Atheist Bus Ads Draw Fire from UK Christians

Complaints say campaign breaks requirements of 'truthfulness and substantiation'
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 9, 2009 4:43 PM CST
Atheist Bus Ads Draw Fire from UK Christians
Professor Richard Dawkins, the author of non-fiction book "The God Delusion," poses for photographers on a London bus featuring the atheist advertisement, Jan. 6, 2009.    (AP Photo)

A series of pro-atheism ads on London buses have prompted nearly 150 complaints to Britain’s advertising regulator, the Guardian reports. The complaints largely claim that the ads, which declare, “There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life,” are offensive to monotheists and break the advertising code requirements of substantiation and truthfulness.

“It is given as a statement of fact and that means it must be capable of substantiation if it is not to break the rules,” says an executive of the UK’s Christian Voice. The advertising agency has yet to decide whether it will formally investigate—probably because it seeks to avoid opening the theological can of worms involving in trying to rule on the “truthfulness” of the claim. (More atheism stories.)

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