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2:30 AM
In recent news , The Halifax Transit Commission made a decision regarding the allowance of an Atheist organization to post a full bus length advertisement stating "There probably is no God." They rejected the message stating "So, if anytime we feel there's a message that could be controversial and upsetting to people, we don't necessarily sell the ads." These ads have popped up on other Transit systems' buses in cities such as London, England (see picture). Obviously, this decision has caused a fair amount of controversy in the media, with reports on the CBC and CTV networks. Here is a follow up commentary on the issue published in The Toronto Star on this date:
What's God got to do with it?
Feb 09, 2009 04:30 AM
Comments on this story (28) Gretta Vosper
In a pre-emptive strike against the controversial ads of the Free- thought Association of Canada slated to appear this month on TTC buses – "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life" – the United Church of Canada has launched a print and ad campaign that states:
"There probably is a God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."
To prepare clergy and members of Canada's largest mainline Protestant denomination for the campaign, its moderator, the Right Reverend David Giuliano, posted a pastoral letter on the church's website in which he writes, "Clearly, as Christians, we most definitely believe there is a God." I disagree.
The phrase "a God" suggests a separate entity or being. In conversations across the country over the last year, I have met hundreds of Christians for whom the question of the existence of a God is anything but definitively answered. Many are comfortable using the term "God" only to describe things such as love, compassion and the strength we draw on from those we love – in other words, not God as a being at all, but being itself.
Most of the people in the congregation I serve, West Hill United Church, will think Giuliano is probably mistaken. And most of us still call ourselves Christian. We do so because we believe the message that is the essence of the Christian story. Perhaps it's our penchant for pointing to this that allows us to remain productively within our denomination. (A pol on the UCC's website indicated Saturday that 69 per cent believe there is no God, triggering the church's leadership to send out an email with the subject line: "God needs your help," and urging members to vote in the poll and boost God's ratings.)
But it is the second sentence in both ads that concerns me at a much deeper level than does the age-old bickering over the term created by humans, defined by humans, elaborated upon by humans, reinforced, defended and killed for by humans. Both the atheist and the theist ads suggest that once the question of belief has been answered, one is simply to stop worrying and enjoy life.
God or no God, there are many things worth our concern, such as poverty, disease and environmental problems. Is a God going to take care of these things for us, so we need not worry? Or does the absence of a God quell our concerns?
Further, although I know that neither the United Church nor the Freethought Association recommends a trivial lifestyle, there is no suggestion in the motto that, with or without belief and with worry out of the way, one should consider any guidelines or limits to what one's new-found enjoyment might be, nor the effect one's decisions might have on the plight of anyone else or on other living things.
And what about attempting to live ethically or make a positive difference in anyone else's life when to do so would very likely cost some of one's own enjoyment? The richest enjoyment comes from transcending oneself and engaging in life, even at a cost.
The relevant question has been missed. It is no longer about the existence of a God. The relevant question is about how we live together, fragile life forms that we are, as we seek to coexist on an equally fragile planet. Belief in a supernatural God has only ever managed to get in the way of addressing that question as fully and deeply as we need to.
Unfortunately, the Freethought Association's ad campaign will, as so many atheist – and theist – conversations do, divert us from the importance of the conversation that needs to take place. That the United Church has been drawn into the diversion suggests that it finds itself on the defensive and has turned from the risky but liberating progressive front on which it has repeatedly been the vanguard.
Perhaps a less catchy but more helpful motto might be: "God or no God, get engaged in life – or we've all got something to worry about."
Comments on this story (28) Gretta Vosper
In a pre-emptive strike against the controversial ads of the Free- thought Association of Canada slated to appear this month on TTC buses – "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life" – the United Church of Canada has launched a print and ad campaign that states:
"There probably is a God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."
To prepare clergy and members of Canada's largest mainline Protestant denomination for the campaign, its moderator, the Right Reverend David Giuliano, posted a pastoral letter on the church's website in which he writes, "Clearly, as Christians, we most definitely believe there is a God." I disagree.
The phrase "a God" suggests a separate entity or being. In conversations across the country over the last year, I have met hundreds of Christians for whom the question of the existence of a God is anything but definitively answered. Many are comfortable using the term "God" only to describe things such as love, compassion and the strength we draw on from those we love – in other words, not God as a being at all, but being itself.
Most of the people in the congregation I serve, West Hill United Church, will think Giuliano is probably mistaken. And most of us still call ourselves Christian. We do so because we believe the message that is the essence of the Christian story. Perhaps it's our penchant for pointing to this that allows us to remain productively within our denomination. (A pol on the UCC's website indicated Saturday that 69 per cent believe there is no God, triggering the church's leadership to send out an email with the subject line: "God needs your help," and urging members to vote in the poll and boost God's ratings.)
But it is the second sentence in both ads that concerns me at a much deeper level than does the age-old bickering over the term created by humans, defined by humans, elaborated upon by humans, reinforced, defended and killed for by humans. Both the atheist and the theist ads suggest that once the question of belief has been answered, one is simply to stop worrying and enjoy life.
God or no God, there are many things worth our concern, such as poverty, disease and environmental problems. Is a God going to take care of these things for us, so we need not worry? Or does the absence of a God quell our concerns?
Further, although I know that neither the United Church nor the Freethought Association recommends a trivial lifestyle, there is no suggestion in the motto that, with or without belief and with worry out of the way, one should consider any guidelines or limits to what one's new-found enjoyment might be, nor the effect one's decisions might have on the plight of anyone else or on other living things.
And what about attempting to live ethically or make a positive difference in anyone else's life when to do so would very likely cost some of one's own enjoyment? The richest enjoyment comes from transcending oneself and engaging in life, even at a cost.
The relevant question has been missed. It is no longer about the existence of a God. The relevant question is about how we live together, fragile life forms that we are, as we seek to coexist on an equally fragile planet. Belief in a supernatural God has only ever managed to get in the way of addressing that question as fully and deeply as we need to.
Unfortunately, the Freethought Association's ad campaign will, as so many atheist – and theist – conversations do, divert us from the importance of the conversation that needs to take place. That the United Church has been drawn into the diversion suggests that it finds itself on the defensive and has turned from the risky but liberating progressive front on which it has repeatedly been the vanguard.
Perhaps a less catchy but more helpful motto might be: "God or no God, get engaged in life – or we've all got something to worry about."
Gretta Vosper is chair of the Canadian Centre for Progressive Christianity and author of With or Without God: Why the Way We Live is More Important than What We Believe.
Interesting to note here is not so much the decision of the commission , but rather what it is the balance of Canadians actually believe. Clearly this reporter agrees with most Canadians' view when she states most believe that God is not an actual being , but rather the embodiment of the qualities she considers noble such as love , mercy etc. Experience and statistics will back her up of course..most Canadians lean toward this view of God or a god being simply the fullness and manifestations of these qualities and not a personal real God. She goes on to show that most Canadians with this belief will continue to label themselves christian..even though the belief itself is completely contradictory to the biblical explanation of what a true christian is. In short, this article has much to say about Canadian society and humanity in general. Firstly it shows that most are willing to adopt a labelled belief system as long as it is watered down enough to meld with the humanistic belief that humans are generally good in nature. Secondly , that we (Canadians) don't really know or could know what is true , so why worry about it and go about your daily business ...those who worry about such things are generally intolerant and not to be trifled with or even listened to. Sadly , the article does mirror Canadian society. More often than not you will find most Canadians do subscribe to this line of thinking. Do Canadians want to know the truth? Or do they simply do as Pontius Pilate did and wash their hands of it all ? For the most part , the latter seems to be true...as christians in Canada , we have much work to do.
