YOU’D think that any spare cash in the Catholic coffers would have been spent by now on compensating the multitudes who suffered sexual abuse at the hands of their priests.
But no, Catholics, via their Centre for Family Development in Maryland, have managed to find the moolah to launch an ad campaign on behalf of the Him Upstairs with the pathetic slogan:
Why believe? Because I created you and I love you, for goodness’ sake – GOD.
According to this report, the campaign is a reaction to a poster drive launched this Thanksgiving weekend in five US cities by the American Humanist Association. Its slogan is:
No God? … No Problem.
According to AHA, the holiday ad campaign is the first by a humanist group to go nationwide.
Said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of AHA:
We’re hoping this campaign will build awareness about the humanist movement and our ethical life philosophy – particularly among the ‘nones:’ the rapidly growing percentage of people who claim no religion.
Speckhardt insists that religion does not have a monopoly on morality and that people can be good without a belief in God.
We want to change the way people think and talk about nontheists, and to pave the way for acceptance of humanism as a valid and positive philosophy of life.
The humanist ad campaign this year, which features smiling people in Santa hats, follows a similar campaign that the Association ran last year in the nation’s capital. Last Christmas season, the ads read:
Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness’ sake.
In the lately, several atheist groups also launched transit and billboard ad campaigns. Among the campaigns include the United Coalition of Reason’s A million New Yorkers are good without God in New York; the Freedom from Religion Foundation’s Beware of Dogma in Idaho; and Indiana Atheist Bus Campaign’s In the beginning, man created God in Chicago.
According to the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey, released in March this year, the percentage of people who claim no religion has nearly doubled since 1990. Those claiming no religion jumped from 8.2 percent in 1990 to 15 percent in 2008.
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
November 28th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
“Why believe? Because I created you and I love you,for goodness’ sake-GOD.”
I take it Oscar Wilde didn’t pen this luminous example of ecclesiastic wit?
Ah….the lame of God.
November 28th, 2009 at 9:26 pm
“No God, no problem.” Must have imagined all that paedo priest stuff – currently in Dublin. I suppose the way they see it sexually abusing children isn’t a problem, just a bit of priestly fun. And all that beating, working kids like slaves in their laundries – well, hell, be reasonable, how else are they going to get cheapo servants.
I suggest as a slogan, “Why believe? Because unless you do we are up the faith creek, without a paddle.”
November 28th, 2009 at 10:26 pm
Whenever I see ‘Family’ in an organisation’s title these days, I just mentally replace it with ‘Fundie’ which usually proves to be far more accurate.
The longer this goes on, there is something increasingly petty about this game of ‘our ads about an invisible creator’s existence are better than your ads about an invisible creator’s existence’ but, at the risk of exemplifying my own point – who started it?!
November 28th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
Godbots are so predictable. The very existence of people who believe differently than they do makes them have fits, and they have to run out and try to drag them into their little cult. What’s wrong with live and let live?
November 28th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
Why do these people hate God so much that they attribute such lame arguments to His infinite wisdom?
November 29th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Seems like Catholics may be close on the root of western evil these days. However don’t you just love the humanist poster? One of the best of the atheist ads so far I think.
December 1st, 2009 at 2:20 pm
To Harry-nobody hates god because “He” doesn’t exist sweetie. You are living a lie. Your god doesn’t exist, you are praying to nobody, nobody can hear you, nobody can help you but yourself. There is no wisdom from above, there is no plan for your life…you are alone in the universe. Get over it.