The Offensive Atheist in the United States

Published in ABC
(Spain) on 5 January 2011
by Ramón Pérez-Maura (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Ambrose Phillips. Edited by Heidi Kaufmann.
I have a close friend who has the misfortune that his beliefs with regard to the transcendent vary between agnosticism and militant atheism — closer, I think, to the latter than to the former. He traveled to the United States for Christmas recently in order to see his grandchildren, and every time we speak on the telephone he repeats, with the sarcasm of one who knows that what he's saying is irritating: “As they say here, Happy Holidays.”

His visit to America has coincided with a new atheist campaign in Washington, New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago and other cities with an advertisement slogan carried by the buses, “No god? No problem!” Which is, obviously, a continuation of the “atheist bus” campaigns that were seen in Spain not long ago. In Spain, given that we're not very bright here, it was necessary to make posters with a considerably longer slogan: “There's probably no god. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” What Americans manage to say in four words, we Spaniards can only convey with 11 — almost triple.

I often think that many atheists take Jesus a lot more seriously than a high percentage of the Christians, who are happy to declare themselves as such, even though in reality they are religious more in name than in practice.

What's certain is that as the great Paul Johnson rightly maintains, it's much more difficult to demonstrate the non-existence of God than his existence. Some people, however, are happy thinking that while some of us have God, and the Jews may have their prophets, they have Bono — the singer, of course. As popular wisdom holds, José Bono, the Spanish politician, is a Catholic who differs from his fellow believers in that while the majority of them have a lot of belief in God, but little desire to attend church, the Spanish Bono has very little belief in God, but goes to church a lot.

And as the great Taki rightly said in the Christmas edition of The Spectator, “A godless Christmas seems to me a very sad and morbid occasion. For strutting atheists it is a very bad time. And it’s getting worse. The war on Christmas has failed, as stores, schools and public places have had enough of the secular bullies. Christmas trees are now once again called Christmas trees, rather than holiday trees, and you can wish one a happy Christmas without being called an anti-Semite or a bigot.” It's probably that it's precisely because of the step forward that the United States has made in the recuperation of the meaning of Christmas that we now have the offensive secularism of the atheist bus. Long may they prosper.


Tengo un íntimo amigo que tiene la desgracia de que sus creencias sobre lo trascendente oscilan entre el agnosticismo y el ateísmo militante –creo que más cerca de lo segundo que de lo primero. Este año, por Navidad, ha viajado a Estados Unidos para ver a sus nietos y cada vez que hablábamos por teléfono me repetía con la sorna del que sabe que molesta con lo que afirma: “Como dicen por aquí, felices vacaciones”.

Su visita norteamericana ha coincidido con una nueva campaña ateísta en Washington, Nueva York, Los Ángeles, Las Vegas Chicago y otros lugares en los que los autobuses llevan publicidad con el lema “No god? No problem!”. Que es, obviamente, una continuación de las campañas del “bus ateo” que vivimos en España no hace mucho. Aquí, como somos un poco más zotes, era necesario hacer carteles con lemas mucho más largos: “Probablemente dios no existe. Deja de preocuparte y disfruta la vida”. Lo que los norteamericanos resumen en cuatro palabras, los españoles decimos, con el mismo sentido en 11. Casi el triple.

Muchas veces pienso que muchos ateos se toman a Cristo bastante más en serio que un alto porcentaje de los cristianos que están encantados de declararse como tales aunque en realidad lo son más nominalmente que en la práctica.

Lo cierto es que como muy bien ha sostenido el gran Paul Johnson, es mucho más difícil demostrar la inexistencia de Dios que su existencia. Pero algunos son felices de pensar que mientras nosotros tenemos a Dios y los judíos tienen a los profetas, ellos tienen a Bono –el cantante, claro. Porque ya se sabe lo que sostiene la sabiduría popular: que el político español de ese nombre es un católico que se diferencia de sus hermanos en la fe en que mientras la mayoría de ellos cree mucho en Dios pero va poco a Misa, el Bono español cree muy poco en Dios, pero va mucho a Misa.

Como muy bien ha dicho el gran Taki en el número extra de Navidad de The Spectator, “una Navidad sin Dios me parece una ocasión muy triste y mórbida. Para los ateos que se pavonean es un momento muy difícil. Y va a peor. La guerra contra la Navidad ha fracasado: las tiendas, los colegios y los lugares públicos han dicho ‘¡basta!’ a los matones secularistas. Los árboles de Navidad son de nuevo árboles de Navidad y no árboles de vacaciones. Y se puede desear a alguien feliz Navidad sin ser considerado anti semita ni fanático”. Pues es probable que precisamente por ese paso adelante que ha dado Estados Unidos en la recuperación del sentido de la Navidad, llegue allí ahora la ofensiva secularista del bus ateo. Que les vaya bonito.
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