By Lloyd Mackey

HAVING NOW received the text of her lecture, I hope to report on and analyze, next week, what former MP Deborah Grey had to say a few days ago at Trinity Western University. And there may well be some comment, as well, on Thursday's visit to Ottawa by one President Barack Obama.

Meanwhile, here are a few thoughts on the latest Ottawa wrinkle on the rolling "atheist bus ad" story.

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Whenever Christians believe themselves to be discriminated against, I am likely one of the first journalists in Ottawa to hear about it. After all, as one who reports for Christian publications, I should be interested in stories about discriminations against Christians. Right?

I won't argue with that argument. But, a few mornings ago, I was met with an Ottawa Citizen front page story about the city staff's decision to reject what are now generally known as the "atheist bus ads." Those are the advertisements on the sides of buses, now appearing in some cities in Europe and North America. The ads usually read something like: "There's probably no god. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."

The ads are currently appearing on buses in Toronto and Calgary, but have been rejected in both Ottawa and Halifax, according to the Citizen story, written by the newspaper's faith/ethics reporter, Jennifer Green.

Justin Trottier, president of the Freethought Association of Canada, objected to the Ottawa nix, citing the fact that religious ads extolling family virtues and Salvation Army campaign posters are all part of the bus side scene.

But it was City Councillor Alex Cullen, chair of Ottawa's transit committee, who brought this apparent discrimination to a head. He noted that two years ago, OC Transpo (the city's transit system, best noted recently for a 50+ days strike) approved ads, inside the buses, for Bus Stop Bible Studies. So far, according to BSBS founder David Harrison, not enough money has been raised to actually run the ads in the nation's capital.

Cullen wants the city staffers who ruled against the atheist ads to explain their apparently discriminatory decision to the council's traffic committee.

The councillor wants to know why the atheist ads would be rejected as "offensive". After all, the buses were carrying a Virgin radio ad campaign that showed baleful, pregnant teenage girls and warned parents to "lock up their daughters" because the "Gods of Rock" were in town. Even his 26-year-old daughter was apparently offended by that ad, he claims.

Interestingly, Harrison is puzzled by the city's rejection of the atheist ads. He told the Citizen that he hoped the atheist ads would pique enough Christian contrarians into contributing to his own campaign in Ottawa.

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It should be noted that there is a bit of a difference in the BSBS targets and format.

The "Bible study" ads are, for the most part, just what their title denotes -- a quick Bible study.

The format is to quote a particular biblical text on one bus ad panel, then pose several questions for consideration in the next.

My first impression, on looking at ad samples on line, was to be reminded of the inductive Bible study approaches practiced in my youth -- and probably more recently, too -- by Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship.

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The targets for the ads are people travelling on buses and subways, who have a few minutes to reflect on both the text and the questions, while the ads are staring them in their faces.

The atheist ads, placed as they are on the buses' exteriors, leave a fleeting impression on onlookers, as the big buses rush by on the city streets.

They have to catch attention with something that will be more provocative than reflective. And they depend on what is sometimes called "spaced repetition" to reinforce their message, through the method of ensuring that the ads are on the exteriors of many buses.

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From the perspective of OttawaWatch, the connection with Parliament Hill is peripheral. But the fact is that many of the buses in question pass within a few hundred feet of the Peace Tower, so their exterior messages are quite visible to the people frequenting the Hill. And many of the Hill's employees get there on the buses. If the BSBS people can raise enough money, it won't be long before those public servants will have opportunity to reflect on scripture for a few moments, before they disgorge into the inner sanctums of the public square.

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Lloyd Mackey is a member of the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery in Ottawa and author of Stephen Harper: The Case for Collaborative Governance (ECW Press, 2006), More Faithful Than We Think: Stories and Insights on Canadian Leaders Doing Politics Christianly (BayRidge Books, 2005) and Like Father, Like Son: Ernest Manning and Preston Manning (ECW Press, 1997). Lloyd can be reached at lmackey@canadianchristianity.com.

Related stories:

Atheists can be spiritual, too
What a concept. A good-humoured discussion between atheists and spiritual people over the existence and nature of God. If Canada is lucky, that should continue to play out in the ensuing months with the astonishing public interest in the atheist bus ads.
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, February 14

Cullen demands review of atheist ads
The chairman of Ottawa's transit committee will demand that city staff explain why they refused to allow atheism ads on city buses, even though ads quoting the Bible have been approved by the city and could appear on buses at any time. Councillor Alex Cullen said yesterday that council had no opportunity to discuss the decision to reject the ads from an atheist organization -- which is now considering legal advice.
Ottawa Citizen, February 17

The Bus Wars
The secular humanists are appealing this decision, outraged to be lumped in with the religions they so devoutly oppose. But the Translink board is in line with, among other authorities, the Supreme Court of the United States, which has for several decades recognized secular humanism as functionally a religion -- and we professors of the academic study of religion would agree. That is, whatever ideology constitutes the center of concern for an individual or group is de facto a religion. So the Translink board is right to forbid the secular humanists from mounting their ad campaign if the board is not willing to let other religious groups do the same.
John Stackhouse, February 17

Islamic Supreme Council says it will counter atheist ads on Calgary buses
The side of a bus may be an unusual place to debate religion, but that's the confrontation building in Calgary, where a group of atheists plans to buy transit ads questioning the existence of God. The Roman Catholics have talked about wanting equal space for their perspective and now the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada says they're planning to buy their own bus ads promoting an all-faith approach to religion.
Canadian Press, February 19

February 19/2009