Atheist buses roll out in Madison Wisconsin

March 26, 3:44 PMAtheism ExaminerTrina Hoaks

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Buses are rolling out in Madison, Wisconsin carrying the new atheist message, "Sleep in on Sundays." The ads are the latest in the Freedom From Religions Foundation's (FFRF) efforts to spread the good word.

The new buses started rolling out this week. Twelve metro transit buses will carry the message for a month.

They are a nice compliment to the other campaigns that FFRF has launched across the nation. Last month, they placed interior signs in 50 buses in Madison carrying quotes from famous people like Mark Twain, Richard Dawkins, and Butterfly McQueen.

They have also placed billboards in over 25 cities in at least 15 states that say, "Imagine no Religion," Beware of Dogma," and "Praise Darwin - Evolve Beyond Belief."

After the interior bus sign were in place, FFRF says that "[n]otorious homophobic minister Rev. Ralph Ovadal and his church, Pilgrims Covenant Church in Monroe, Wis., responded by placing signs on the outside of a dozen Madison buses employing the biblical insult to atheists found in Psalm 14:1: 'The fool has said in his heart there is no God.'"

FFRF's co-president, Annie Laurie Gaylor said in response to the ads, "FFRF's bus signs don't name-call. We freethinkers are much more polite than the bible!"

The foundation's other co-president, Dan Barker, who used to be an evangelical minister said, "Rev. Ovadal apparently has forgotten that Jesus, in the New Testament (Matt. 5:22), even warns that you are in danger of hellfire if you call someone a fool. (Jesus then goes on to call people fools, Matt. 23:17!)"

This particular slogan, "Sleep in on Sundays," came to them from the failed attempt of the Atheist Foundation of Australia to run ads saying, "Sleep in on Sunday Mornings." They were not allowed to run because they were deemed to be too controversial. Gaylor said, "We like the idea of running a message that has been censored elsewhere."

For more on this topic:
'Imagine No Religion' and 'Praise Darwin' billboards for Kansas
FFRF atheist bus slogan voting poll closed - And the winner is...
'Beware of Dogma' billboard goes up in Boise
FFRF replaces stolen 'Praise Darwin' billboard
US atheist buses hit the road in Wisconsin
FFRF 'Praise Darwin' billboard stolen in Whitehall, Ohio
Woo Hoo! Atheist buses are coming to the US!