Coming this Fall to CBS…just kidding.

If you happen to be a fan of Turkish network broadcasting (as most Americans are), you’ll definitely have heard of the new reality show craze that’s sweeping the Ottoman Empire. It’s called Penitents Compete!

The premise: 10 atheists must make it through a gauntlet of religious leaders whose sole mission is to convert them to God. It’s a veritable Battle Royale: an imam, a priest, a rabbi and a Buddhist monk have one week to save the souls of the 10 godless heathens.

While some fear the program could create problems (do you think?), one sociologist says this just shows the yearning to learn more about religions

Instead of “Outwit, Outplay, Outlast”, the tagline is “Believe, Repent, God will Forgive You”

How did Mark Burnett NOT come up with this?

This show is supposed to air on the Turkish channel Kanal T.

UPDATE: 7/3/09 – Reuters just picked up the story and has some developing news.

Tina Su of ThinkSimpleNow just announced that she will be taking a trip to India to attend a mediation and spiritual retreat.

She goes into some detail about what each day’s program will be like.

Sounds like fun!

Just came across an interesting looking book that I’m excited to read. Its called The Evolution of God by Robert Wright.

The NY Times review is positive, and I’m always interested in reading about the history of God, belief, and religion. The description looks pretty cool, so hopefully it’ll live up to expectations.

Here’s the book description.

Here’s the NY Times review.