An affront to faith and thought

Many of us may no longer believe in God, but it appears we still miss Him. The nineteenth century’s anguished howl of loss as the tide of faith receded across the sands of Dover beach had diminished to barely a whimper before the atheist buses zoomed along to jolly up the argument. Catholic bishops in Genoa have succeeded in banning the Italian version of the campaign whilst bus driver Ron Heather has declared his intention to boycott any bus carrying the slogan “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life”.

Perhaps Mr Heather is objecting to a certain lack of rigour in the statement; “probably” inclines to a more agnostic view, whilst as a predicate for relaxation the absence of God seems inane, if not vulgar. “There’s no God. Start reading Sartre” might be a better prescription. As a solution to existential angst, the buses aren’t really cutting it, but perhaps the real objection is that they reduce atheism to pugnacious sloganeering.