This bus ad, sponsored by Bus Stop Bible Studies, was seen in Toronto last week:

Dear Jesus, My mom and dad do drugs at home and it scares me. Will you help them stop? Thank you for hearing my prayer. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand.”

WHAT?! That’s the worst possible advice ever.

Hey, fictional child, God won’t help you. God won’t help your parents. God doesn’t exist. (Sorry, that’s another bus ad, but bear with me.) If your parents are taking drugs at the expense of your well-being, stop praying and call for help. Or talk to a teacher. Or a cop. There are solutions out there far more effective than what the Bible says.

It turns out several people complained about the ad, prompting the Toronto Transit Commission to review it.

And then they decided to do nothing.

TTC spokesperson Brad Ross says there’s no formal report or anything created during one of these reviews… but since the ad doesn’t break any laws or the TTC’s advertising policy there’s no way to pull it. … That review was by TTC chair Karen Stintz and TTC commissioner Maria Augimeri. “Although I would not personally condone the comportment outlined in the advertisement, I feel that I do not have the jurisdiction nor the authority to promote its cancellation; particularly because the TTC would not fare well in a court challenge should the promoter of the advertisement choose to make this issue one of rights and freedoms,” Augimeri said of the Bus Stop Bible Studies ad.

I agree that the Christians have a legal right to put up their ad, but it’s just bad advice. No, it’s harmful advice. I suspect even most Christians would tell the child to seek *real* help from a trusted adult… before pointlessly thanking god for however it works out.

(Thanks to Heather for the link!)



