Fundamentally (pardon the pun), these are not advertisements. To be an ad a message has to proffer some kind of contract between a seller and a consumer.

Who’s the seller in this case, an improbable god? More to the point, what are those who read the message, as consumers, actually buying?

It’s almost like trying to sue the people who put the recycling labels on grocery packaging given that much waste material that could be recycled is still landfilled, incinerated, or sent to China to be ground up and used as hardcore for building roads.

If there were a god, would she really let stucj stupidity prevail?

spurgeonblog suggests that the ASA may have to make an official ruling on the existence of God. I think this could have serious repercussions if the religious protagonists fail in their mission as atheists step up to sue all those religious establishments that post ads for redemption and eternal life on noticeboards outside their hallowed halls.

Atheist buses are coming to a town near you, watch out for them, and don’t forget to smile as you step aboard.

(By the way, you can find out about the British Humanist Association and their part in this story here as well as donating to the cause.