Meet the Writers: Ariane Sherine Page 4

Quote: Dolly Dagger @ November 5 2009, 1:38 PM GMT

I would like to think of humanists as sensible people who would concetrate on making this world and this life better for people.

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Do you feel the same about Christians?

Quote: Tim Walker @ November 5 2009, 1:41 PM GMT

And that atheist campaign was fairly wishy-washy, wasn't it? 'God probably doesn't exist' - why so half-hearted in coming out stating their belief that God doesn't?

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It was a joke on the Carling ads.

Quote: Tim Walker @ November 5 2009, 1:41 PM GMT

Really? I suspect only you see these ads, Kevin.

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Actually, I've never seen them.

Quote: Kevin Murphy @ November 5 2009, 1:43 PM GMT

It was a joke on the Carling ads.

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Ah, right. Very good.

Quote: Kevin Murphy @ November 5 2009, 1:43 PM GMT

Actually, I've never seen them.

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Here's Ariane's original article that inspired the campaign.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jun/20/transport.religion

I just re-read this and it seems at the end that I accidentally came up with the story of Dead Set.

Quote: David Bussell @ November 5 2009, 1:46 PM GMT

I just re-read this and it seems at the end that I accidentally came up with the story of Dead Set.

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Re-reading the 'Meet The Writers' you did with me, David, I see you inadvertently came up with the concept of Heroes during that. You really should follow through on these moments of genius.

Meet the Writers - something I shat out and David sculptured into a master piece.

Quote: Kevin Murphy @ November 5 2009, 1:43 PM GMT

Do you feel the same about Christians?

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Christians' faith rules their beliefs and actions, whereas I expect atheists to use logic.

Quote: Kevin Murphy @ November 5 2009, 1:43 PM GMT

It was a joke on the Carling ads.

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A bad joke, because it doesn't work.

Quote: David Bussell @ November 5 2009, 1:46 PM GMT

I just re-read this and it seems at the end that I accidentally came up with the story of Dead Set.

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I also suspect that I was the only person to suggest you interview them.

Quote: Tim Walker @ November 5 2009, 1:50 PM GMT

Re-reading the 'Meet The Writers' you did with me, David, I see you inadvertently came up with the concept of Heroes during that. You really should follow through on these moments of genius.

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That's nothing, in the interview with Lee Henman I plotted five seasons of The Wire!

Quote: Dolly Dagger @ November 5 2009, 2:01 PM GMT

I also suspect that I was the only person to suggest you interview them.

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That's true, but to be fair you were goaded.

Quote: David Bussell @ November 5 2009, 2:17 PM GMT

That's true, but to be fair you were goaded.

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It was a rare moment of confidence-fuelled self-promotion. What was I on? I must get some more...

Quote: Tim Walker @ November 5 2009, 1:41 PM GMT

Really? I suspect only you see these ads, Kevin.

Churches put up slogans and message boards outside their churches. They are rarely, if ever, "fire and brimstone" though. And they don't cost any money other than some print and paste.

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The way I recall it, it was a direct response to Christians advertising on buses and the tube.

I do like some of those boards outside churches though. "Seven days without God makes one weak", and "You can't beat our milk but you can whip our cream." Though that one might have been for the dairy next door.

Those adverts were really an intellectual home goal. Thousands of years of science and our best minds deduce that God probably does not exist. It would have 'probably' been better to keep schtum about that particular revelation.

But count our blessings. If they'd used the wording "God does not exist" then it would have been even worse because they'd have been asked for proof to back up the statement, which neither they nor the pro-God camp can produce. The infinite is, by its nature, incomprehensible to the finite. That's why this debate has and always will rage on. Science v The Church, it's not even end of Round One.

As for Faith v Logic, I've read of converts from both camps. The Church wins some; Science wins some. Some scientists are Christians (or men of other faiths); they see no conflict between faith and logic. Some scientists are not men of religious convictions.

Likewise bishops.

It was a pointless waste of time and money. Why people who don't believe feel they have to be so smug to people who do is beyond me.

I got the feeling from this interview that Ariane didn't believe in My Family, but still wrote for it.

Agreed, DD.

at My Family line.

You can't prove God to exist anyway, can you? Otherwise Faith would fall down. If there was actually proof that God existed, there wouldn't need to be any faith as he would exist -- fact. Then, it would be like believing in, like, Clarkson, or something. Thus, the people who *need* faith would have to 'believe' in something else.

ie. actual evidence of God existing would, ironically, destroy religion (and the point of it) completely.

Metaphysical Dan

Quote: Dolly Dagger @ November 8 2009, 9:07 PM GMT

It was a pointless waste of time and money. Why people who don't believe feel they have to be so smug to people who do is beyond me.

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Yeah, those smug atheists. You never see a smug Christian, do you?

Well, except the ones who believe they're going to spend eternity in bliss while I get a trident rammed up my arse for infinity, eg all of the f**kers.

Quote: swerytd @ November 8 2009, 9:17 PM GMT

You can't prove God to exist anyway, can you? Otherwise Faith would fall down. If there was actually proof that God existed, there wouldn't need to be any faith as he would exist -- fact. Then, it would be like believing in, like, Clarkson, or something. Thus, the people who *need* faith would have to 'believe' in something else.

ie. actual evidence of God existing would, ironically, destroy religion (and the point of it) completely.

Metaphysical Dan

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What a bizarre thing to say. Surely if we had absolute proof that the creator of the universe wanted us to do certain things and had the power of life and death over us and could torture us for eternity if we didn't follow orders, we'd all start believing in him immediately. Religion would be almost obligatory overnight, the gays would all straighten up, and the shellfish would finally be safe.