I just can't leave well enough alone. But I just want to do a follow-up on the Book of Daniel TV show. I watched it and enjoyed it. It just showed that the clergy is just like any other profession... there are dysfunctional families in all professions. The issues and problems with the church officials was dead on... we all know that the church isn't free of political issues of power and corruption. The example that particularly struck me was when the bishop said something to the effect of, "Now, Daniel, don't go quoting the Bible to me. I've got a doctorate in theology from Yale(?)..." It illustrated that organized churches are just as susceptible to corruption and other human frailties as any other organization. There are shows about crooked cops, lawyers, and doctors. Why not church officials? No, maybe many people don't want to see that or hear about it, but ignoring it or hiding it away doesn't mean that it's not there. I think it's a good thing to expose that the church has problems. And if they can't laugh at themselves then they have even bigger problems.
And the Jesus character was the Jesus that the priest has his own personal relationship with. Isn't that what we all are supposed to have? Who am I to judge another's relationship with Jesus? Who am I to say that Jesus doesn't visit with someone else and offer a quiet kind of moral support that encourages that person to choose the right way of handling a situation (whether the person makes that right choice or not)? And who am I to say that Jesus can't see the humor in our human condition? You know, I'm the last person in the world to describe myself as a 'good' Christian, but I like to think that I have my own personal relationship with the Divine. I'd love for Jesus to visit with me the way that he visits with Daniel in the show. He is full of love and forgiveness. That's the Jesus I know.
Anyway, I do plan to continue watching the show when I have time. If it ever gets to a point of being offensive or overly silly for me then I'll quit watching. But for people to call for stations to not air it and deny other's the right of choice, well, to me that's just wrong. For some reason the word pharisaical comes to mind.
However, I did notice that most of the commercials that ran here during the show were of the .org variety, meaning non-profit and more public service announcements. There were also lots of spots previewing other NBC programs. I'm sure the local station here lost a lot of advertising revenue during that time which makes their decision to air the show that much more brave and admirable. But in this case thank God for Freedom of Speech!
3 comments:
My thoughts are Rae Ann that the profession of the clergy should be held at a higher standard with respect over other professionals. Many do not deserve that respect, but that is how I was raised. I’m aware in all professions there are dysfunctional families however, I felt it was disrespectful to target a minister, include the church and a human figure of Jesus - all in the filth that this program covered. To me it was way over the top and was intended for other purposes besides just entertainment.
Speaking of my own relationship with Jesus it is wonderful, much like they portrayed with Daniel and I do not mind sharing that, but I do not feel it needs to be exploited in a distasteful television program that focuses on all bad behavior. It could give the impression that Jesus approves of all the issues brought forth, however Jesus is forgiving, loving and caring but we all know what is right and wrong.
As far as advertisement, I would imagine NBC will have problems in that area.
Well, suzie, I thought that the show did a pretty good job of exposing real life. I've attended lots of churches over the years and every single one of them was full of disrespectful people and people with serious problems with 'filth.' There have been ministers having affairs with members, secret deals to cover wrongdoings, missing money, drugs, sex, alcoholism, you name it. The church is a HUMAN institution.
Perhaps you missed the point of the show which was that GOOD will win out in the end. I think they named it "The Book of Daniel" for a reason. The main character Daniel has been thrown into a lion's den and we get to see how he and Jesus will get him out of it.
The thing that concerns me most here is that the very same people who are complaining about the 'war on Christmas' are also complaining about a TV show with Jesus in it. People should be thrilled that Jesus is a character on TV. And anyone who says that this Jesus character is inappropriate needs to go back and reread their New Testament.
I'm not picking on you suzie. I'm just trying to get people to see that they are being hypocritical to want to ban this TV show when just a month ago they were screaming about "Free Expression" in regards to Christmas. It's a matter of consistency. And this kind of pharisaical (meaning = marked by hypocritical censorious self-righteousness) behavior only makes some Christians that much more annoying to non-Christians. And it hurts their good causes.
I was uninformed about this program until reading about it on your site, and after watching, I posted about it with my opinion. The passion about it compared to how strongly I felt about the War on Christmas is not there. In my case, I do not have to watch it again. I am not, by no means, in the same group with the others in reference to the comment of the same Christians. I did google one page of blogs after watching and that is where I found the link I referred to as well as the address of NBC, but haven’t heard any more about it.
As far as churches and scandals, we have definitely heard our share of them unfortunately, but overall holding a position of representing a church should have respect unless proved otherwise as I stated before, that is my belief. I just can’t get into this type of humor, drama, or whatever they are labeling it, putting the emphasis on a church family and portraying it as they are. Many Christians do not like Desperate Housewives, personally I enjoy it and will continue to watch. I assume by the one watching will interpret on what they believe or how they view it. I defer some on your view of the point of the show, but guessing all is in the eye of the beholder. I feel some things can be misleading especially when Hollywood is concerned and if there are agendas behind the scenes. My opinion still holds if this program was about a Muslim cleric or a Catholic priest molesting little boys and talking to Jesus, it would be a whole nother story. Christians are fair game these days but dare not profile or mention another religion in a provocative media setting, immediate backlash scandal.
Post a Comment