Deal or No Deal as Religion

The UK version of ‘Deal or no Deal’ strikes me as a perfect allegory to explain why people cling to religion despite it making not a jot of difference to their lives. So bear with me and imagine one episode of Deal or No Deal is an entire life.

BECOMING A BELIEVER
At random a contestant is selected – a Chosen One if you will. This Chosen One is convinced he has the best box in the room. He believes that his happiness lies within the box but in reality he won’t find out til the end of the game what exactly it is and by then it may be too late. The Chosen One may tell tales of hardship and how they hope this game will change their lives. None of this changes what is actually in the box he chose.

THE NON-BELIEVERS (ATHEISTS)
The 21 other contestants are not the chosen ones but (in the eyes of the believer) can help or hinder him on his way to finding happiness. All The Chosen One has to do is select some of their boxes of happiness to be eliminated from the game and this will help him define what is in his own.The non believers themselves stay in the game but their happiness is inconsequential and only a stepping stone to the happiness of The Chosen One. By not playing the non-believers have no reason to fear winning or losing, just revealing the truth to The Chosen One.
None of this changes what is actually in the box he holds.

ACTIONS OF BELIEVERS
The Chosen One will use arbitrary forms of divination to determine what is in his box. Certain numbers that have featured previously, The colour of someone’s shirt or even whether someone is new to the game or not – all become important sources of information. None of this changes what is actually in the box he holds.

THE WORD OF GOD
Every three rounds the banker (God) calls and gives them a sign. He cannot tell them what is in their box but he can give them instant gratification – answer their prayers so to speak. The Chosen One can choose to accept or reject the offer – he can choose to be happy now or gamble on being much happier later. None of this changes what is actually in the box he holds.

THE DEAL
The game ends and The Chosen One finally gets to see what is in their box. The contents have not changed since the beginning of the game but they have attributed a value to it that it may not have. They have used signs, symbols, intuition and other hocus-pocus to divine a meaning – gain an insight but it is not until the game ends do they know whether they are right or not. Seeing what is in the box does not actually change what is inside. Sometimes they are deeply disappointed but by then the game is over. Sometimes they are happy but admit they could have been happier. Very rarely does anyone win the first prize.

THE TRUTH
From an atheists point of view the happiness is not in the box. It is watching the game.

(P.S. Yes. I really need to get back to full-time work)

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