Organising Atheists is Like Herding Cats - Pity Really

In a positive move in a world of woe, this little story comes from Ol' Blighty. 'No God' slogans for public buses.

In synopsis, the British Humanist Association (BHA) has paid for ads on the side of bendy-buses which say, "There's probably no God, now stop worrying and enjoy your life."

To pay for them, the BHA thought they would need to raise about £5,500, and Professor Richard Dawkins said he'd match them pound for pound, if need be. The BHA has now managed to accidentally raise £36,000 all on its own.

I like it. This is an indication of real sentiment. You can measure it and literally take it to the bank (if it's still there).

It means they have wandered into the street with a hat and said, "Hi, we're raising money for an anti-religion campaign, and we were just wond... oh, thank you very much!"

I suspect there are a lot of people who are alarmed at the re-emergence of dark-age thinking (travelling under the ill-deserved protection of 'belief' and 'conservatism') and are sick of being beaten over the head by people who think they know better.

But, by nature, they are a quiet voice. It's hard to organise those people into mobs - that's exactly the sort of thing they're suspicious of. You certainly can't get them up early on a Sunday morning to go and mumble at an invisible sky fairy.

Of course there's been backlash from all those 'right-minded' religious types (or, as we in the business call them, "People who lack the imagination to really think it through").

Stephen Green of Christian Voice said:

"Bendy buses, like atheism, are a danger to the public at large."

You can't argue with that. Actually, you can barely find a line of logic in it. When was the last time you saw an Atheist, or a bus, nail someone to a plank of wood or go on a crusade? I like his healthy self esteem though, thinking that somehow he contributed. He is someone who is never going to wake up in the dead of night worrying about the consequences of his actions or his contribution to the forum of human endeavour.

Rev Jenny Ellis helped out god with: "This campaign will be a good thing if it gets people to engage with the deepest questions of life." But Rev, your religion does the opposite. You obviously haven't been listening to your own brand of bullshit. You guys are saying that the answers are right here in this rather old, hard to understand book. Stop thinking and have faith. Don't engage, questioning might lead to apostasy.

The Anglicans (Methodists to be precise) have my favourite response. They thanked Dawkins for encouraging a "continued interest in God".

I snorted my Weet-bix back out my nose at that one (they were really soggy so I'm okay). It's so pathetic it's kind of endearing. They've taken the 'no such thing as bad press' maxim and applied it to their supposedly omnipotent being. If it was required, you'd think god would be able to raise interest in himself .

Do you ever get the feeling that, any day now, the C of E is going to throw their collective hands up and go, "Yep, awright, you got us. It's a crock. But can we keep the pretty clothes and buildings?"