Why is Andrew Denton in this magazine?

Norman Young asks some questions about one of Australia’s leading interviewers.

What is an atheist like Andrew Denton doing on the front cover of a Christian magazine? Denton sees religion as the central cause of most of humanity’s woes. He fears that fundamentalist religion will plunge the world into a maelstrom of such gigantic proportions that previous world stoushes will look like schoolyard squabbles in comparison. As such, Denton is hostile to all organised religion. So how did his face get onto the cover of Signs? Before we answer
let’s examine the extent of his negative attitude to religion.

Denton told journalist Maxine McKew that “there are so many fundamentalist extremists, whether its Bin Laden or Arafat or Rumsfeldt. Are we about to begin a war,” he asked, “about God?”

The future scenario that he foresees boils down, in his opinion, to a ridiculous “fight over whether my invisible friend is better than your invisible friend.” It could of course be a matter of my side of an invisible border being better than your side of an invisible border. Denton’s view is rather simplistic, but that does not make it wrong.

disputes remain at the primary-school level, but the weapons are now nuclear bombs, not schoolyard rocks. In his 20s, Denton was active in protest rallies against nuclear arms and the insanity of the potential of Mutually Assured Destruction. He gave up in the end; resigned to the inevitability of a nuclear holocaust. It requires, he feels, just one mad moment to trigger it.

And Denton believes the last place to look for help to save a world in crisis is religion: “If there is one thing that won’t ever save this world it’s organised religion and the all-too-human leaders who claim to interpret God’s word for our betterment.” For Denton religion preys on humanity’s fear of death and on its desire for immortality. In his view we exist only in this life and then it’s oblivion.

It’s a pessimistic view of the world and it’s one that has weighed heavily on Denton himself. Indeed in 1997 after the death of his father, Kit Denton, author, raconteur, teacher, humorist, counsellor, journalist, thinker and friend, Denton retreated into a fog of despair. “I was,” he said, “really unhappy. I was unhappy with where I was and who I was.”

While he was in this dark mood, he separated for six months from his partner, the journalist Jennifer Byrne. It was she who ultimately helped him attain a more optimistic outlook on life, even if the evidence to his mind seems to point in the opposite direction. Happily, Byrne and Denton married in November 2003.

So, again, why put the face of an anti-religion atheist on the front cover of a Christian magazine? Well, he has been voted the best-liked and most recognisable person on Australian television. He’s won endless media awards including the UN Media Peace Prize (1991), an Aria for best comedy album (1991), a Raward for best radio comedy (1999 and 2000), a Walkley award for broadcast interviewing (2003) and the Australian Film Institute award for the best light entertainment series (2003 and 2004). So he’s a celebrity, but that is not the reason he’s on the front cover of Signs. He was selected because of the kind of person he is rather than simply who he is.

Denton is a compassionate interviewer who engages his guests on the Australian Broadcasting Commission’s TV series Enough Rope in conversation rather than with confrontation. He invites ordinary Australians as his guests and he interviews them with the same wit and care he extends to the rich and famous. Denton believes that as human beings we should strive to live as good humans. That commitment pervades every interaction he has with the people he interviews.

The most well-known example of this is his interview with a group of teenagers with cancer (“The topic of cancer”). With comedy and compassion he chatted to them about baldness, pain, peer acceptance and chemotherapy. It was a memorable engagement and few presenters could have conducted it with such humour and honesty. There is nothing posed about Denton. His concern is genuine; his candour is authentic.

Nor does his atheism prevent him from dealing sensitively with believers. It is clear that he admires those who focus their religion on practical charity. In his interview with “The three priests” (Enough Rope, July 25, 2005)—Father Dave Smith (Anglican), Reverend Sealin Garlett (Uniting Church) and Father Bob Maguire (Catholic)—it became clear that their involvement with the poor and desperate impressed Denton. He concluded the interview with these words: “Gentlemen, frankly I’m [an] atheist, but you’re a great advertisement for what you do. Each of you, Dave, Sealin, Bob, thank you so much.”

On May 1, 2006, he interviewed the former Deputy Prime Minister, John Anderson, and his wife, Julia. He did not protest when Anderson gave a devout testimony of his faith in Christ. Nor did he react when Anderson suggested that secular humanism was an inadequate philosophy by which to live.

In this he was being true to his own interviewing ethos: “I never see the interview as being me versus the guest. I don’t see it as a colosseum. I try to be as vulnerable as they are. There’s no winner in the interview; we’re both out there. While the saying is, ‘Give them enough rope and they’ll hang themselves,’ my view is give them enough rope and if they’re good enough, they’ll do rope tricks.”

Some of course do hang themselves. Alan Bond and John Elliott did; but then Denton was in his more ruthless mode during his interrogation of them. The Australian Federal Minister of Immigration, Amanda Vanstone, hoisted herself onto the gallows when she revealed how she cried when one of her beloved Weimaraner dogs died but then went on to defend the detention of refugee children. As Denton pointedly observed, “Here was a woman who could cry over her dogs, but have no sympathy in her heart for children locked up for three or five years.”

ne of Denton’s techniques in conversing with his guests on Enough Rope is to introduce something to make them relax. He had John Travolta show him how to dance. Clive James was invited to dance the tango with a professional dancer, Janise. A choice example is when he interviewed the actor Gabriel Byrne. At one time Byrne was employed to sew the eyes on toy teddy bears. During the interview Denton handed him a teddy bear with the eyes sewn together on one side of the bear’s head. “Is this one of yours?” he asked disarmingly. By the time Byrne had ceased laughing he was ready to chat amicably with Denton. He subjected “The three priests” to a Bible quiz called “The soul of the century,” which certainly acted as a superb icebreaker. The famous Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon once said that humour tickled open the closed oyster of the human heart. With that I think Denton would agree.

It may have been the social status of Crown Prince Frederick and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark that dissuaded Denton from using any humorous episode to overcome the regal correctness of the couple. Without that usual ploy the interview struggled to break out of the restraint of a formal but courteous conversation. Denton lists it as his worst interview and one that he’d like to do again.

oesn’t show, but Denton still gets clammy palms and a dry mouth before every episode of Enough Rope. He is demanding on himself and on his crew as he strives for perfection. Some have taken his intense pursuit of quality as volatility, but he prefers to see himself as demanding but fair. He tries hard in his busy schedule to give time to his family. He picks up his 11-year-old son, Connor, nearly every Wednesday afternoon and plays cricket with him. He also tries to preserve, though not always successfully, his weekends for his home life.

When Denton began Enough Rope he didn’t think it would be much of a success. He doubted it would see the first year out. He does not choose his guests, as do some of the well-known overseas imports, to promote their film, play or book. Yet Enough Rope has now completed several seasons and is one of the most watched programs on the ABC.

urthermore, the audience numbers are still increasing. And there’s little doubt the success of Enough Rope is due largely to the inimitable style of Andrew Denton and the simple honesty of his interviewing technique.

Can an atheist like Denton teach believers about God? Yes. Denton reminds believers that violence done in the name of religion insults God whether his name is Jehovah, Allah or Father.

Denton’s respect for faith leading to deeds of compassion confirms how hollow is a religion that isolates creed from conduct. Christians should walk their talk, and make sure their talk is true to the God of love.

Andrew Denton's God on My Side review

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