reason” atheists have, again, come very close to quoting that which the Bible has stated for almost 3,000 years, “‘Come now, let us reason together,’ says the LORD (Isaiah 1:18).
Also, the supposed most erudite atheist in the world are gathering in Australia for their convention while refusing to debate Christians:
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-34463-Albuquerque-Christian-Apologetics-Examiner~y2010m3d4-Atheism--celebrate-reason-while-absconding-from-reasoning
Reason? No, merely self-aggrandizing and self-professed pseudo-erudition.
Post a Comment