THOUGHTS ON THE "BOOK OF DANIEL"

Because of my busy schedule lately, I have not had much time to blog or to read the blogs of others on the net. But, I became aware of the controversy surrounding NBC's new dramatic show, "The Book of Daniel," while listening to an American Family Radio broadcast calling for a national boycott of NBC and any sponsors to the show. The American Family Association (AFA) said that the show was blasphemous and showed Christians in a poor light and that all Christians should avoid watching the show. Then, our local NBC affiliate did a special news segement preceding the show's airing, where they showed the entire show to local ministers and asked their opinions of the show -- a move I thought was fair and balanced. The ministers who watched the show were split between liking it and disliking it, but only one or two went so far as to call it blasphemous.

I suspected that members of my church would have questions about this show because of the controversy, so I took it upon myself to watch it when it aired over the past two Friday nights. (This has been the stance I have taken when any of these calls to ban movies or t.v. shows or music or books has come up in recent years. I refuse to support such bans unless I have reviewed the item myself and sought the opinion of those in the Christian community I respect.)

So, without knowing what any other bloggers or pastors are thinking about this show, I am going out on a limb and stating that, for the most part, I thought the show was well-written, well-conceived, and challenging for people of faith. The premise of the show revolves around an Episcopalian pastor, Daniel, his family, and their interactions with the leadership in the Episcopal church.

Daniel is the son of an Episcopal Bishop and is under the oversight of a female Bishop. His son is a homosexual and his daughter has just been arrested for selling marijuana. His adopted son is promiscuous and is having a sexual liaison with the daughter of a church leader in Daniel's church. And, to cope with all that is going on, Daniel's wife turns to alcohol and he turns to pills. In the middle of this, Daniel sees visions of Jesus who talks with him and guides him through decisions that he has to make.

Here are my thoughts based on the areas that could possible be viewed as objectionable:

1. Acceptance of Homosexuality. As most of us know, the Episcopal church is very liberal, in cultural issues and in theology, and accept homosexuality as normal behavior in both parishioners and in clergy (as evidenced by the recent affirmation of a professing homosexual as Bishop). This is objectionable to me, but that is not something that NBC put in the show. Whether we like it or not, this is part of the Christian community in America. This is real life as lived out by our brothers and sisters in Christ in the Episcopal church and in other denominations throughout the country. This is something that most of the major mainline denominations in the U.S. have had to deal with or are in the midst of dealing with at this time. Boycotting it and sweeping it under the rug does not take away the problem in the church.

2. Acceptance of Promiscuous Behavior. In this show, the pastor's son is very promiscuous, but his behavior is not condoned or approved of by Daniel or his wife. It is recognized as a problem that their son has, and the family is working to change his behavior. Once again, like it or not, this is real life and it is in our churches. I know a pastor whose high-school daughter became pregnant out of wedlock, and it happens to our church members every single day. Look at the statistics and you will clearly see that church youth as just as sexually active as non-churched youth. Maybe if the church would quit hiding this issue but bring it out and take proactive steps to teach our young men and women to abstain until marriage, we would see something change.

3. Acceptance of Addictions. Both Daniel and his wife use drugs -- alcohol and pills -- to cope with the problems of their life. Once again, this is real life. People in our churches struggle with addictions to alcohol and drugs and hide it behind their Sunday faces. Is this the way to handle problems? No. But it is common, and our churches should be at the forefront of helping people deal with these addictions in a non-judgemental way.

4. Churches Run as a Business. This was one of the most eye-opening events that happened when I moved into church leadership and then into pastoral ministry. I had no idea that churches operated as businesses, and I still have the biggest problem with this. Instead of relying on God or trusting in His providence and leadership in the church, finances are our real god. Every Methodist pastor is judged based on whether apportionments are paid. And the most influential and powerful committee in any church is the financial committee. Is this right? NO. Is it real? Yes. I pray every day that God would break the stronghold that finances have on our churches and open us up to following His leadership and His principles rather than those of the world. This show very clearly shows the secular-mindedness of the bishops and how that affects the way Pastor Daniel does ministry in his local church. This is a fact of life that needs to be recognized and fixed.

5. The Appearance of Jesus to Daniel. This was the big problem that AFA had with the show. When they are alone, Jesus would appear with Daniel and talk with him one on one. As I watched this show for the first time, I was reminded of the CBS show, "Joan of Arcadia," in which God would appear to a teen-aged girl and send her on missions to help herself or her family and friends. Very similar premise. Do I find it objectionable? No. And here's why: first, while we may not actually see Jesus when we pray, aren't we supposed to be having a conversation with Him when we pray to Him -- not just speaking but also listening. I took the show's portrayal of Jesus as nothing more than a physical reminder that Daniel still spoke with God on a regular basis. At one point in the show, Daniel asked Jesus if He spoke with Daniel's father. Jesus replied, "I used to, but not much anymore." Wow! What a telling statement. Secondly, when was the last time you saw a television show portray Jesus in a positive light? Sure, in this show Jesus has a somewhat liberal theological bent, but that is how our brothers and sisters in the Episcopal church relate to Him. In "Joan of Arcadia" God appeared to Joan, but never as Jesus. In "Touched by an Angel," angels appeared, but never Jesus. Jesus does appear in this show and I can't see this as bad. Perhaps it will cause some unchurched and unsaved people to seek out Jesus in their lives when they have problems of their own.

Bottom-line: What I found objectionable:

Actually, I didn't find this show objectionable. Yes, its theology is a little too liberal for me, but that's about it. Contrary to what AFA and others reported, NBC did not set out to make a blasphemous show belittling Christians. It is not immoral and unethical and blasphemous because it shows the church and pastor's families as they really are.

Why are people objecting to this show? Because it is too close to home. The issues it raises in the show are real and can be found in all of our churches to some extent or the other. Granted, NBC lumped all of this into one family and one church to make a show out of it, but the issues are there. And, maybe it's time the church took off its mask and owned up to the fact that we are just like the rest of the world -- we are sinners just as they. We are not holy and righteous and perfect in all we do. Our families are not like the Cleavers and our churches are not ideallic sanctuaries where all are saved, no one has problems and we only live life according to God's principles and commands. Casting Crowns has a song called "Stained Glass Masquerade," which relates the story of a man with a problem coming to church but seeing only perfect faces. He asks the question, "Am I the only one here with a problem?" And so, because of fear of being judged, he doesn't get up and go to God for healing.

While we may object to this show, we may be doing so only because we are refusing to take off our mask and admit who we really are. If we refuse to acknowledge the sin that is so evident to the world around us, how can we expect to lead them to the Christ that we claim saves us from our sin? We are sinners just like the rest of the world. The only difference between us and the world is that we are sinners saved by grace, and when we do sin, we have a Savior who forgives us of our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.

I pray that Christians will not boycott this show, but that they will watch it and use it as a starting point for open dialogue and for healing and restoration in our communities of faith. This show identifies real issues in the church that we need to address and that we need to acknowledge and that we need to seek God's help with. Unless we acknowledge our sins and our need for a Savior, revival will never come.