Atheist Ads Aimed at Children for Holidays | The Institute for Creation Research

Atheist Ads Aimed at Children for Holidays

The holiday season brings familiar sights every year. Chestnuts on open fires. Turkeys in ovens. Holly wreaths hanging on front doors. And of course, anti-God advertisements on buses and billboards.

In late November, prominent atheist Richard Dawkins and the British Humanist Association (BHA) promoted bus ads featuring two smiling children and the statement “Please don’t label me. Let me grow up and choose for myself.” The words “Libertarian Child,” “Buddhist Child,” “Agnostic Child,” “Mormon Child,” “Protestant Child,” “Muslim Child,” and others appear in the background.

Ironically, the two children appearing on the ad come from an evangelical family. Brad Mason, a web designer and photographer, supplements his income by selling photos on royalty-free image websites like iStockphoto, including a photo of his daughter Charlotte, 8, and his son Ollie, 7. Regarding the images of his children used on the atheist ad, Mason told British news service The Times, “It is quite funny, because obviously they were searching for images of children that looked happy and free. They happened to choose children who are Christian. It is ironic. The humanists obviously did not know the background of these children.”1

The BHA said that it didn’t matter whether the children were Christians. Its education director told The Times, “The message is that the labeling of children by their parents’ religion fails to respect the rights of the child and their autonomy. We are saying that religions and philosophies—and ‘humanist’ is one of the labels we use on our poster—should not be foisted on or assumed of young children.”1

Atheist and children’s book author Philip Pullmans supported the ad campaign, saying, “It is absolutely right that we shouldn’t label children until they are old enough to decide for themselves.”1

But when are children old enough to decide such things as religious and philosophical association for themselves? Blogger Stephen Wang wrote in response to the ads’ message, “The exercise of freedom requires some prior foundation. Children have to learn how to make choices: how to weigh things up, how to judge what is best, how to take responsibility….And an essential part of learning to choose is having some sense of the meaning of the world we inhabit, of the value of our actions, and of the significance of their consequences. In other words, freedom can’t be learnt outside a context of meaning and values.”2

He added, “If you believe something important to be true, then you shouldn’t pretend it is an open question. This goes for secular humanists as much as for religious believers.”2

“If you really want your children to be free, you need to tell them why their freedom matters, and help them appreciate some of the values they might pursue. And to do that, you need to use at least a few labels,”2 Wang concluded.

The wisest man who ever lived said, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”3 Children will grow into decision-making adults one day and they will make their own choices. But unless they have an understanding of what those choices are and the consequences of them, they will not be able to make them with confidence. And that indeed requires “at least a few labels.”

References

  1. Gledhill, R. 2009. Children who front Richard Dawkins’ atheist ads are evangelicals. The Times. Posted on timesonline.co.uk November 21, 2009, accessed December 8, 2009.
  2. Wang, S. 2009. Religious education is not brainwashing. The Times. Posted on timesonline.co.uk November 23, 2009, accessed December 8, 2009.
  3. Proverbs 22:6.

* Ms. Dao is Assistant Editor at the Institute for Creation Research.

Article posted on December 14, 2009.

The Latest
NEWS
Creation's Easter Message
While many Christians still consider the creation doctrine a fringe issue, a proper understanding of the Christian message finds creation at its core...

NEWS
ICR Veteran Don Barber Retires
Don Barber   After 34 years with the Institute for Creation Research, Director of Enterprise Technology Don Barber will retire...

CREATION.LIVE PODCAST
The Sanctity of Life | Creation.Live Podcast: Episode 23
Abortion is a big issue culturally and in the church. How can believers love our neighbors and act as the hands and feet of Christ when it comes...

NEWS
Plant Receptors Are Designed to Control Immunity and Development
God has designed plants to continuously track their environment.1 They do so with specially designed detectors (also called receptors) on...

CREATION PODCAST
Homo Naledi: The Lies Behind Evolution's Rising Star | The Creation...
Homo naledi, once evolution's 'rising star,' was considered to be a prime example of human evolution. But is it really proof? Or...

NEWS
A Subsurface Ocean on Mimas?
Scientists have analyzed data obtained from the Cassini spacecraft and concluded that irregularities in the orbit of Saturn’s moon Mimas indicate...

NEWS
In Theaters March 20 & 21: The Ark and the Darkness
Is Genesis true? What about Noah’s Flood? How did Noah fit the animals on the ark? Wasn’t it a local flood? Have you asked these questions? Though...

NEWS
Enigmatic Fossil Plants
The pre-Flood world thousands of years ago was unlike the world of today.1 Unfamiliar animals and plants were common, and there were a lot...

NEWS
Surprisingly Colorful Fossil Snail Shells
Finding organic compounds such as flexible dinosaur collagen and complete bone cells1,2 is becoming common, much to the shock and consternation...

NEWS
March 2024 ICR Wallpaper
"He is not here; for He is risen, as He said." (Matthew 28:6 NKJV) ICR March 2024 wallpaper is now available for mobile, tablet,...