Posted on 01/20/2009 2:39:24 AM PST by Cindy
Note: Photo included.
Founder of ASSIST Ministries SOUTHAMPTON, UK (ANS) -- A Christian bus driver has refused to drive a bus with an atheist slogan proclaiming There's probably no God.
Ron Heather, a Christian bus driver, refused to drive bus with atheist message (Photo: Solent News)
According to the BBC, Ron Heather, from Southampton, Hampshire, responded with shock and horror at the message and walked out of his shift recently in protest.
First Bus, who operate the bus service, said it would do everything in its power to ensure Mr. Heather does not have to drive the buses.
Buses across Britain started displaying atheist messages in an advertising campaign launched earlier this month.
Mr. Heather told BBC Radio Solent: I was just about to board and there it was staring me in the face, my first reaction was shock horror.
I felt that I could not drive that bus, I told my managers and they said they haven't got another one and I thought I better go home, so I did.
I think it was the starkness of this advert which implied there was no God.
The BBC story said, When he returned to work on Monday he was called into a meeting with managers and agreed to go back to work with the promise he would only have to drive the buses if there were no others available.
First Bus said in a statement: As a company we understand Mr. Heather's views regarding the atheist bus advert and we are doing what we can to accommodate his request not to drive the buses concerned.
It added: As an organization we don't endorse any of the products or sentiments advertised on our buses.
The content of this advert has been approved by the Advertising Standards Agency and therefore it is capable of being posted on static sites or anywhere else.
The BBC went on to say that the advertising campaign is backed by the British Humanist Association and prominent atheist, Professor Richard Dawkins.
Hanne Stinson, chief executive of the British Humanist Association, said: I have difficulty understanding why people with particular religious beliefs find the expression of a different sort of beliefs to be offensive.
I can't understand why some people seem to have a different attitude when it comes to atheists.
Pressure group Christian Voice has questioned the campaign's effectiveness but the Methodist Church said it would be a good thing if it gets people to engage with the deepest questions of life and suggested it showed there was a continued interest in God.
The advertisements run on 200 bendy buses in London and 600 vehicles in England, Scotland and Wales.
A more productive thing for the bus company to do would be to refuse the advertisement (and revenue) altogether, as being likely to offend a large number of their ridership.
I would not ride a bus with that ad on it — call me superstitious, but I think this sort of ad attracts thunderbolts, traffic accidents, muslim bombs and other mishaps.
God is not mocked.
Yeah, I would get on that bus like I would get on a ship that was sold to me with the assurance that “God couldn’t sink it”.
Of course, if this guy was a Muslim, they company would have gone out and bought a new bus just for him to drive.
First of all this is not an atheist advert, it should be an agnostic advert. The atheist religion believes there is no God, and there's no "probably about it!
If the bus had said “there is no Allah (probably)” ..... that was the point this guy was getting at.
Anyway I think many Christian messages are something like “I think Jesus is (probably) God” Our witness is often very weak (myself sadly included)
What Atheist, agnostics and ignorant people in general do not grasp, either because they won't investigate, or rather they want to stay willfully blinded too, is Christian's have a written account of testimony which undeniable states, JESUS IS GOD. All evidence points to the accuracy of the statement and there is not one single shred of credible evidence contradicting it's validity! In fact if you really study the bible, there's more evidence in between the words and letters than one could ever hope to collect in support of this reality.
Oh yes I agree...I was more concerned with the integrity of our witness...does it always live up to our conviction? Often not it’s sad to say.
regards
Wonder why anyone would take the chance that “probably’ they don’t have to worry about hell and damnation.
Doesn’t seem worth the risk, does it?
Doesnt seem worth the risk, does it?
Hey, do you mind? Using common sense now a days is just so unscientific and antiquated! What are you a Round Worlder too?
I actually have to put the sarc tag there for the agnostics and atheist!
Jainism is a cult/sect which revolted against Hinduism and has more to do with denying a supreme being than an actual God. It also believes in asceticism and immortality.
We just take their money, you see?
Like to see a collection taken up for a bus advert that says:
“Richard Dawkins is probably an idiot.”
Jainism doesn’t believe in a CREATOR God.
I agree, but I think if you look at it from a hinduistic point of view, because that's what they were revolting against when they formed the sect, it's a little more specific than, creator/God. "Supreme being" is not necessarily a one and only God, but I could be wrong.
My hat is off to this gentleman. As the driver of the bus he is in essence the representative of the company to all the bus passengers. It is “his bus” while he drives it and so he would feel responsible for all aspects of the bus riding experience of the passengers. We need more people like this who will stand up for their principles...and more people who will use their brain to make these kinds of causal connections.
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