More routine anti Christian propaganda from Jeremy Paxman

 

 

Watching last night’s University Challenge on BBC iPlayer, I could not fail to notice yet another subversion of the programme to anti Christian propaganda. And a rather nasty little one.

About 10 minutes into the Southampton versus Manchester semi final, the well known Dawkinist Jeremy Paxman introduced a round on ‘Science, philosophy and religion’. The three questions related to 3 of the ‘Four horsemen of the New Atheists’, Daniel Dennett, Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins. Shame there aren’t 4 questions in a round as Sam Harris, the fourth member of this group of aggressive anti-theist philosophers had to be left out. The questions were easy, I got them all and so did the team. The last one about Dawkins was gratuitously offensive, asking who had identified himself as a ‘tooth fairy agnostic’ thus comparing the historically well attested Christian faith which provided the intellectual and moral base for western civilisation with a story told to small children.

In the same programme there was a positive question about Darwin. There is nothing subtle about this.

On three separate episodes of University Challenge I have personally watched (and I don't always watch it), Paxman has introduced aggressively and offensively anti intelligent design set of questions. His body language and tone of voice as he used terms like ‘pseudoscience’, made sneering jokes about a satirical video about 'Intelligent Falling' (gravity) and presented a totally false view of the infamous Dover trial made his position very clear. He is using the programme as an activist. This is wrong.  

Another time I saw him on The One Show, a BBC daily chat programme, raging against ‘this ridiculous nonsense’ of intelligent design. Viewers will have to take Paxman’s word for the fact that the intelligent design hypothesis is ‘ridiculous nonsense’ because despite public interest the subject is never, ever, ever covered on BBC TV or radio except in the context of one sided misrepresentation and abuse, despite the publicly funded BBC's legal obligation to provide fair and balanced coverage.

I have no problem with University Challenge taking the broadest possible liberal view of science, religion, the arts etc as long as they stick to facts and recognise where there is legitimate uncertainty and difference of opinion. But under Paxman, coverage of intelligent design and Christian faith in general is pure one sided bias, reflecting his own known opinions. As has been noted here before, questions on University Challenge are often  transparently used to promote a secularist agenda and normalise the ‘Science versus religion, science wins’ position of the aggressive secularists. This question round should have been introduced as being about the New Atheists or anti-theistic philosophers ad their books, not ‘Science, religion and philosophy’.

More routine anti Christian propaganda from the BBC. I have stopped writing to complain about this flagrant bias which occurs across a wide range of programmes-news, drama, quiz shows, documentaries- and breaks the BBC charter. As I have mentioned before, you just get a standard condescending letter denying your experience and telling you that the BBC is right and you are wrong. People who would like balanced coverage of Darwin dissent have to endure this propaganda and censorship and have no remedy.

I hope that Paxman will find the grace of repentance, if not then it will go hard with him because he has had many opportunities in this life and has used his exalted position at the BBC to attack the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our only hope of salvation. God is very patient and forgiving but in the end, is not mocked. Christopher Hitchens has already gone to his appointed place , see Luke's Gospel chapter 16. He cannot send a message back to warn his friends to repent, they have already been given fair warning. 

As St Paul wrote to the Corinthians; ‘Where is the wise man and the debater? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the wise?...the wisdom of this age is coming to nothing...if anyone thinks he is wise, let him become a fool for Christ’s sake.’ Paxman and the BBC governors won’t look so clever when they stand before their Creator, Lord and Judge on that Day. The European Court of Human Rights has no jurisdiction before the throne of God.