Sunday, August 10, 2008 | Reason : In the News | print version

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Charlie Brooker's screen burn

by Charlie Brooker - Guardian

Thanks to Kristian Jones for the link.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2008/aug/09/television.television

Charlie Brooker's screen burn
'Reverend George scatters Christian joy like a muckspreader. Indiscriminately'

You know what organised religion needs? More power and influence. Thank God, then, that Channel 4 are on hand to give it the helping hand it so desperately requires in the form of Make Me A Christian (Sun, 7pm, C4), a spiritual makeover show in which four hardcore Goddites attempt to convert a rag-tag band of sinners into full-blown Jesus freaks in just three weeks.

In true oversimplified TV-conflict tradition, it's a clash of absurd extremities. The Christians, for instance, consist of an evangelical preacher, a lady vicar, a Catholic priest and - very much heading up the pack - the Reverend George Hargreaves, founder of Operation Christian Vote, and the Christian Party, and the Scottish Christian Party, and the Welsh Christian Party. If it's Christian and a Party, chances are George is its figurehead. He scatters Christian joy like a muckspreader flings shit: indiscriminately and everywhere.

Said Christians are pitted against a group of volunteers containing the following widely representative social types: a lesbian schoolteacher, a tattooed militant atheist biker, a white Muslim convert, a boozing fannyhound who claims to have slept with over 150 women, and a lapdancing witch. Nice work, C4. I'm sure we can all learn from this. Let battle commence.

Following a trip to York Minster, George hands each of the volunteers a Bible. The word "Bible", he tells them, stands for "Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth". He instructs them to read it every day. This makes the atheist biker kick off, so George graciously talks over him until he walks out.

The group seems pleased to see biker boy go. After all, what's the point of participating if you're not prepared to learn? As William (the Muslim convert) says, "Step one to learning is silence, and step two is listening." Step three, presumably, is absolute cocksucking obedience - or it would be if cocksucking wasn't a sin.

Almost any form of sex is a sin. Take Fay, the occult lapdancer. George takes one look at her lifestyle (spangly bras and tarot cards) and announces she's "on a trajectory to hell". Sobbing, Fay slinks away to her boyfriend's house for a few days of comforting. When she emerges later, George bollocks her for having sex outside marriage. "While the world might call it 'making love'," he says, "the Bible calls it fornication."

Fay's clearly unhappy and wracked with issues about her appearance, but you can't help wondering if introducing her to Gok Wan might've been a tad kinder.

Not that George and co would approve of Gok. After all, we get to see what they make of exuberant gayness when Pastor Wally (the evangelical preacher) commands Laura (the lesbian teacher) to remove all evidence of same-sex activity from her home. Her saucy party snaps, her books of Sapphic erotica - they have to go.

George agrees. His Christian Party takes a notably dim view on homosexuality. He says things like, "The ancient city of Sodom could have been saved, if only righteous people could be found," in its election broadcasts. And in 2006 he personally pledged �50,000 to assist the nine Scottish firefighters disciplined for refusing to hand out fire-safety leaflets at a gay parade.

Given that George also wrote and co-produced Sinitta's 1986 gay disco anthem So Macho (sample lyric: "I'm after a hunk of a guy, an experienced man of the world ... He's got to be so macho/He's got to be big and strong, enough to turn me on"), this is surprising. Still, he's a surprising guy. In 2007 he campaigned to have the iconic red dragon removed from the Welsh flag as it was "nothing less than the sign of Satan".

With his polarising views and divisive political campaigning, George is just the man to be fronting a makeover show, and the broadcast will doubtless be accompanied by the percussive sound of thousands of Christians enthusiastically smashing their foreheads against the wall with delight at the way they're represented. Still, let's not blame Channel 4. Let's forgive them. Just like Jesus'n stuff, yeah?

Posted: Sunday, August 10, 2008 | Permalink

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1. Comment #227845 by Janus on August 10, 2008 at 10:29 pm

Sweet.

Other Comments by Janus

2. Comment #227847 by Spinoza on August 10, 2008 at 10:53 pm

Meh.

Also, I really hate the use of "yeah?" at the end of sentences. It has the effect of nails on a chalk-board...

Other Comments by Spinoza

3. Comment #227848 by Godfree Gordon on August 10, 2008 at 10:54 pm

And in that equanimatable spirit of the UK, C4 will now also be producing a follow up series titled "Make mine a Muslim" in which disilliusioned evangelical Christian parents, who think their brand of Christianity doesnt go far enough, give over their Flanders-esque children to a gun totin' Imam for the ultimate in Extreme Makeover shows.

Other Comments by Godfree Gordon

4. Comment #227850 by mordacious1 on August 10, 2008 at 11:12 pm

Too bad the atheist biker left. I was hoping he'd take a length of chain and beat the bejesus out of them. Oh, but that wouldn't be rational...funny yes...rational no.

Other Comments by mordacious1

5. Comment #227852 by davorg on August 10, 2008 at 11:20 pm

C4 will now also be producing a follow up series titled "Make mine a Muslim"

"Make Me A Muslim" was broadcast last year.

Other Comments by davorg

6. Comment #227853 by somersetsimon on August 10, 2008 at 11:23 pm

And in that equanimatable spirit of the UK, C4 will now also be producing a follow up series titled "Make mine a Muslim" in which disilliusioned evangelical Christian parents, who think their brand of Christianity doesnt go far enough, give over their Flanders-esque children to a gun totin' Imam for the ultimate in Extreme Makeover shows.

'Make me a Christian' was a follow-up to an earlier programme 'Make me a Muslim'. Did anyone see that?

Other Comments by somersetsimon

7. Comment #227854 by aquilacane on August 10, 2008 at 11:31 pm

Comment #227847 by Spinoza on August 10, 2008 at 10:53 pm

"Meh.

Also, I really hate the use of "yeah?" at the end of sentences. It has the effect of nails on a chalk-board... "

I really hate people who need to live vicariously through someone else, even so far as to adopt their name. Never mind the dickheads who begin their posts with Meh.

Of course, this is a stupid post.

Other Comments by aquilacane

8. Comment #227856 by Heretic on August 10, 2008 at 11:56 pm

I think Channel 4 are just desperatly trying to balance their programming - They show Richards programme 'The Genius of Charles Darwin' then immediatly it follow up with a trailer for 'Make Me a Christian'. I think they pulled the same trick with 'Make me a Muslim', showing the trailer straight after 'Undercover Mosque' (or somthing similar - it was a while ago).

Other Comments by Heretic

9. Comment #227857 by petermun on August 11, 2008 at 12:00 am

I wasted an hour of my life watching this programme. It was simply awful. The four religious mentors looked like something from a b-rated horror movie - the Church of England vicar, in particular, looked like an ex-employee of Hugh Heffner with her black garb and stange clerical collar - so perhaps "Bunny and the Vampires" would be a better title.

Other Comments by petermun

10. Comment #227858 by beebhack on August 11, 2008 at 12:06 am

Much of the criticism of the Dawkins programme has been that creationists don't, in fact, exist in great numbers in the UK. However, this programme features a preacher who believes in the literal truth of the Old Testament 'because Jesus believed it' - Adam and Eve and all. It'll be interesting to see how many of his victims come to believe that, too.

This programme could equally well have been called 'How Religion Works'; take vulnerable people, some not particularly well-educated, crush them, then insert superstition.

I warmed to the tattooist, who appeared to be questioning the truth claims of scripture but was shouted down (difficult to tell how consistent he was -- the editing was really irritating). I think he may be back next week.

Other Comments by beebhack

11. Comment #227860 by theantitheist on August 11, 2008 at 12:11 am

Not that i'm complaining but when did the Guardian start using phrases like "Cocksucker"?

Still the Biker should have stayed and just ripped the shit out of them at every turn, that would have been good entertainment.

Other Comments by theantitheist

12. Comment #227861 by HunterZolomon on August 11, 2008 at 12:26 am

The sky's the limit! "Make Me a Zeusite", "Make Me a Osirisian", "Make Me a Cthulhu Cultist"!

"Make Me an Atheist" however would be wrong on so many levels... :)

Other Comments by HunterZolomon

13. Comment #227866 by TIKI AL on August 11, 2008 at 12:53 am

"Reality" shows are fixed.

And I wish NBC would stop testing my gag-reflex by showing bush at the Olympics.

I predict that after the Olympics, puzzled Chinese scientists will study the millions of maggot cadavers around bush's visit venues to see what made them gag to death.

Other Comments by TIKI AL

14. Comment #227871 by Sargeist on August 11, 2008 at 1:22 am

And I wish NBC would stop testing my gag-reflex by showing bush at the Olympics.

What? Women's gymnastics must be so much better on HD...

Other Comments by Sargeist

15. Comment #227872 by Enlightenme.. on August 11, 2008 at 1:23 am

Comment #227858 by beebhack on August 11, 2008:

"Much of the criticism of the Dawkins programme has been that creationists don't, in fact, exist in great numbers in the UK"

Anyone who believes in the possibility of a 'higher power', the vaguest of Deists, is still a creationist.

Creation = designed purpose, the purpose of sex is procreation, it is then justified to throw homosexuals off mountains.

Other Comments by Enlightenme..

16. Comment #227876 by neander on August 11, 2008 at 1:42 am

Wow Sargeist, well spotted. made me choke on my coffee.

Other Comments by neander

17. Comment #227879 by beeline on August 11, 2008 at 1:54 am

I was fascinated by this programme, and will certainly watch the others in the series.

Mostly I was amazed at how obviously 'fixed' it was - all of the people taking part were fairly uneducated, and only one who had a spark of intelligence was carefully chosen so that it was easy to find him repellant. Even the narrator's script seemed dumbed down to make it 'more accessible'.

And is the only balanced way to talk about 'the sin' of abortion to show people footage of abortions happening? Perhaps it might have seemed more credible to show them the results of fractured families and unwanted children turning to crime and trashing the rest of society. Oh no, that would be far too complicated.

And seeing those two young boys there. That made my stomach turn. How is that even legal? I suspect that they were bored to tears by the whole thing, but might possibly have been swayed by the bright lights of the film crew. What kind of message would they take away? I'd love to see them on TV in 15 years talking about their remembrances of it all, if they have any.

All the preachers came out with so many bald assertions (that could obviously not be questioned) but didn't even bother talking about them. They weren't willing to accept questions, or to discuss the complex nature of any of the issues - it was pathetic.

I'd like to think that the series will actually damage the public view of religion, and I'm still not completely sure that the producers don't actually want that effect...

Other Comments by beeline

18. Comment #227880 by Sargeist on August 11, 2008 at 2:06 am

I am in two minds about showing people footage of abortions. Just because something is icky, does not mean it is morally wrong. But, on the other hand, some people *do* think that something which elicits a strong "ick" response from them must, in some fashion, be really wrong or it would not have affected them.

One could also say that showing people what goes on in abattoirs is unfair, and that it implies that eating animals is morally wrong. But, again, this does not really follow.

Other Comments by Sargeist

19. Comment #227882 by RichardofYork on August 11, 2008 at 2:08 am

Tell you what i hate in sentences ; commers , those things really piss me off

Other Comments by RichardofYork

20. Comment #227883 by Godfree Gordon on August 11, 2008 at 2:09 am

re
; davorg

"Make Me A Muslim" was broadcast last year.

Sorry, didnt see that over here in Oz - just made it up as I went along...:0

Other Comments by Godfree Gordon

21. Comment #227884 by utelme on August 11, 2008 at 2:22 am

This makes the atheist biker kick off, so George graciously talks over him until he walks out.

Well, isn't that one for the books...it appears that only bikers have any brains. lmfao

Other Comments by utelme

22. Comment #227885 by irate_atheist on August 11, 2008 at 2:25 am

Hopefully people watching this show will realise what a crock of shit religion is. Hopefully it will dissuade some from going anywhere near any of the fucknuts.

The not my religion defense? Fuck off - yes it is matey.

Other Comments by irate_atheist

23. Comment #227887 by Bonzai on August 11, 2008 at 2:31 am

sargeist

But, on the other hand, some people *do* think that something which elicits a strong "ick" response from them must, in some fashion, be really wrong or it would not have affected them.

Many people *do* find childbirth rather icky, I wonder how the logic above may apply in that situation.

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24. Comment #227888 by nickthelight on August 11, 2008 at 2:31 am

broker you funny fucker. lol.

Other Comments by nickthelight

25. Comment #227892 by GregPhillips on August 11, 2008 at 2:39 am

HunterZolomon on August 11, 2008 at 12:26 am
avatarThe sky's the limit! ... "Make Me a Cthulhu Cultist"!

YES!! I would SO watch that show!!

The adverts for this show pissed me off when Dawkins programme was bracketed by them - why in a time where we have 20 evangelical TV channels on Sky, pumping out religeo-shit 24/7 and really need balanced programming are C4 pandering to irresponsible sensationalism on such a banal subject? I do hope there are some stronger willed people who manage to stick it out to the end and expose the brow-beating judgemental Christards for the charlatans they are. So shes a lesbian? So what? So shes a pole dancing witch? Other than an outmoded medieval superstitious belief in magic, so what?

Really, I think they knew a bunch of Darwin-geeks were going to be watching and just wanted to annoy the hell out of us and increase the buzz about the programme. Which is why I havent talked about it or watched the show, yeah?

Oh and by the way I inserted that yeah deliberately as an hommage to Charlie Brookers wit - something Spinoza definately doesnt get.

Yeah?

Greg

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26. Comment #227893 by Sargeist on August 11, 2008 at 2:41 am

Bonzai,

Well, the good thing there is that those people can say: "Well, childbirth is natural", and get out of having to think about it.

Now, I am assuming there that those same people would think that abortion is not "natural", and given the abortifacients that are used these days, and little mini-vacuum cleaners etc, I suppose I can see their point. But the alternative would be to point out that there are perfectly "natural" ways of aborting a foetus, no doubt involving perfectly natural plant-derived preparations.

I was only saying before that I don't think that showing people what actually goes on in any procedure is necessarily a bad thing. Whether one can believe everything one is being shown, however, is another question.

Anyway, I am in two minds (again) about abortion. It isn't likely to affect me, so I don't really care. But the idea that some people might want to abort a, say, 4 month "old" foetus just because they've changed their mind about it really does bother me.

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27. Comment #227904 by Chris Davis on August 11, 2008 at 3:25 am

The Dearly Beloved Stephen Pinker (the Fifth Horseman?) has an excellent article on the Morality Instinct (good material to smite the 'God made right and wrong' crowd, btw).

In passing, he mentioned the 'ick' response, and how badly it's abused:

In "The Wisdom of Repugnance," Leon Kass, former chair of the President's Council on Bioethics, argued that we should disregard reason when it comes to cloning and other biomedical technologies and go with our gut: "We are repelled by the prospect of cloning human beings . . . because we intuit and feel, immediately and without argument, the violation of things that we rightfully hold dear. . . . In this age in which everything is held to be permissible so long as it is freely done . . . repugnance may be the only voice left that speaks up to defend the central core of our humanity. Shallow are the souls that have forgotten how to shudder."

Pinker points out that turning off your brain and going with your shudders would have ruled out a range of currently acceptable items:

'There are, of course, good reasons to regulate human cloning, but the shudder test is not one of them. People have shuddered at all kinds of morally irrelevant violations of purity in their culture: touching an untouchable, drinking from the same water fountain as a Negro, allowing Jewish blood to mix with Aryan blood, tolerating sodomy between consenting men. And if our ancestors' repugnance had carried the day, we never would have had autopsies, vaccinations, blood transfusions, artificial insemination, organ transplants and in vitro fertilization, all of which were denounced as immoral when they were new.'

The full article - highly recommended - is at
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/magazine/13Psychology-t.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=&st=nyt&oref=slogin

CD

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28. Comment #227906 by rod-the-farmer on August 11, 2008 at 3:31 am

I have not seen the show yet, but I might have a peek just to see how bad it could be. From the article, it sounds awful. Could they not find a 'normal' person who is an atheist ? I am reminded of the 'dark side' "God Warrior' wife swap lady.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WewLRxOrfZo

Watching her children realise their Mom is quite literally out of her mind is sad. Why anyone would want to turn on this sort of behaviour is beside me. Doing a TV show about it seems to me like doing a show on how to infect people with a terminal illness.

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29. Comment #227908 by Dispiracist on August 11, 2008 at 3:37 am

You've probably all seen this one already.

This is the link to Derrin Brown's instant conversion of Atheists to belief in God:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Sq-YUdq1OI

There's some good tricks on display, but the primary technique was to quickly eliminate potential trouble-makers and focus on the apparently random but self-selecting remaining targets.

At least the Make Me A Christian show sounds in better taste than what we get in Australia. Our latest reality TV ratings chase is "The One" where psychics compete to find bodies of murdered tourists hidden in the outback. (Possibly not such a difficult assignment as the outback is apparently littered with dead tourists.)

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30. Comment #227910 by Sargeist on August 11, 2008 at 3:39 am

rod:

"Make Me Parasitically Infested"?

Indistinguishable from Big Brother, with appropriate changes of scale.

Other Comments by Sargeist

31. Comment #227914 by Mark Jones on August 11, 2008 at 3:40 am

I suspect that many christians watching this programme wouldn't have been happy with the simplistic attitude taken by the programme makers.

The abortion issue was dealt with so superficially it would be laughable if it wasn't so serious.

The lapdancer woman was obviously in a lot of distress, but it didn't stop the 'compassionate' god botherer from piling in with 'that's a sin, too' whenever she told him what she'd been up to.

The programme started with the main god botherer telling us how he was going to show the heathens that the bible can show them how to live moral lives. But if he sat down with the three other priests, would they actually all draw the same moral conclusions from the good book; I doubt it very much. In point of fact, I was wondering what flavour of god bothering he was going to teach them; quite a strict (no homosexuals! no witches!) one, as it turned out.

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32. Comment #227916 by Sargeist on August 11, 2008 at 3:43 am

I've never met a witch/wiccan/pagan (not knowingly) but I imagine they are probably quite interesting people. A bit like goths - not violent, not abusive, just vaguely "different" (and often quite hot).

Other Comments by Sargeist

33. Comment #227956 by thrutraffic on August 11, 2008 at 4:55 am

Looks like Jerry Springer has made it to the UK.

And before I forget, "yeah".

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34. Comment #227957 by bobsully on August 11, 2008 at 5:05 am

This is great! Now I have a reason not to watch TV in the UK as well as the US. beeline #17 sums it up nicely for me, yeah!

ok I added the yeah just to drive those other guys crazier...

Other Comments by bobsully

35. Comment #227958 by hungarianelephant on August 11, 2008 at 5:05 am

Take Fay, the occult lapdancer.

Is this the best sentence ever to appear in the Grauniad?

It deserves to be the opening line of a Martin Amis novel.

Other Comments by hungarianelephant

36. Comment #227969 by EeekiE on August 11, 2008 at 5:47 am

"Our latest reality TV ratings chase is "The One" where psychics compete to find bodies of murdered tourists hidden in the outback. (Possibly not such a difficult assignment as the outback is apparently littered with dead tourists.)"

Christs fat cock! Now that has got to be a record low.

Other Comments by EeekiE

37. Comment #227973 by ingodwerust on August 11, 2008 at 6:06 am

I had the misfortune of sitting through this horse-shit - even the 'atheist' annoyed me. What we needed there as part of the group was someone with enough knowledge to stick it to those sanctimonious arse-holes. Good article though.

Other Comments by ingodwerust

38. Comment #227982 by serotonin_wraith on August 11, 2008 at 6:31 am

What a surprise the family reading the Bible started with some nice Jesus stuff. I'd have loved to have seen the father teaching his kids how God (who's still Jesus, right?) was going to severely punish those who disobeyed him (Deut. 28:15-68) or some tales of genocide or infanticide.
But no, if those bits are ignored, you can pretend the God character is full of love and get people to think it's all about hippy Jesus, not God Jesus.

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39. Comment #227985 by Border Collie on August 11, 2008 at 6:49 am

Is this for real? If so, I didn't know that you Brits were so competitive with the US in the sick 'reality' TV shows. It's too early to go vomit; I'll go later.

Other Comments by Border Collie

40. Comment #227991 by tieInterceptor on August 11, 2008 at 7:30 am

'Make me a Christian' was a follow-up to an earlier programme 'Make me a Muslim'. Did anyone see that?

MAKE ME A MUSLIM YOUTUBE PLAYLIST 5 EPISODES

got all of it in this playlist,

it starts by saying, "Britain is in a mess, antisocial behaviour ,binge drinking and promiscuity are rife... one man thinks the answer is Islam... to rediscover the values of decency, respect and moderation... "

lol

It has a gay man defending an immams right to want sharia law in the uk (he probably dones not know what that entails)

quite annoying program, because the people that go through it don't know Islam enough to ask hard questions.

Other Comments by tieInterceptor

41. Comment #227992 by V'Ger on August 11, 2008 at 7:31 am

Joke of a show. Lets take a bunch of unhappy people, make them happy... then declare that Jesus has saved them!

Hold tight... one is an athiest who keeps asking questions I can't answer... no,no,no get rid of him at the start!

'One is a Lesbian... quick make her feel like the deviant sinner she is'.

'Score... another is a depressed Witch.... she'll be easy, since she already believes another type of nonsense ;-)'

Aha... this other guy sleeps around... show him pictures of cock rot - and scare God into him'.

This must come from the beginners handbook for converting vunerable people.

Other Comments by V'Ger

42. Comment #227999 by Hellene on August 11, 2008 at 8:31 am

Comment #227916 by Sargeist

I've never met a witch/wiccan/pagan (not knowingly) but I imagine they are probably quite interesting people. A bit like goths - not violent, not abusive, just vaguely "different" (and often quite hot).

I've met quite few. They run the range. And they can be cultish and very manipulative. I've seen them use science to justify their beliefs.

Watch "What the bleep do we know" as an example.
Keep your vomit bag close by.

Other Comments by Hellene

43. Comment #228005 by chewedbarber on August 11, 2008 at 8:56 am

don't know Islam enough to ask hard questions.

Like, did an angel really recite the Koran to Mohammed?

Contrary to popular opinion (popular only because the majority are in fact religious), you don't need an intimate knowledge of any religion in order to question the veracity of its claims.

Sounds insane, the religious can't believe it either. How can you dismiss all that we believe out of hand?

Because we are reasonable people in regards to things which ought to be self-evident, like the nonexistence of unicorns, or the ability of the dead to come back to life, or angels to correct the torah and oral jewish and christian tradition, and to recite the corrections to a would be prophet.

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44. Comment #228018 by Richard Feldmann on August 11, 2008 at 9:29 am

Nah, most wiccans and or pagans, whatever, are just as boring as everyone else. There are a few exceptions that I've met. Truly intelligent, inspired and inspiring people, but I can't say that their superstitious beliefs are what make them that way.

From what I've seen, a lot of them are just as deluded as any theist but since they also share our distaste and distrust of religion, they rebel and move into paganism.

They can't bring themselves to just not believe any of it, so they choose watered down versions of so-called ancient belief systems. It's all "light, love, and laughter" for them and anything considered "dark" is pretty much ignored, except for those who intentionally lean towards that.

As for hotness, I assume you mean the females. ;) Yes, I've met some very hot pagan ladies, some very sexual, but I've also met smoking hot Christian and Jewish girls, who would never give me the time of day, seeing as I was a pagan myself at the time. Now, I'd almost certainly have no chance. :D

Getting back on topic: As others have suggested, the people in the show were specifically chosen and we'll never actually see a honest debate or presentation. I have no doubt that the producers intend to edit the hell out of the show to maximize the dramedy of what they see as conversion of lost souls. Ratings, ratings, ratings.

Other Comments by Richard Feldmann

45. Comment #228030 by Sargeist on August 11, 2008 at 10:15 am

42. Comment #227999 by Hellene on August 11, 2008 at 8:31 am
44. Comment #228018 by Richard Feldmann on August 11, 2008 at 9:29 am

This is very disappointing. The documentary I saw recently was pretty forthright in its depiction of pagans jumping around naked, in fields, in hotel rooms, harassing young impressionable police officers from the mainland. I didn't like the bit with the big man made of twigs or whatnot, but the rest of it seemed pretty good.

Other Comments by Sargeist

46. Comment #228033 by Sargeist on August 11, 2008 at 10:20 am

43. Comment #228005 by chewedbarber on August 11, 2008 at 8:56 am, quoth:

don't know Islam enough to ask hard questions

Interestingly (well, to me) my gf was brought up as a Muslim - because it's the law - by a very devout family, and she claimed to believe it when I met her. Now, I had imagined from time to time that her conversion over the years into a deist was partly down to me, but it turns out that she was always getting sent to the principal at school for "being disruptive", meaning "for asking questions the Islamic Studies teacher didn't like". She would retort, "but Islam tells us to ask questions and to seek knowledge", thereby making the teacher even more irritated. Some of the questions I found most amusing (in the response they elicited) were: "If the men get 72 virgins, what do the women get?" and "But aren't we told that we won't have earthly desires in paradise, so what are the virgins for anyway?"

It seems to me that religion encourages the asking of questions, so long as those questions are, "How can I learn more of what you want me to know, oh wise overlord?"

Other Comments by Sargeist

47. Comment #228034 by Bernard Baptiste on August 11, 2008 at 10:27 am

22. Comment #227885 by irate_atheist

Hopefully people watching this show will realise what a crock of shit religion is. Hopefully it will dissuade some from going anywhere near any of the fucknuts

If only this would happen. I fear it won't, though. The real loony tunes have such a strong emotional relationship with this nonsense that they will just sit there spurring those disgraceful evangelists on and further strengthen the tie between themselves and their imaginary friend.

I felt for the biker though. He was the only one that seemed halfway alive. I was completely taken aback when the biker was accused of having deep seated issues which prevented him from seeing the truth in, well, a pack of lies.

I felt sick watching those silly c**ts giving any form of respect to that silly cult and allowing these dangerous people access to their private feelings, thoughts and wishes.

As for the evangelists, well I'm simply ashamed and disgusted these people feel the need to impose, interfere and meddle with these people in the absence of the kind of respect they themselves demand.

If the biker has deep seated issues then so do I. No-one anywhere talks rubbish to me and expect me to respect it. No-one makes me feel dirty and worthless simply because he's got a bee in his bonnet about some ridiculous half-arsed fairy tale.

I have to ask why a group of previously happy, if a little naughty, group of people would allow themselves and their lives to be treated with such alarming disrespect.

Other Comments by Bernard Baptiste

48. Comment #228050 by JAMCAM87 on August 11, 2008 at 12:10 pm

I have to confess I actually had a collection of about 20 Charlie Brooker articles. I threw them away recently after I decided it was a bit sad. Well, he's the only journalist who can really make me laugh out loud.

Other Comments by JAMCAM87

49. Comment #228084 by Corylus on August 11, 2008 at 1:03 pm

I have to ask why a group of previously happy, if a little naughty, group of people would allow themselves and their lives to be treated with such alarming disrespect.

So they can get on the telly. Maybe if they are really, really lucky they will get in a celebrity magazine - and be treated with even more alarming disrespect.

Maybe not the motivation for all of them, but I think a possibility for some.

Sigh, I sound grouchy, but this programme reminded me of how much I hate reality TV :-)

Corylus the Grump.

Other Comments by Corylus

50. Comment #228214 by Cartomancer on August 11, 2008 at 4:01 pm

Tune in next week as we round up five Channel 4 executives and try to turn their ratings around in "make me a television programme that is worth watching".

Though I am pleased to see jolly self-hating gay George Hargreaves getting some more press coverage for his hilariously exaggerated auto-flagellation.

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