Atheists Run Ads on NYC Subway, Creating Sarcasm Backlash

(MoneyWatch)  Atheists are running a $25,000 ad campaign on the New York City subway system. Their effort has already met with a backlash of sarcasm, which is what passes for religion in the Big Apple. Funding for the campaign has come from an anonymous donor, and the media has been remarkably incurious as to who that is.

The ads ask, "A million New Yorkers are good without God. Are you?" They are being bought by the New York City Coalition of Reason. AgencySpy immediately denounced the group based on the grammar puzzle contained in its name.

Gothamist said:

Which seems like a waste of money, because didn't God give up on the subway system long ago?

And the Village Voice noted:

That's just how our mother told us it would be: first the impertinent questions, and then you're hanging out with a bunch of free-thinkers. No, thank you very much; we're quite happy with out [sic] coven.

And those are just the liberal, secular blogs in the city!

The most interesting thing about the campaign is the anonymous donor. New York COR is taking a gamble. Christians will want to know who the donor is, in hopes that it's someone they can denounce (like Woody Harrelson or Van Jones). If they figure it out, the donor's identity may be more distracting than the ads they've bought.

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• Christians Strike Back Against Atheist Advertisers
• Christians Complain About Ads That Say "There's Probably No God"