TWO-and-a-half hearty cheers are due this week in support of the ongoing atheist bus campaign.

Only two-and-a-half though, because there is one aspect that I find somewhat disappointing and puzzling.

This is the slogan that is currently adorning buses across the land: There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.

Probably? I am sure I cannot be the only one who thinks the use of this word constitutes a bit of a cop out on the part of the campaign organisers.

After all, this is meant to be a retort to organised religion, and prominent atheist Professor Richard Dawkins has professed he is sick of seeing religion getting a “free ride.”

This is a campaign though, in which the word “atheist” is being used. There is even a website - www.atheistbus.org.uk - which aims to keep supporters up to date with developments.

My dictionary defines atheism as “the theory or belief that God does not exist”, an atheist as someone “without God.”

Just as Christians and others believe that God exists, so atheists believe there is no God. So why “probably” - why put in a caveat?

The encouraging thing about the campaign is that the British Humanist Association, through which the campaign is organised, originally aimed to raise just £5,500, which Professor Dawkins was to, in today’s jargon, match-fund.

Fundraising has now topped £135,000 and enabled to campaign to spread far beyond London, with more than 800 buses across many other cities now carrying the slogan.

The aforementioned website has had problems recently. Earlier this week it was down for 24 hours, with what a message later described as a “bandwidth issue.”

Being a cyber-dunce, I’m not sure what this means, but am happy in the knowledge that those at www.atheistbus.org.uk will not be describing it as an act of God.

Probably.