New Game Show

[Darth Allanon]

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - What happens when you put a Muslim imam, a Christian priest, a rabbi and a Buddhist monk in a room with 10 atheists?

 

Turkish television station Kanal T hopes the answer is a ratings success as it prepares to launch a gameshow where spiritual guides from the four faiths will seek to convert a group of non-believers.

 

The prize for converts will be a pilgrimage to a holy site of their chosen religion -- Mecca for Muslims, the Vatican for Christians, Jerusalem for Jews and Tibet for Buddhists.

 

But religious authorities in Muslim but secular Turkey are not amused by the twist on the popular reality game show format and the Religious Affairs Directorate is refusing to provide an imam for the show.

 

"Doing something like this for the sake of ratings is disrespectful to all religions. Religion should not be a subject for entertainment programs," High Board of Religious Affairs Chairman Hamza Aktan told state news agency Anatolian after news of the planned program emerged.

 

The makers of "Penitents Compete" are unrepentant and reject claims that the show, scheduled to begin broadcasting in September, will cheapen religion.

 

"We are giving the biggest prize in the world, the gift of belief in God," Kanal T chief executive Seyhan Soylu told Reuters.

 

"We don't approve of anyone being an atheist. God is great and it doesn't matter which religion you believe in. The important thing is to believe," Soylu said.

 

The project focuses attention on the issue of religious identity in European Union-candidate Turkey, where rights groups have raised concerns over freedom of religion for non-Muslim minorities.

 

Detractors of the ruling AK Party government, which is rooted in political Islam but officially secular, accuse it of having a hidden Islamist agenda, a charge it denies.

 

Some 200 people have so far applied to take part in the show and the 10 contestants will be chosen next month.

 

A team of theologians will ensure that the atheists are truly non-believers and are not just seeking fame or a free holiday.

 

(Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Dominic Evans)

 

 

This should be very interesting show.

Edited July 3, 2009 by Darth Allanon

[Walsingham]

You'd have to choose Buddhism. I mean, given the choice of trips, do you want to go to freaking Tibet, or Mecca (no disrespect to the spiritual component)? Mecca's a mass of gimcrack hotels and religious police.

 

I still don't see why believing in God means you have to worship the bugger. I believe in my uncle Wally. But i don't worship him.

[Pidesco]

Your Uncle Wally isn't all powerful, though.

[Hell Kitty]

I still don't see why believing in God means you have to worship the bugger.

 

It doesn't, though I suppose if you belong to a specific religion that requires worship, then you better get crackin'.

[Oerwinde]

Buddhism is the only organized religion that makes any sense.

[kirottu]

In before religion debate!

[Walsingham]

Buddhism is the only organized religion that makes any sense.

 

Love thy neighbour? Turn the other cheek? Alms to the poor?

 

Oh yes, makes no bloody sense at all.

[Hurlshort]

I've always seen atheism as one part depressing and another part arrogant. But reality shows aren't really reality, so any conversions will probably not be too serious.

[Slowtrain]

I've always seen religion as one part depressing and another part stupid.

 

 

Hmmm. Where do we go from here?

[Hurlshort]

I've always seen religion as one part depressing and another part stupid.

 

 

Hmmm. Where do we go from here?

 

I don't really disagree with that. Although I think you have to take each religion as a separate entity, rather than lumping them into a general category. The stupid parts of each religion tend to vary a lot, as do the depressing parts.

[Slowtrain]

I've always seen religion as one part depressing and another part stupid.

 

 

Hmmm. Where do we go from here?

 

I don't really disagree with that. Although I think you have to take each religion as a separate entity, rather than lumping them into a general category. The stupid parts of each religion tend to vary a lot, as do the depressing parts.

 

 

Very true.

 

Technically, I'm not an atheist but a generalized polythiest. Currently, I'm worshipping the pantheon of deities popularized by the ancient Greeks: Zeus, Hera, Hermes etc and so forth.

 

You know, a lot of people believe that earthquakes are caused by some bizarre thing called plate tectonics, but the truth is that earthquakes are caused by Poseidon getting angry and slamming his trident into the sea floor.

 

I really wish people would stop trying to dimish the role of the gods with all this secular nonesense and made up junk.

[Morgoth]

Yes CrashGirl, yes. It's time for your pills again.

[Slowtrain]

Yes CrashGirl, yes. It's time for your pills again.

 

 

I left them in Valhalla.

[Walsingham]

I hope I'm not being too lame if I am true to the general principles of sunday school Anglicanism. Th efact is that whatever I say I refer back to the smple values of compassion and general cake, tea and nicensss I was taught. I'm damned if I'll worship God. But niceness and cake are my core things, and hope they remain the same till I die.

[Rosbjerg]

I've always seen atheism as one part depressing and another part arrogant.

 

Really? why?

 

I don't see why it's arrogant, or especially how it's depressing, not to believe in a God or gods.. or how it's stupid to believe for that matter.

[Slowtrain]

how it's stupid to believe for that matter.

 

 

Because one can make the world a better place without bothering with God and religion in the first place, so given that, why bother with it all?

[213374U]

Because it simplifies things.

[Slowtrain]

Because it simplifies things.

 

 

How so?

 

Personally, I agree but I'm not sure we are thinking of simplify in the same way.

 

The way I see it, giving over your life to a higher power and no longer having to think for yourself is definitely simpler but I don't think that's a good thing.

[Hurlshort]

I didn't say anything about atheism being stupid, but I can qualify the arrogant and depressing part:

 

Arrogance - There is a ton of stuff in this universe that I am comfortable admitting I don't understand. Most of the conversations I've had with atheists leads to them trying to explain emotions like love on a scientific basis, or why humans wage war, or feel the need to worship in the first place. These explanations always seem lacking to me, and I just find it rather pompous to think that everything can be explained by science.

 

Depressing - Religion serves a very real purpose. It gives people hope in difficult times, and it gives them something to look forward to, a reward at the end of the road if you will. What, exactly, is the purpose of atheism? Where is the greater good? When you are on your deathbed, is it going to comfort you to know that all your growth, knowledge, and uniqueness is going to be snuffed out for good? I doubt it, even Darwin was an agnostic in the end. I think life without spirituality is rather empty. This is a magical world, but only if you believe in it. I don't really want to know the brain synopses that are triggered and cause me to love my daughter unquestionably, I just want to enjoy it.

[Hurlshort]

I've always seen atheism as one part depressing and another part arrogant.

 

Really? why?

 

I don't see why it's arrogant, or especially how it's depressing, not to believe in a God or gods.. or how it's stupid to believe for that matter.

 

Oh, I see now, I didn't mean that believing is stupid, I meant all religions have stupid parts to them. But they are man-made and man-driven, so that is inevitable.

[Hell Kitty]

I was raised Catholic, and I remember praying to God every night as a kid, and it was definitely comforting to think there was some higher power watching over and protecting me, but as I got older it stopped making any sense. Of all the different gods people have believed in, why are all the others false but this one is real? Without a satisfactory answer I can't continue to believe in something that doesn't make any sense to me. I don't believe in any of the different gods mankind has worshiped, nor do I see any point in the agnostic approach, so I guess that makes me an atheist. It has nothing to do with science, and it isn't a choice.

[Gorgon]

I didn't say anything about atheism being stupid, but I can qualify the arrogant and depressing part:

 

Arrogance - There is a ton of stuff in this universe that I am comfortable admitting I don't understand. Most of the conversations I've had with atheists leads to them trying to explain emotions like love on a scientific basis, or why humans wage war, or feel the need to worship in the first place. These explanations always seem lacking to me, and I just find it rather pompous to think that everything can be explained by science.

I felt the urge to jump in.

 

These questions and their explanations seem lacking, but the arrogant atheists at least take them on face value rather than dismissing them outright with some mumbo jumbo about there 'being more between heaven and earth'.

 

If god exists why does he have to be so timid about it, seems like he could settle the dispute in a day, perhaps by coming to earth and holding a seminar. Think of the implications for philosophy.

 

He can't be 'too busy', he's omnipresent and omnipotent, the usual rules of space-time don't apply.

Edited July 6, 2009 by Gorgon

[Deadly_Nightshade]

What, exactly, is the purpose of atheism?

 

Firstly, if you are talking about Gnostic Atheism –id est “there is no god or gods”- when you talk about all atheism you are mistaken, just as one would be mistaken to lump all theists into one group just because they share a belief in a god or gods. Secondly, and to address your point, atheism has no purpose as it has no tenets and no dogma. All one can infer from the statement “I am an atheist” is that the speaker does not believe in a god or gods. There is no church of atheism, there is no central authority.

 

Where is the greater good?

 

In the betterment and advancement of humanity for both future generations and ourselves.

 

When you are on your deathbed, is it going to comfort you to know that all your growth, knowledge, and uniqueness is going to be snuffed out for good?

 

The comfort will be that I would have, hopefully, led a full, long life and helped contribute to the world in one way or another. Also, sure, I might not think that I am going to live forever in a magical kingdom, but then again I am also not afraid that I will go to an endless torture session because I “sinned.”

 

I doubt it, even Darwin was an agnostic in the end.

 

A person described as agnostic is, most likely, an atheist as gnostic and agnostic convey the knowledge that the individual has on the subject and not the actual belief held by them. I can be both agnostic and an atheist –that is to say, I do not believe in a god or gods but cannot say that I know that there is or is not a god or gods- just as another person might be an agnostic theist. Even so, it does not matter what Darwin himself professed to believe for, as I have already said, there is no central atheistic organization.

 

I think life without spirituality is rather empty.

 

We are going to have to agree to disagree on this point, as it in my opinion that life is just as wonderful without a god as it is with one.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

These explanations always seem lacking to me, and I just find it rather pompous to think that everything can be explained by science.

 

So it is less arrogant to claim that a magical man in the sky is the root of everything? How does this make any sense without appearing terribly hypocritical? In addition, if the scientific method is not good enough what should be turn to? Apologetics? I am not trying to attack you but, frankly, I cannot see how saying “god did it” is anything but more pretentious and pompous.

[Meshugger]

All religious and spiritual questions are answered in Asimov's "The last Question". Read it, you will finish it less than half an hour. Think about it, all your questions answered within 30 minutes, isn't that great? What are you waiting for?! Start reading already!

 

As of the show, i find it very discriminating. Where are the pagan gods with their Olympus, Valhalla, Kalevala? What about Shinto, where you worship everything, even the rock in your backyard? Satanism then? What about whatever the south african bushmen believe in? Aren't they "divine" enough? Boo!