I was interested to know more about Stephen Green, the man who has filed a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority against the Atheist Bus ad campaign. The blog site mediawatchwatch has an interview with Stephen Green, dating from June 2005. In it, he demonstrates an astonishing lack of understanding of biology and evolution by natural selection. For example, on one of the classic examples of sexual selection, the peacock’s tail:
Why does the peacock have such a magnificent tail? ‘So he can attract a mate’, the evolutionist replies. So how does the hedge-sparrow do it?
Why on earth would one expect the sexual selective pressures resulting from mating to be the same for a small bird for which rapid escape flight is vitally essential and for a large, largely ground-living pheasant such as a peacock? And that sexual selection would be the only selective pressure acting? He goes on to pontificate equally ignorantly on the evolution of whales under the delusion that all the modifications seen in extant whales arose simulatenously in their terrestrial ancestors. Classic creationist wilful stupidity.
Green is also convinced of Christianity’s truth, and that all other religions are in error. Why?
The incontrovertible fact that Jesus Christ not only existed but kept and taught the law, healed the sick, fed the hungry and raised the dead. Other writings (such as we find in pagan societies) are unashamed myth.
At this point you can see how he is deluded enough to believe there is sufficient "evidence" that the bearded supernatural dude in the sky exists for a complaint to the ASA has even a remote chance of success. Well, perhaps he’ll do better than his last legal fracas, against the BBC in which he failed to prove blasphemy. The Freethinker blog has a nice report linking this failed action with his blackmail of a cancer charity. It’s unfortunate that the major legal bill he was presented with has failed to silence this homophobe from trying to stop the Atheist buses.
The prize quote comes from Hanne Stinson, the British Humanist Association’s chief executive, who said (my emphasis):
"I’ve sought advice from some of our key people here, but I’m afraid all I’ve got out of them so far is peals of laughter. I am sure that Stephen Green really does think there is a great deal of evidence for a God – though presumably only the one that he believes in – but I pity the ASA if they are going to be expected to rule on the probability of God’s existence. However, if they do investigate we will be very happy to respond."
Perhaps this action is a response to the slapping down he and his ridiculous Christian Voice organisation received after claiming that the new HPV vaccine will cause infertility. You can read Christian Voice’s take on this judgement here. it makes for interesting and amusing reading!
