The Daily Profaner: Putting Snark First, Myths Last!

After raising £140,000, the advertising campaign backed by the British Humanist Association and Richard Dawkins is going nationwide in England. The campaign was cooked up by comedy writer Ariane Sherine and focuses on buying bus ads that say, “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” Sherine is proud of Briton’s for supporting the campaign:

“This is a great day for freedom of speech in Britain and I’m really excited and thrilled that the adverts have been approved and I hope that they will make people smile on their way to work.”

The ads kicked off a wave of similar ads in America, Australia, and now, in Spain. While they might make some godless folks smile on the way to work, the ads will certainly make many theists frown. Richard Dawkins hopes that these frowns will turn to tears, tears Dawkins will harvest to quench his godless thirst.

[The Guardian]

The British ministry MEMO, a 125 year old outfit which proselytizes on public transportation, has unveiled a new bus ad which will cohabit with the Dawkins backed atheist bus ads in London.  The new ads seek to convey the positive side of Christianity by quoting an angel saying “Don’t be afraid! I am here with good news for you”(Luke 2:10).

The ads failed to convey what exactly the good news was.  Maybe this is the news:

“I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” (Matthew 5:2-29 NIV)

Thanks but no thanks.  I’ll keep my eye and take my good news from CNN.

[Christianity Today]

In increasingly secular Europe it’s hard to trick people out of their money unless you’re an Islamic Preacher or selling spiritual self help books.  England’s state religion is no exception and is projected to close nearly 10,000 churches by 2030 due to a lack of funds.

After much prayer (and lack of divine intervention) the Church of England is turning towards the most powerful force in Great Britain, the British Government, for help.  The plan is for the government to help fund churches that can be “centres of social regeneration.”

I hope they set aside some funds for church soup kitchens in their religion budget, after skimping out on the economic bailout they might need it.

In Britain courts hate to do… anything… so they let Islamic courts arbitrate disputes under Sharia law.

Leading master of Islamic jurisprudence Dr. Shahid Raza assures us that he doesn’t want to enforce the religious laws that require “chopping of hands or stoning to death.”  Rather he says that “Ninety-nine percent of our cases are divorce cases in which women are seeking relief. We are helping women. We are doing a service.”

Women are sure to get a fair break in a Sharia court, they may get a divorce with the approval of an Islamic scholar.  A man on the other hand is forced to click his heels together three times and say “there’s no place like divorce court.”

[New York Times]