Man refuses to drive 'No God' bus

reply to post by nerbot

Then allow me to apologize for misreading your intentions.

As a driver, the final decision of what is and is not acceptable to drive is mine, and mine alone. There may be a consequence to that decision. Just as I am not required to perform any specific service for another entity, that entity is not required touse my services. In other words, I can lose my job.

Reason tells me that I should be mindful of my company's opinion in making that decision. Would I personally drive a truck that had a DISH Network ad on the side? I abhor that company and consider it a fraudulent way to bilk customers out of money without providing the promised service. But despite that, while I might complain about such an ad, I doubt I would refuse to drive the truck because of it. The company is making money providing advertisement for a (legally) proper service, and that will benefit me in the end by making my employer more profitable.

I am strongly opposed to abortion (and not just on a religious level). I consider it to be legalized murder and largely responsible for the lack of value we as a nation place on human life. So would I refuse to drive a truck that had a pro-abortion ad across the side? Maybe, even probably, but it would really depend on how the ad was worded.

I would also refuse to drive a truck that had a picture of a mutilated fetus displayed across the side in an anti-abortion ad. Such would be simply distasteful and provocational.

In the end it boils down to this: I, as a driver, have the final say-so on what I will drive. The company has the final say-so on whether or not I will drive for them. Should we not be able to come to an agreement, then I will have to find another company, and the company will have to find another driver.

That is just business. Where I begin to take offense is when someone tells me, as some have told this driver in this thread, to ignore their morals and their freedom of choice and just drive the damn bus. Drivers are professionals, not slaves.

Again, sorry for misunderstanding your meaning before. I hope this answers your curiosity.

TheRedneck

Originally posted by nerbot


Do you assume all non-believers are actively engaging in fear campaigns and heated verbal onslaughts?

It's just not that important to some of us who merely exercise our opinions when the occasion arises and accept there are some out there who have limited views.

No I dont, your viewpoint seems like a healthy one if you are not being evangelic about it.

The problem I have is when one tries and convince another that they are right and all other belief is wrong.

I really dislike this ad on the bus because right now when there is so little light in the world and so many are lost, some are not too confident in the belief they hold...it become precarious. This ad reflects there fear "There's probably no God" is what one thinks when they lose the little thread of hope and faith they have left. Even as an atheist you have to admit that is a rather hopeless statement. I mean come on what is the use to this short hard life is one does not have a soul that learns, evolves and move on to better itself.

Its a hard life and for some its down right intolerable. If I did not have my belief I would have put a gun to my head long ago....why go through such pain to just die old an weak and everything just goes black?

I didn't have time to read all the comments since this thread became a bit long, but I respect this man for what he did. Whether I agree with someone or not, I still respect a man that stands up for what he believes in instead of bending over.

In the days we live in it is rare to find people that are willing to risk losing their jobs in order to defend their beliefs. Most people have a price tag, and it is not a large price either.

reply to post by nerbot


To bring in a little context (but I am not 100% about this, so please feel free to check)....

Essentially in the last couple of years the church (well the organisation 'Alpha') has ran advertising on T.V, Magazines and buses : (link).

It seems a load of people actually responded to these adverts and went to the alpha courses. Simply, an invitation to go and ask questions and explore the 'is there a God' thought. These were not 'in your face' or vulgar/damnation type adverts:



Or (quite good I thought)


in-case it does not work

Basically getting the average guy on the street to stop and think.....(that's a good thing right?).

It seems some people did not like this, so they decided to run their own campaign (link).

I stand by my thought that the guy was correct to do what he done. It's easy to say if you're a christian and 'sure in your faith', then it does not matter - that's a really selfish attitude. The point made by another poster is if you REALLY believe, then you believe that the people who don't believe will end up separated from God for eternity. To that man, how can he drive a bus that would so flippantly encourage that thought?

In a time of 'redundancies' and uncertainty, a time when the Christian faith in the UK is the minority faith, for someone to stand up and say "hey, that's not right' is a very rare and special thing (and no I have no idea who he is).

reply to post by rcwj75


Haha your funny.
Your car has a cross hanging on the rear veiw mirror but your avatar has a dude pointing a gun at me.

Originally posted by AlwaysQuestion
reply to post by nerbot

 

To bring in a little context (but I am not 100% about this, so please feel free to check)....

Essentially in the last couple of years the church (well the organisation 'Alpha') has ran advertising on T.V, Magazines and buses : (link).

It seems a load of people actually responded to these adverts and went to the alpha courses. Simply, an invitation to go and ask questions and explore the 'is there a God' thought. These were not 'in your face' or vulgar/damnation type adverts:



Or (quite good I thought)

in-case it does not work

Basically getting the average guy on the street to stop and think.....(that's a good thing right?).

It seems some people did not like this, so they decided to run their own campaign (link).

Nope, the atheist ad is in response to the ad these buses were running which claimed that all non-Christians "will be condemned to everlasting separation from God and then you spend all eternity in torment in hell … Jesus spoke about this as a lake of fire prepared for the devil." www.boingboing.net...

Originally posted by LoneGunMan
Even as an atheist you have to admit that is a rather hopeless statement.

Maybe from your point of view.

I'm sure many people are glad to have a statement like the one on the ad inform them that they aren't under pressure to HAVE to accept any definative or divine answer to things.

Options are open, don't worry, don't live in fear and be happy.

If a persons faith is real, they too shouldn't worry about the statement.

Originally posted by GamerGal
So, if some one doesn't like smoking, they can quit their job at a store that sells cigarettes and get the same kind of "pity" this doofus is getting. If some one likes too drink and the bus ads are "Don't drink and drive" and he quits, would he get the same coverage? No. But once again some one is about to do something bad a Christian runs over and tells them don't do that, God will punish you. An Athiest will run over and say don't do that, its wrong to do.

are you honestly trying to compare one's belief in his MAKER to one's addiction to nicotine? REALLY? (clears throat) okay. good point.

reply to post by machinegun_go_go
Machine gun go go, for the people I hope. Except I have a little reservation here. Me myself, if working at that transit company, would drive the bus with out worry about the logos on the side of it. My question is. what are the chrstians doing which is so wrong and so bad? It is the anti religious that go by the RUTHLESS BARBARIAN PRACTICE titled "Might is right" or "I do it because I can". It is the anti-religious banking cabal that is out to demolish world economy and every government in the world and depopulate the world by killing billions of people, mainly christians and muslims and jews. Christians preach, and put up homeless shelters, set up soup kitchens, cloth homeless people, and they get lied about. They start and run recovery groups which help alcaholics and addicts successfully recover.Who did these christians kill? But athiests like to say that christians only take money and work one day a week. Ever heard of all the satanic crimes and the nature of the lifestyle of these antireligious people who LIVE BY LIES?
It aint the bible or the Koran, it is the SATANIC BIBLE which ENTICES MURDER AND HATE AND VIOLENCE. And through the lies, christians have been made to look like the murderers.

Your religion viewpoints should not be mixed with work period. Unless of course you are running a religious school, but even then would an Atheist drive a school bus that says I believe in God and I love Jesus?

This man did the right thing and I hope all of you can see that. Think about if the mans religious friends seen that slogan and had kicked him out of church.

reply to post by Leto


Thanks, as I said was not entirely sure. I was not aware of that campaign and did not see it.

Eventually it does link back to here which is not the most profound site I have ever read. You have to do a little digging to come up with the quotes they use as 'damnation' but they are there. Not great. The alpha ones are far more sensible and engage at a good level - to encourage 'stepping out of your routine and thinking is there more...?'.

The atheist message to me just says 'stop thinking and get on with life '. That's not great either.

Originally posted by Equinox99
Your religion viewpoints should not be mixed with work period. Unless of course you are running a religious school, but even then would an Atheist drive a school bus that says I believe in God and I love Jesus?

This man did the right thing and I hope all of you can see that. Think about if the mans religious friends seen that slogan and had kicked him out of church.

I'm an atheist and if I was a bus driver and had to drive a bus that said "I believe in God and I love Jesus" I wouldn't mind at all because the ad doesn't reflect my beliefs.

If the man's friends saw him driving the bus and they kicked him out of the church because of that, they're not really friends and they clearly got some issues. Did he put the ad on the bus? No, i don't see what the ad has to do with him.

Originally posted by nerbot


Options are open, don't worry, don't live in fear and be happy.

If a persons faith is real, they too shouldn't worry about the statement.

Personally I dont live in fear. My empathic ability makes me understand how some do feel. Most religious belief teeters on a razors edge.

Losing a child in a mangled wreck...a housefire that took away everyone they loved...so many tragedies I have seen smelled and felt. Holding a woman's hand while backboarding her with multiple compound fractures to both femurs the screams so loud my ears rang afterward, her three year old girl paralyzed from the neck down just got transported in another rig. A grown man vomiting behind a shed because he just witnessed his father drop dead from a full arrest. Just a few that come to mind in my career.

Sorry friend I know the human condition at its best and at its most tragic state. Thousands that have seen there lives torn asunder will see that ad and it may be all they need at the right time to lose all faith and give up.

Its about hope...in a world that has little left.

[edit on 16-1-2009 by LoneGunMan]

Originally posted by Equinox99
This man did the right thing and I hope all of you can see that.

From a personal point of view, yes, he did the right thing for him.

Think about if the mans religious friends seen that slogan and had kicked him out of church.

a: they would not be his friends.

b: they would probably not be following the faith of their religion.

What happened to brotherly love, forgiveness, understanding etc?

They would be hypocrites.

Originally posted by LoneGunMan
Thousands that have seen there lives torn asunder will see that ad and it may be all they need at the right time to lose all faith and give up.

Its about hope...in a world that has little left.

"Faith" is not exclusive to god.

You cannot blame this ad campaign for believers losing faith, you should thank it for offering a new perspective to those losing their faith. What else can they believe if not god....the fiery pits of hell?

Originally posted by nerbot

"Faith" is not exclusive to god.

You cannot blame this ad campaign for believers losing faith, you should thank it for offering a new perspective to those losing their faith. What else can they believe if not god....the fiery pits of hell?

You are confusing religion with God. Two different things. Religion does put ones belief on a razors edge because it was invented to control man. Spirituality is a different thing entirely. The problem is most have fallen into the precarious trap of religion and this can easily be shaken to its core. Those mis-guided souls dont need a confirmation when everything they believe is crushed from a tragedy.

Think things through thoroughly and put yourself in others shoes. Dont assume you understand what everyone should think...every persons perspective is limited. Life is complex.

Sign language interpreters such as myself are frequently called upon to interpret statements or situations that we disagree vehemently with; I for example have been stuck interpreting extremely homophobic remarks when I am gay and I have been in a situation where animal experimentation occurred when I am very opposed to vivisection.

Sometimes we interpreters are viewed by the ignorant as espousing these beliefs ourselves. An freelance interpreter has the right not to accept an assignment (e.g., not interpreting for a KKK rally) although this has repercussions on our consumers' rights to access to information.

As an interpreter working for an employer, I am lucky that my boss respects my decision to walk out of assignments where I just cannot morally condone what may be going on, and she attempts to ensure I am not put in them in the first place. A smart employer will attempt to be as flexible as possible in such ethical conflicts, and if it ever came to a point where I was required to interpret a belief or situation I found too abhorrent I hope I would have the guts to quit. Easier said than done, considering that in just a couple years I will be eligible to retire and it would mean financial hardship. Kudos to this bus driver for living with his beliefs. He can sleep at night. I just hope he can eat something (besides cat food) in the morning!

reply to post by Leto


You got that right! Driving is driving , beleiving in something is beleiving in something. I would have atleast drove that bus until my prayers were answered for a better paying job, and maybe one with different logos or ads or what ever and during the meantime, if the church kicked me out for not being able to find a better job, well I guess I would just have to flush that church out through the toilet from the bathroom of my heart. God be willing.

reply to post by machinegun_go_go


I see nothing outrageous at all about this. The man had religious convictions. If he had gone ahead and driven it, it would have been the same as him carrying around the sign on his back. The bus company should be ashamed for putting that crap on the bus to begin with. What did it have to do with a bus. Nothing at all. It was stupid to put anything like that on a bus to begin with.

Originally posted by LoneGunMan
You are confusing religion with God. Two different things.

Am I?...what did I say that led you to that conclusion?

However...can you have one without the other or without faith?

Dont assume you understand what everyone should think...every persons perspective is limited. Life is complex.

Thanks for the advice but I assumed nothing of the sort. Why should you assume people who suffer misfortune would react negatively to the ad campaign?

Why should a persons perspective stay limited? Is it wrong to offer possibilities?

And yes, life CAN be complex for some people sometimes. Especially if one lives in a world that doesn't make sense or seem fair.