Turkish TV Gameshow - Who wants to Convert An Atheist?
Offline 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.
http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE5622D020090703?feedType=RSS&feedName=entertainmentNews&rpc=22&sp=true
How can not believing in something that is backed up with no empirical evidence be less scientific than believing in something that not only has no empirical evidence but actually goes against the laws of the universe and in many cases actually contradicts itself? - Ricky Gervais
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That is.............awesome. I would definitely watch that.
Our revels now are ended. These our actors, | As I foretold you, were all spirits, and | Are melted into air, into thin air; | And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, | The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, | The solemn temples, the great globe itself, - Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, | And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, | Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff | As dreams are made on, and our little life | Is rounded with a sleep. - Shakespeare
In the immortal words of my (then) 4 year old brother, after our mom told us to stop doing whatever we were doing:
Fun Spoiler!!!
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Looks like an awesome show. I hope someone uploads it to youtube. I kind of wish there was an atheist version. We could get an atheist biologist, a chemist, a physist and somesort of philosopher to deconvert 10 religious people (bonus points if they're all fundies). The prize could be full tuition at the university of their choice ;D
What if one or more of the atheists simply wanted a free trip? They could just pretend to be convinced and then get to go to Tibet or wherever.
Haha, I'd do it. Except I would choose Mecca, might as well go somewhere forbidden where there are people willing to explode if they find out that a nonbeliever got in. Or am I suicidal for thinking this way?
What happens if the atheists are able to convert any of the 'holy' men? Where would they send them? I think to be fair they should offer them a trip to the Hedonism resort in Jamica:
www.SuperClubs.com/Hedonism
Also I didn't know you could convert to Judiasm. Kind of thought Yahweh only liked Jews in that religion.
Taxation is the price we pay for failing to build a civilized society. The higher the tax level, the greater the failure. A centrally planned totalitarian state represents a complete defeat for the civilized world, while a totally voluntary society represents its ultimate success. --Mark Skousen
Apparently, the only way they can tell if your Muslim is with an ID card. So it should just be a matter of paying someone to get an ID card. I think it would be a great adventure to do it someday. I just would avoid the stampede at the stoning of the devil.
Taxation is the price we pay for failing to build a civilized society. The higher the tax level, the greater the failure. A centrally planned totalitarian state represents a complete defeat for the civilized world, while a totally voluntary society represents its ultimate success. --Mark Skousen
I have no desire to go to Mecca...looks like a dive. Jerusalem might be ok but not top of the list.I'd readily "convert" to Budhism for a free trip to Nepal. The Vatican (only because it's in Rome) would be cool too...I wonder if you can go on the show more than once and "reconvert" for a different trip. Although, if "converting" means you actually have to attend the sky pixie worship sessions at churches/synagogues/temples/mosques then I'm not sure it'd be worth the trip.
No, apparently you cannot get onto the show just to win a free trip somewhere.
As far as where one would go, I don't really care for any of those destinations. Although if they are willing to send me to Barbados when they fail, that would be fine with me. Actually, that is the rub with this idea, you have to claim conversion to win anything. That much being said, there is a whole school of thought in Buddhism which is basically atheist anyway, so it might be possible to win the trip to Tibet.
Honestly though, I don't really understand the whole idea of a prize in the first place. In the words of the producer:
If that actually meant anything, it would kind of make a trip anywhere pale in comparison. Hell's bells but if that was worth anything, it ought to beat a prize of a trillion dollars.
Further, who would want to go to Mecca anyway? From what I gather, it is kind of a nasty place. The only thing that would draw me there would be a chance to play with the local folk musicians.
Jerusalem? Kind of a dangerous place to even think about boarding a bus, so no thank you.
Rome? Well, the best comment on that comes from Mark Twain's trip there in the mid 19th century. While he was visiting a museum full of Renaissance paintings, his guide kept commenting on the art, repeatedly discussing such indescribable properties as the breadth, feeling and use of color employed by the artist. Twain finally comment himself on one work by observing “I would estimate it's width as about three and a half feet”. Zing!
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Don't look at me in that tone of voice!!
So, are the atheists on the show looking for a religion they don't know anything about, or are they already knowledgeable about the religions?
Theism is why we can't have nice things.
My best guess would be that they wheel out a bunch of plastic Atheists and then they revert to islam.
All for show just to make islam look like the one true religion. Turkey is an islamic 'secular' country,
As a finale they'll all head off to the kaaba and then on to a madrassar of their choosing where they develop fundie tendencies and go 'bang' in Iraq.
As a side note, I'd love to tag the kaaba, what a prank!
How can not believing in something that is backed up with no empirical evidence be less scientific than believing in something that not only has no empirical evidence but actually goes against the laws of the universe and in many cases actually contradicts itself? - Ricky Gervais
I saw this on Pharyngula. It's damn... um... interesting?
I mean, if it's atheists who actually know what they're talking about, the theists are just going to look foolish, right? Except, does anyone here believe that the atheist is going to get a chance to deconvert all the theists? I don't think so.
If the atheists don't convert, it's a win for the theists because they get to point and ridicule and degrade the atheist for being such a dumbass. If they get a poser or mental midget who will succumb to pressure, they win.
What a crock of shit. On the other hand, it's nice to see how desperate theists are becoming.
Atheism isn't a lot like religion at all. Unless by "religion" you mean "not religion". --Ciarin
http://hambydammit.wordpress.com/
Books about atheism
When I saw "gameshow", I was sincerely hoping for something much more like Family Feud or The Price is Right. Or maybe The Dating Game, but with a priest, a rabbi and an imam instead of three sexy bachelors. Come to think of it, converting to Judaism isn't really done outside of marriage, is it?
"The whole conception of God is a conception derived from ancient Oriental despotisms. It is a conception quite unworthy of free men."
--Bertrand Russell
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