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TV Throws Mud
On Christianity
Prime
time network television for the family has dropped to a new low.
“The Book of Daniel” premiered January 6 on the NBC
Friday night line-up, featuring “Daniel Webster”, an
Episcopalian priest who is heavily addicted to prescription medicine.
Despite his own personal difficulties, Rev. Webster contends with
a slate of family members, each of whom have their own personal
failings: his wife feeds her alcoholism with martinis, his daughter
is a marijuana dealer, his older son is homosexual, and his younger
son is sexually active with a fifteen year old girl.
On
the first episode, Rev. Webster’s brother-in-law absconds
with $3 million of the church’s money for a new building,
and the reverend contacts a Catholic priest with connections to
a crime syndicate to find him. Strangely enough, members of the
mob find the brother-in-law dead and offer to get the money back
for the priest, if the church hires a certain contractor for the
church’s building. Throughout the show, Rev. Webster gets
little “pop-in” visionary visits from Jesus Christ,
complete with long hair, beard, and first century clothing. When
the reverend tells “Jesus” about his daughter selling
drugs, “Jesus” replies, “She’ll be fine, she’s
a good girl.” “Jesus’” comment about the son
having sex with a young girl was, “He’s a kid. Let him
be a kid.” Also, in the course of the show, the reverend
and his wife tell their gay son that they hope he meets a nice
male nurse or doctor. It seems the only innocent person in the
entire show is the reverend’s mother, who has Alzheimer’s
disease. I am convinced that the show’s writers did this
intentionally, believing that all of the other characters, neck
deep in personal and moral problems, are just as innocent as the
disabled mother.
Before
you ask, the answer is no. I certainly did NOT watch the show.
All of the above information is readily available through the
many reviews written about it. I regret presenting all of the
ugly details you have just read, but felt it was necessary to
fully unmask the true character of the show, and that was just
the first episode. Believe it or not, there were several more
“spicy” details that I didn’t get into, but enough
is too much. The show has received some rave reviews, one of which
included a 3 out of 4 star rating from USA Today’s TV critic
Robert Bianco, who contended that “The Book of Daniel”
was “a show about a true-to-life, loving, complex family”
that is “wildly entertaining and superbly cast.” I personally
find the words “true-to-life” to be an amazing assessment.
I wonder what side of planet Mars Mr. Bianco grew up on.
You
may say to me, “What’s wrong with this show? After all,
it is only television entertainment. Everyone knows it is only
fiction.” Are you saying to me that you would like to know
what is wrong with the show, beside the fact that it smears the
Episcopalian denomination (and all Christian denominations, for
that matter)? Beside the fact that it insults the integrity of
Christian ministers? Beside the fact that pokes fun at the desperate
and dangerous addictions of drugs and alcohol? Beside the fact
that it promotes sex among children as harmless and laughable?
Perhaps if we try hard, we can find something wrong with this
show.
It’s
strange to me how a British airline recently forbid its crew members
from any public displays of Bibles, crosses, or anything remotely
resembling Christianity, for fear of offending Islamic passengers
during trips to and from predominantly Muslim countries. Yet,
here in America, major network television will air such trash
as “The Book of Daniel” and throw it into my face and
the faces of millions of other Christians, and dare us to get
offended. Let me hasten to say, however, that we will not be the
only persons offended.
This
is another outrageous attempt of the enemies of Christianity to
degrade the principles of what are good and right, and promote
their own agendas for what is evil and immoral according to the
scriptures. However, when a writer, a producer, or a network takes
the title of a part of the Scripture, such as “The Book of
Daniel,” and they take the character of Jesus Christ, and
they portray those holy Entities in a flippant, degrading, vile,
and sin-indulging manner, God Himself will be offended, “for
the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”
Exodus 20:7.
James
Sanders
Pastor,
sandersjc@yahoo.com
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