Anti-Religion TV

[bluesdave]

Originally Posted by wolf

... even shows ostensibly about religion don't cast it in a good light, whether it's the Vicar of Dibley

What's wrong with the Vicar, Wolf? I think it shows the Church of England in a good light. There is a great, gentle sense of humour, and well written scripts. Unfortunately we don't see it on free-to-air TV any more, and if you do not have cable, well that's tough (we don't). We have the videos and DVDs though.

Religion is always picked on because all religions attract extremists, and it is the extremists who spoil it for everyone else. That is the only thing I have against religion. I am not religious now, but I was in my youth, but politics, extremism, and a lust for power, always corrupt religions. Man needs religion, whether it is a conventional one, one like yours and El's, or just a person's career or sport/hobby. Most people feel a hole in their lives, and search for something to fill that void.

[Hime]

Originally Posted by bluesdave

What's wrong with the Vicar, Wolf? I think it shows the Church of England in a good light. There is a great, gentle sense of humour, and well written scripts. Unfortunately we don't see it on free-to-air TV any more, and if you do not have cable, well that's tough (we don't). We have the videos and DVDs though.

Religion is always picked on because all religions attract extremists, and it is the extremists who spoil it for everyone else. That is the only thing I have against religion. I am not religious now, but I was in my youth, but politics, extremism, and a lust for power, always corrupt religions. Man needs religion, whether it is a conventional one, one like yours and El's, or just a person's career or sport/hobby. Most people feel a hole in their lives, and search for something to fill that void.

I'm sure there are some religious people who object to even gentle humor about their beliefs, but yeah, I think the Vicar of Dibley is generally very positive and sweet.

I don't like stereotypical portrayals of religious people (omg they're all fanatics!) any better than I like stereotypes of non-religious people, people of various sexual orientations, etc. But a little healthy skepticism is a good thing in art IMHO -- like Tolstoy, who was a devout Christian but still explored issues related to religion very diligently. The attitude that we can't joke about or ask questions about religion can be very destructive.