It sounds like the lead of a hundred bad jokes: A Muslim imam, a Catholic priest, and a Buddhist monk walk into a television studio . . . However, this is the setup for a new show “Penitents Compete” on Turkish television station Kanal T where the clerics are put into a room with 10 atheists to convert them. It is the ultimate Survival: Salvation show.
The prize for conversion is a trip to the holy city of your choice religion: Mecca for Muslims, the Vatican for Christians, Jerusalem for Jews and Tibet for Buddhists.
It appears that remaining an atheist gets you bupkus.
The Turkish High Board of Religious Affairs is not amused. Chairman Hamza Aktan said the program is disrespectful.
Yet, Kanal T chief executive Seyhan Soylu insists that they “are giving the biggest prize in the world, the gift of belief in God.” I suppose that is better than a Dodge Neon but I must confess that a trip to Italy would push me more into the arms of the Almighty than a trip to Saudi Arabia from purely a tourism standpoint.
It appears that there are a lot of atheists looking for either a salvation or a vacation: 200 people have so far applied for the 10 positions each month.
For the full story, click here.
I guess that this could become the reality show of all realities. So no bidding for what is thought to be the Birth place of Christianity or Mankind? Like Ethiopia for instance?
This could be really subversive. Right now, I’m choosing Buddhism and coming back on season 2 for backsliding so I can go to Rome.
Jonathan, this was a wonderful find! I wish we had the program in the US. It would be very enlightening to show side by side religious conversion techniques along with actual evil atheists, even given an Islamic bias. PTL!
I missed this film but it looked fkawed but good:
ENLIGHTEN UP!
Filmmaker Kate Churchill is determined to prove that yoga can transform anyone. Nick Rosen is skeptical but agrees to be her guinea pig. Kate immerses Nick in yoga, and follows him around the world as he examines the good, the bad and the ugly of yoga. The two encounter celebrity yogis, true believers, kooks and world-renowned gurus… Not Rated. (Evidently Nick does not “convert”.)
A.Y.,
That’s a good idea. If one stays atheist it’s off to the home of us all!
What’s the parting gift for “losing” contestants? Divine retribution?
Yeah. I can’t see anything going wrong with a show that tries to force someone to adopt a religion they don’t necessarily want. In all of human history, nothing has ever gone wrong when we Space Monkeys engage in that kind of behavior.
Except the huge percentage of all the wars ever started.
I really hope the idiot producers get contests like myself or mespo falling through the cracks in their selection process. Now THAT would be entertaining television. Host’s crying, other contestants wandering about in teleological shell shock, producer’s rending their garments, advertisers self-immolating . . . dogs and cats living together, a disaster of Biblical proportion.
Or the best television ever and a ratings bonanza.
I wonder what the aliens will think when they finally receive and decode that transmission . . .
Buddha,
You cannot include mespo in any communication. Remember you are not an Original Turless, you only have provisional rights to post. Do not you have to be warned again? Just wait until Tuesday. You will be addressed and dressed down for such inferior insubordinate.
Disclaimer
I am only funna ya. I hope you still have that sense of humor.
AY,
Oh I do, but some don’t. And no offense was taken. However . . .
I’m going to admonish you now though.
One of the key concepts in Aikido is that the best way to avoid trouble is not to be there when it starts. You should contemplate that for a bit perhaps. What I said about being dragged into the middle of your little war goes for all sides. Was the person you obliquely refer to a party to this exchange prior to your introducing her? No, she wasn’t. If you just want to purposefully antagonize Patty (and that IS what you are doing with that last comment), leave me out of it. Consider my sentiments on this issue as a cross between, “You kids get the Hell off my lawn”, “Don’t make me get up out of this chair” and “Move along. There’s nothing here to see.”
I thank you in advance for your cooperation.
“You cannot include mespo in any communication. Remember you are not an Original Turless, you only have provisional rights to post.”
*****************
I hereby grant rights for all on the blog to use my name in whatever manner they choose, longevity on the blog notwithstanding. Defamatory statements are most appreciated and encouraged as are those involving reasoned debate and profuse praise.
So it shall be written, so it shall be done.
–Grand Poobah
rofl
The Grand Poobah hath spoken!
I hereby grant rights for all on the blog to use my name in whatever manner they choose, longevity on the blog notwithstanding. Defamatory statements are most appreciated and encouraged as are those involving reasoned debate and profuse praise.
So it shall be written, so it shall be done.
**********
And I thank you sir. I hope that you understand that I like the site a lot. Everyone should enjoy themselves or they should find some other site.
It’s sad if Flying Spaghetti Monster converts only get to hover above Italy.
Converted Pastafarians receive the blessing of the Flying Spaghetti Monster’s noodlely appendage – what more do they need?
mespo(72)^3,
You, sir, are a liar and a thief. Let me know if you would prefer your defamatory statements in the form of an ad-hominem attack rather than (presumably) false allegations.
No Hindus?
Salvation is already syndicated in the United States. The advantage of the Turkish program is that a successful contestant can actually win something. American versions of salvation for sale require the contestants to send “love offerings.”
Sounds like a mini inquisition