'The Secret Family of Jesus'

I think that there is nothing wrong with Channel Four airing the programme, though, I do think that the day that they have chosen to air it is inappropriate.

It is a special day for Christians, and I think it is insensitive to air it on their special day.

I think it more of the shock value!

It's just C4 being their usual controversial self. Probably a good idea to air it on Christmas Day, after all we aren't all "bible-bashers"

A programme about Jesus on Christmas Day - how dare they!

nonsense. Channel 4 exists to provide an alternative, they have a random person doing a christmas speech opposite the queen every year. this is exactly what they should have on.

Just like QI's christmas special, which in the first five minutes debunked the concept of christmas being about jesus

Rob, I think it's quite narrow minded of you to expect everybody to belive the tripe in the Bible. It's brilliant we have Channel 4 to voice alternative expressions. Imagine if we were in America; that sort of thing would be illegal almost...!
Channel Four get the balance right on religion, anyway. We had ''The Root of all Evil'' earlier this year which was 'neutralised' by Rod Liddle's m''The Trouble With Atheism'' last week.

The trailer is hilarious, isn't it? As if the roman catholic church would be concerned about something as insignificant as facts!

I never said that I expect everyone to believe the Bible.

I said that I thought it was insensitive to air the show on the day Christians celebrate Jesus. The only reason they chose to air it tommorow was because it's the day Christians celebrate Jesus' birth. There by making out that Christmas is a day to choose whether you believe in Jesus' incarnation or not. As in "If you believe that Jesus was just another person, then come here!".

The day of choosing isn't Christmas, that is the day the decided choose to worship Jesus. The religious choosing isn't just on Christmas, but throughout the entire year.

Hmm, what i'm saying is, is that if you don't believe in the Christian God, great, but that doesn't mean that you should deliberately critisise those that do, just because that is the day that they have set aside. almost as in 'I'm part of the athiest elite, looking at those stupid Christians!'

Hmm, I suppose that simply, what I'm saying is, is that there is a difference from just not believing in what is going on, and actively critising it - they arn't hurting you.

Also, there is nothing wrong with showing it, even if it critises the Church, I'm just saying that the day they have chosen is insenstive.

Put even more simply: Christmas isn't a day to stop and choose which course of action you take, it is a day for the chosen citizens to take action. If you don't believe in God, then Christmas is, put in a very simplistic way, spiritually at least, just another day. It would be them that have specifically made an affirmative decision that Christmas is another day. If you havn't made that decision that Christmas is a special religous day (as opposed to the now commercialised secular festival), then stay on the 'normal' track.

If you are a Christian, then the religious festival concerns you, but if you are Athiest, then it is just another group of people, that you disagree with, celebrating in a way that doesn't concern you.

If you are atheist, then you'd think that it is the Chrisitans that have strayed from the norm. As far as an athiest is concerned, it is the Christian's track that has bent off, the atheist is staying on the main line. This programme obviously recognises a bend in the spiritual (cf. just the commercial festival) track'.

I suppose that maybe I'm expecting the athiests to be ignorant of Christians, and just ignore them, and not interact with them, *and maybe I'm ignoring the fact that there is difference between recognising that some have 'gone off the main line' and actually doing it yourself - that knowing some have (with a programme) isn't actually going of on an idiosyncracy yourself. Though I think that actually I'm just asking that if Christians are being idiosynratic, let them, personally don't legitimise the idiosyncratic 'bend in the track' by questioning - after all 'the spiritual-ness is just in their head, at the end of the day - it's not really there.'. an athiest could think:
'Christmas isn't really there, it is in the head of a Christian, and they are wrong, so there is nothing (spiritual, at least) really there'.

If you don't believe, then there is no need to take action yourself.

Christmas isn't the day to choose what you believe, it is the day that a people have affirmitavely chosen. Atheists are just doing nothing. It is the Christians have made the action, the atheists are just doing nothing.

Hmm, i suppose what I'm objecting to is the 'You're either Christian, or not Christian' attitude. Just let them harmlessly celebrate, and decide not to celebrate, religiously, at least, yourself. doesn't stop you picking the faults in their logic the rest of the year.

The only reason that I think Channel Four chose Christmas Day to air this programme, is because it is a special day for christians, other than that, it is not aspiritually relavent day to an athiesist (the programmes demographic). Also what good is putting it on the critised's special, sacred day, other than to get the "I'm an atheist looking at the stupid Christians!" effect? I can't think of any other reason!

I just think, that ppl should 'lay off' them, just of these few days of Christmas. *That is how to recognise that some may have idiosynronised (if that is a word!), by leaving them alone, but not doing anything else yourself. By the way, before I get critisised, I used an asterisk, because I think that this last bit makes a good conclusion, but I wanted to connect it to an earlier point without moving it from the end.

What's your problem with it - it's a programme about "Jesus" and his family. Surely if you regard Christmas Day and your Christian faith as so important it should be a programme you'd want to watch.

Is the real issue here it clashes with Coronation Street?

i shouldn't think most people even know that christmas is even part of a religious celebration and lets face it, those who were really truly Christian wouldn't even do the whole presents, tree and lights thing anyway.

whilst i think it is fair to paint most moderately religious people as maladjusted, i think on this special day we should let all christians ram their battery fed turkeys down their gullet and say grace in peace. we owe it to them for all they've done on the morality front.

what is the channel 4 story about jesus about ?

His relatives and how they are virtually wiped out by history!