Baptist preacher Gordon Atkinson, aka Real Live Preacher reviews NBC’s new show, “Book of Daniel”: Sinfully bad TV. You have to click through an ad to read the full article if you’re not a Salon member, but it’s worth it just to see that there are in fact Christians out there with some integrity and a sense of humor.
So the TV show sucks. So OK, what else is new? But let’s talk about something more interesting, namely the fact that more than one group of fundamentalist Christians have gotten their panties bunched up over yet another perceived slight by the culture at large. In this case, some vocal Christians are convinced that the folks at NBC created this show specifically to insult them and poke fun at our sacred traditions. There were the usual boycotts, and a couple of stations in Arkansas and Indiana actually pulled the plug on the show.
Gimme a break, don’t people have better things to do with their time than boycott television shows? He goes on to write:
But I think all the uproar from Christians is symptomatic of a more disturbing trend. More and more Christians seem to think that affirmation from our culture is where they will find their power. Since when do religions need affirmation from television stations? That’s a little shallow, don’t you think? What we should be doing is practicing our devotion and letting our changed lives speak for themselves.
And I’ve got news for you, Christian. If your faith isn’t changing your life enough to make a difference in the world, you’ve got bigger problems than NBC.
I wish more Christians would live their lives as if their faith mattered instead of trying to whine and boycott their way into heaven.
Tags: Personal
January 9th, 2006 at 2:16 pm
“Gimme a break, don’t people have better things to do with their time than boycott television shows?”
Surely an oxymoronic statement?
January 9th, 2006 at 2:26 pm
Bah… It’s not about power, but rather a calling to bear witness to the glory of Christ. Some people are more assertive about this than others, and will naturally pounce on easy targets like this.
The real problem probably has to do with the number of people, Christian or not, that thinks TV matters and may be worth saving. I, for one, welcome their self-inflicted TiV-facilitated ad dollar hemmorage.
January 9th, 2006 at 3:43 pm
“More and more Christians seem to think that affirmation from our culture is where they will find their power. Since when do religions need affirmation from television stations? That’s a little shallow, don’t you think? What we should be doing is practicing our devotion and letting our changed lives speak for themselves.”
It’s the Constantine Effect. Subconsciously, we’re all wanting to overturn a secular culture and completely ruin an imperialist culture.
Seriously, the “federalization” (if you can call it that) of Christian efforts to influence culture tends to only increase the polarity of politics and create animosity. If we spent half the time and money on localizing our influence in the communities in which we live as we do lobbying efforts in state capitals and Washington….
But, of course, that involves turning off the television and immersing ourselves in the mess that is someone else’s life.
January 9th, 2006 at 8:42 pm
Here’s something that you might want to get used to: people, right wing, left wing, Christian, Buddhist, Zoroastrian or anything else do not like other people making fun of who they are and what they believe. This is not the same as a boycott based on the revelation that a character in a children’s show is played by a homosexual, this is a response to a show mocking the religion. If this show had been made about the exploits of a dishonest Imam we would have heard condemnations from the left wing media about it “fanning the fires of hatred and intolerance by vilifying the Islamic clergy in the name of cheap entertainment”. If this show had been about a shoddy cantor there would be claims from Jewish community representatives about the “reemergence of media anti-semitism through the affirmation of negative stereotypes”. Are you seriously expecting the Christian community to handle this one any differently?
January 10th, 2006 at 8:17 am
I tend to agree with the Salon writer’s points. My chief complaint is that the Christian response should always be so reactionary — boycott, protest, whine — and that furthermore it should always center on kitsch.
Even so, it is hard to take seriously a Christian minister who speaks of a television show “suck[ing]” and of other Christians — however misguided in his mind — as having “gotten their panties bunched up.” A little charity would be in order, as would a little less vulgarity. But maybe I just have my panties bunched up.