Just when you thought television couldn’t get any more stupid or perverse, along comes news of  the 2010 version of “Celebrity Big Brother” in the UK, starting next Sunday.

Its theme is  “Hell”. Executive Producer, Shirley Jones, says the notion of Hell “inspired much of what we have done to the house, particularly the entrance which is dark and cavernous with flaming walls”.

She also said, “Hell is other people, and everyone has a different idea of hell . . .”

* * *

What the series will NOT be about is whether Hell exists – not just as an idea, but something real, eternal, with burning, screaming, hatred, remorse, pain and despair.

 And whether there is some way of escaping it.

* * *

There is no doubt that Christians are obliged to believe in Hell.

Jesus himself taught, “Do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who is able to destroy both body and soul in Hell.”

Our Lord also taught how he intends people to avoid Hell.

In Saint John’s gospel, he told the apostles at the Last Supper, “Receive the Holy Ghost. Whoever’s sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.”

This is Jesus giving his first Catholic priests, the 12 apostles, the role of forgiving sinners who repent and make their confession to their priest.

* * *

What if Hell did not exist?

If Hell did not exist, we would not exist as real people.

Life would be meaningless. What we chose to do in this life would have no meaning — no effect on anything, including our eventual future fate.

We would be mere robots.