One Time Offer: Convert on Live TV and Win a Pilgramage!

[Mishakal]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8132320.stm

Faiths compete on Turkish TV show

Contestants will choose between one of four faiths - or stay with none
A Turkish game show is challenging atheists to reassess their views and win "the biggest prize ever".

Penitents Compete will bring together an Islamic imam, a Jewish rabbi, a Buddhist monk and a Greek Orthodox priest seeking to convert the atheists.

The prize for any converted contestants is an expenses-paid pilgrimage to a holy site of their chosen faith.

But the producers say the show will also help contestants "find serenity" and raise awareness of the faiths.

Each episode of Penitents Compete will pitch 10 atheists - carefully vetted by a team of theologians to ensure their non-belief - against the four faith leaders.

The imam, rabbi, monk and priest will then seek to persuade the atheists of the merits and truth of their faith.

Adverts for the show promise: "We give you the biggest prize ever; we represent the belief in God. Believe, repent, God will forgive you."

Mixed reactions

The show's producers say they know there is a good chance that none of the atheists will be converted, reports Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper.

But if any are genuinely convinced by a faith, they will be sent on a pilgrimage - new Muslims to Mecca, Buddhists to Tibet and Jews and Christians to Jerusalem.

The TV cameras will follow the winning contestants as they go on their pilgrimage.

"They can't see this trip as a getaway, but as a religious experience," the deputy director of Kanal T, Ahmet Ozdemir, told Hurriyet.

The programme has prompted a mixed reaction in mainly Muslim Turkey, with some saying it would be good for interfaith relations and others saying such discussions were "inappropriate" for television.

Mr Ozdemir said that when people first heard about the show, it was "hard for them to see what it was all about", but that many people were now "waiting impatiently" for its launch.

"People are free to believe in anything they want. Our programme does not have a say," he said.

FAIL!

[Xamonas Chegwé]

What do the atheists get if they convert the priests?

[Bella Fortuna]

What do the atheists get if they convert the priests?

A fabulous prize: death by stoning.

[Chinaski]

Hm, a free trip to Tibet...

I'd love competing anyway though XD.

[lordpasternack]

I'm sure there will likely be a few pretend converts. All expenses paid trip to somewhere nice, anyone?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I'm sure there will likely be a few pretend converts. All expenses paid trip to somewhere nice, anyone?

Those immoral atheists will defo cheat.

[Horwood Beer-Master]

We have a much better counter offer though,

Convert to atheism and win the rest of your life back.

[Existentialist1844]

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

The underlined parts made me as well as

[Thinking Aloud]

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

Do you think they'll rely on evidence, or a sign from god, to determine the contestants' lack of faith?

[Transgirlofnofaith]

Why not just have a show where they hit their hands with hammers until the pain makes them quit, and give a prize to the person who goes the longest? It would make more sense.

[Xamonas Chegwé]

We have another thread on this topic. I have merged the two.