Turkey has an exciting new gameshow featuring 10 atheists, a Christian, a Muslim, a Jew, and a Budhist. Although that sounds like the setup for a joke, it's an actual gameshow: 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. http://www.reuters.com/article/ente...RSS&feedName=entertainmentNews&rpc=22&sp=true
The mere fact they're open to being converted completely contests their atheism. They should have used 10 agnostics in that case. This strikes me as a religious raffle. What's the prize? One other point, since Buddhism was only brought to Tibet in 754 AD, I'd have thought Bodh Gaya a better pilgrimage. I know if I were an atheist I'd not even contemplate this since I'd have faith in my own convictions, I couldn't be "converted" by any religion. They obviously have a few questions still lurking in the back of their minds. In which case they're not atheists.
Oh please! Hari Krishnas evangelize like crazy. Literally like crazy. What do you get if you don't covnervt? Can I go apostate after the prize? If I pick Jew or Muslim and my dick isn't whacked do I have to get trimmed before the trip? What about if I choose raelian? Do I get complimentary women for my trip?
Its a good idea. But they should have named it Soul Survivor. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Good one! If this show was in English, I'd probably watch it. Well, if it's any good I'm sure they'll make an American version before long.
I would be very surprised. Discussing religion is easier in the Arab countries than it is the US. Plus I would not be surprised if the atheist organisations got their panties in a wad about it.
Easy enough to deal with the atheists. Make the contestants 10 agnostics and let one of the competing "faiths" be atheism.
Are there enough agnostics to go around? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Maybe they could have a game show where the atheists try to convert a theist. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
. . . . if it walks like a duck, acts like a duck, and quacks like a duck. . . lol. yes, they should definitely use young college agnostics that were not brought up in religious household instead of atheists. If there were an American version, it would definitely have to include Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and Scientologists. . . . with a little bit of some boxing gloves a la American gladiator style, to see who gets first dibs at the converting process. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Those newer faiths can be quite brutal & tenacious when it comes to proselytizing for new recruits.
"a hidden Islamic agenda" Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! No way! Muslims would never stoop that low, would they? Sam, explain this. Unless the show is well scripted (hidden Islamic agenda), the atheists should be able to take the piss out of the theists, easily.
It would appear that detractors of Muslims are the same worldwide. Yeah, just look at me for example. All the atheists taking the piss out of me, easily.
