runner
I do think your comments are extreme much of the time. Generally when you are damming everyone to hell for not thinking the same as you might fairly be perceived as pretty extremist.

You speak about righteousness without God as though that is any different to righteousness with God. Many Christians have "killed their unborn" and by your view that is okay as long as they seek God/Jesus's mercy or forgiveness. So your condescension would appear to have nothing to do with the act of abortion at all.

Perhaps you should take a leaf from Christ's book and try a bit of compassion and forgiveness yourself. If you are unable to act in a moral way without your God that is your own choice and path to follow. To argue that anyone whose beliefs differ from yours are lesser because of it is highly arrogant.

That is the problem with religion, it preaches tolerance and other good things while from a premise of supreme authority. Surely all these Gods and religions can't be right. What are the odds?

Runner

I too am not in favour of abortion on demand as a means of contraception, especially at that time when the foetus is approaching viability.

But I am not going to shove that opinion down peoples' throats and expect them to listen to me when I express the idea that all humans are separate from God and need Christ.

But then again I don't expect to convert you to a point of view of loving the sinner and hating the sin. You seem to want to hate both.

To everyone else:

I think that I have expressed where I am coming from, and I don't expect that just because the churches have an advertising campaign that you will rush to church next Sunday. The campaign is, as far as I can tell, about having people think about Jesus.

After all I know that a local church minister was asked by a primary school kid why Christianity worshipped someone whose name was a swear word - as all they had ever heard was 'Jesus Christ' used as an expletive.

In the face of the world insulting the name of someone we value so much please don't insult us further by saying that Christians should not be seeking to change that perception by an advertising campaign.

Runner,
“Judge not, lest ye yourself be judged.”
“How can you say to your brother, “brother, let me take the speck out of your eye” when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye?”
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.”
“But love your enemies, do good to them and lend to them without expecting anything back.
Then your reward will be great.”
Jesus was tested with the question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and all thy soul and with all thy mind... and the second is like it.”
“Love your neighbour as thyself.”
I'll admit my reading of the Gospels is probably selective, as inevitably is everyone's. I really can't find the quote from Jesus' lips that runs:
“Go now, and spread the word of Me. Be though a pain in every man's ass, and his donkey also. If you find someone doing good works, chastise them, and tell them belief in me is more important”.
The Jesus I admire in the Gospels is more interested in helping people, and showing them a way to get along with each other, than in spreading the word of his own greatness; though he did admittedly start getting a bit full of himself near the end.
I take that as a timely reminder of human fallibility, without which the story would be incomplete.
On the question of advertising: “by their actions, so shall ye judge them”.

"I too am not in favour of abortion on demand as a means of contraception, especially at that time when the foetus is approaching viability."

Theists and non-theists alike would agree with those sentiments Doug.

Ironically, my parents who were both raised as Catholics bought their children up to think critically and question. We were raised as Athiests although it was never pushed or even discussed much - it just was. My parents were quite strict about using bad language, even the word shutup was barred from our house. We were taught also never to say "Jesus" or "God" in a negative way or as a swear word in respect of those who were Christian or otherwise.

I tend to think advertising only works if the audience can see the "What's in it for me" aspect in more of the consumer context or if it already confirms their own preconceptions.

I am not sure that advertising will work for the Christian faith but they have the right to express themselves as they see fit.

From media reports out of England, there is a bit of hyprocrisy in that those who see fit to deny the Atheists advertising campaign as offensive do not apply the same rule of thumb to a faith-based advertising campaign. Atheists might equally find the idea of having Christianity pushed down our throats offensive and demeaning.

Pelican, thank you for your comments, but my words regarding abortion were primarily for Runner, lest he / she would somehow think that because I am less rabid re the topic that I approve point blank of abortion on demand.

Regarding the banning of atheist posters and other material on buses: atheists should be able to display, within the bounds of good taste and withing the idea of the civil good, what they want, the same as 'theists'

In fact in Sydney, when this hit the press, it was the theists who argued in favour of atheists being able to display this material.

It is better to have the argument out in the open, with neither one side nor the other feeling that they don't have the right to express their own arguments.

Or maybe people could argue, such as they have here re the 'Christ' campaign, that any money that is to be spend of this material would be better off being donated to charity?