A new billboard created by the Boulder Atheists (on behalf of the Colorado Coalition Of Reason) just went up in three locations — two in Denver and one near Colorado Springs:

“God is an imaginary friend; Choose reality, it will be better for all of us.”

Somewhere, those of you who love professional design are cringing… But maybe there’s a silver lining for those of you who like seeing more blunt messages on these atheist billboards.

[Marvin] Straus said the [three] billboards cost the group $1,200 and will stay up for four weeks. The Colorado Springs billboard was scheduled to be put up on Monday… … Straus said the locations were chosen by group’s advertising agency as the ones with the most exposure that also fit in to the group’s “limited budget.” “We would have billboard in every major city in the state, including Boulder, if we had more money,” he said. … Straus said the group’s efforts in the past have generated a lot of positive feedback, along with a fair number of “interesting” responses. “Some actually want to dialogue, some just want to vent their spleen,” he said.

Even though I agree with the message, I wonder how effective it’ll be. One of the downsides to having an “in your face” message like this one is that it forces the spokespeople to be negative in their interviews. The reporters will ask them to explain how god is imaginary, how moderate theism hurts everyone, and how most people don’t live in reality.

A good spokesperson can get around that, of course, but atheists are on the defensive.

Compare that to a billboard that says “Millions are good without god.” It’s not as controversial, but when the reporters call — and they always call — you get to explain how morality doesn’t derive from religion, how atheists give to charity, etc. It’s a much more positive conversation.

I know there are benefits of the blunt billboards — I’m a fan of the American Atheists’ “You KNOW It’s a Myth” series — but it’s just something to consider. Not everyone is as eloquent as Dave Silverman and that can sometimes come back to bite us.



