Christian bus ad in London
There is an interesting war of words going on. It seems that humanists and Christians are duking it out on the sides of buses.
Atheists groups recently started running ads such as “Why believe in God? Just be good for goodness’ sake.” And “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” These ads appeared on public buses in Washington, D. C. and London respectively.
Of course, not to be outdone, Christians answered the atheists’ ads with their own. The D. C. ad was answered with “Why believe? Because I created you and love you, for goodness’ sake. – God”. And the Christian response to the London ad was “Crunched?” along with a reference to Luke 2:10-11.
You can read a full article on this topic at: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/february/7.16.html
What do you think of this exchange? Is this an effective way of evangelizing? How should Christians respond to the humanist ads?
I find it interesting that we as Christians are so willing to post fliers, posters, and advertisements, but we are unwilling to actually dialogue with others about our faith. Have we come to the point where the best we can do is post our thoughts on the side of buses and hope someone reads and responds to it?
Theologically Speaking 
Strange world within which we live. We should simply do as the Bible says and go into the world and tell folk of all creed and color about the Savior and what He difor us all. I feel that if we engage the humanist or whoever in this type of dialogue (the sides of busses and such) then we bring ourselves to their level. Strange world indeed.
CBRaper
Just to clarify, the humanist bus ads posted in London were actually a response to Christian bus ads that were promoting Jesus and Christian beliefs (with an attached website, of course). So, I don’t think this is really an issue of either side degrading themselves, but rather one of adapting to modern forms of “advertising,” and, in the case of the humanists, probably to spark a dialogue because we live in a culture where ANY belief is better than no belief, and they just want to build the same awareness that Christians want to. Especially in the US, it seems like it’s not okay to discriminate against any race, religion, or gender, but it is acceptable to look down upon nonbelievers (gasp!). Unfortunately I believe we live in a culture where this dialogue just doesn’t happen constructively, and we do not have the mutual respect to let each person practice his or her own beliefs without being looked down upon. Thank you Timothy for acknowledging the (what I believe to be) sometimes hypocritical nature of spreading Christian theology without respectfully accepting the right of others to do the same.
myhumanwrites:
Thank you for your added insight about the ads. I do not live in London or Washington, D.C., so I have no way of knowing how this exchange began. I am only reading about it. I do believe Christians and humanists (and any other group) have the right to advertise their beliefs however they want. I just think that having the dialogue on the sides of buses shows a lack of true communication and I believe as Christians (I speak as one), we can do better.