Call it a battle
of the buses.
Fort Worth,
Texas, is the scene of a showdown between a group of atheists and a God-loving
businessman—on wheels.
Metroplex
Atheists, part of the
Dallas-Fort Worth Coalition for Reason, paid for ads on city buses that read,
“Millions of people are good without God.”
Each ad features
the words displayed over an image of an American flag made up of the faces of
real atheist and agnostic people. Metroplex Atheists’ goal with the campaign is
to comfort nonbelievers who feel alone during the Christmas season.
“We want to tell
people they are not alone,” Terry McDonald, chairman of
the Metroplex Atheists, told the New York Times. “People don’t
realize there are other atheists. All you hear around here is, ‘Where do you go
to church?’”
But Heath Hill, a local businessman, has arranged for one of
his media trucks to follow the bus wherever it goes. The media truck offers a
message that reads, “2.1 Million People Are Good With God” across the top of
the truck. A message underneath shows a globe in a man’s hands and the message
“I still love you. – God.”
Although
McDonald’s effort to comfort his fellow atheists is sincere enough, the
reaction he’s getting from religious groups is vehement, including boycotting
buses and lobbying the Fort Worth Transportation Authority to ban religious ads
on city transportation. Supported by fellow businessmen, Hill decided to take a
different approach: Sharing the love of God.
“We just wanted
to reach out to them and let them know about God’s love,” Hill told the New
York Times. “We have gotten some pretty nasty e-mails and phone calls from
atheists. But it’s really just about the love of God.”
The United
Coalition for Reason isn’t stopping in Fort Worth. The group has placed similar
transit ads this year in Detroit, Northwest Arkansas, Philadelphia and
Washington, D.C., as well as billboards in Austin, Texas; Des Moines, Iowa; Louisville,
Ky.; New Orleans; Oklahoma City; Jacksonville, Fla.; St. Augustine; Fla.; St.
Petersburg, Fla.; Tampa, Fla.; Tucson, Ariz.; Sacramento, Calif.; St. Louis;
and Seattle.
Read the rest of
the story and see pictures of the buses in the New York Times article.
(http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/14/us/14atheist.html?emc=eta1)
What’s your take?
Should Christians go on the attack through local government to ban the atheist
buses or take Hill’s approach with messages about the love of God? Let me know
in the comment box below.
