"Book of Daniel"
I'm guessing pretty much everyone's heard about this new show on NBC by now for all the controversey it's caused. It premiered last Friday and, yep, I watched it. Having been forwarded a number of emails about how terrible it would portray Christians through Daniel Webster (the show's main character) and his family, I thought I'd see for myself.
In case you haven't heard about the show, pretty much everything I read about it beforehand mentioned these main aspects. It centers around Daniel Webster, an Episcopal priest who is addicted to painkillers and also regularly converses with Jesus, and his family, which includes: his alcoholic wife, a gay son, a daugter who sells drugs and a sex-crazed adopted son. Those descriptions were on target, only there was much more. In the first episode, we also find out ...
- Daniel's brother-in-law is murdered after stealing $3 million from the church
- Daniel calls on a Catholic priest with ties to the mob in an effort to recover the money
- Daniel's sister-in-law, Victoria, (now a widow) is bi-sexual and was having an affair with her late husband's secretary.
- Bishop Beatrice Congreve, who oversees Daniel, is having an affair with Daniel's father, also a bishop in the church.
There were other problems for the characters in the show that I didn't mention, but you get the idea. Hey, just your average Christian family. Needless to say, as a Christian myself, I wasn't too fond of the show, but it wasn't the ridiculous portrayal of Webster and his family that really bothered me. That's the Hollywood I expect. As Kevin Reilly, president of entertainment at NBC said in a Wall Street Journal article, "By offering shows that have a morality and belief at the center as well as some racier content -- hopefully a lot of people can have their cake and eat it too." Sadly enough, that description probably fits a lot of Christians.
What got to me was the way Jesus was portrayed. The following description was on NBC's web site. "Keeping Webster grounded is his strong, loving wife Judith ... and Jesus (Garret Dillahunt, 'Deadwood'), his best friend and confidante who serves as a sounding board and encourages Webster to find the answers within himself." That's pretty much all Jesus was in the show. Just someone who popped in on occasion to have a chat. He listened well. That part was good. But no answers, no truth, no real concern over their problems, no power to bring change, and no desire to see change.
A sad, weak and watered-down version that doesn't even come close to the Savior I believe in. Still, it made me wonder how often my life actually promotes that view of Jesus. And how often do I relegate Jesus to nothing more than my "sounding board"? Hmmm ...
In case you haven't heard about the show, pretty much everything I read about it beforehand mentioned these main aspects. It centers around Daniel Webster, an Episcopal priest who is addicted to painkillers and also regularly converses with Jesus, and his family, which includes: his alcoholic wife, a gay son, a daugter who sells drugs and a sex-crazed adopted son. Those descriptions were on target, only there was much more. In the first episode, we also find out ...
- Daniel's brother-in-law is murdered after stealing $3 million from the church
- Daniel calls on a Catholic priest with ties to the mob in an effort to recover the money
- Daniel's sister-in-law, Victoria, (now a widow) is bi-sexual and was having an affair with her late husband's secretary.
- Bishop Beatrice Congreve, who oversees Daniel, is having an affair with Daniel's father, also a bishop in the church.
There were other problems for the characters in the show that I didn't mention, but you get the idea. Hey, just your average Christian family. Needless to say, as a Christian myself, I wasn't too fond of the show, but it wasn't the ridiculous portrayal of Webster and his family that really bothered me. That's the Hollywood I expect. As Kevin Reilly, president of entertainment at NBC said in a Wall Street Journal article, "By offering shows that have a morality and belief at the center as well as some racier content -- hopefully a lot of people can have their cake and eat it too." Sadly enough, that description probably fits a lot of Christians.
What got to me was the way Jesus was portrayed. The following description was on NBC's web site. "Keeping Webster grounded is his strong, loving wife Judith ... and Jesus (Garret Dillahunt, 'Deadwood'), his best friend and confidante who serves as a sounding board and encourages Webster to find the answers within himself." That's pretty much all Jesus was in the show. Just someone who popped in on occasion to have a chat. He listened well. That part was good. But no answers, no truth, no real concern over their problems, no power to bring change, and no desire to see change.
A sad, weak and watered-down version that doesn't even come close to the Savior I believe in. Still, it made me wonder how often my life actually promotes that view of Jesus. And how often do I relegate Jesus to nothing more than my "sounding board"? Hmmm ...
posted by John V at 11:36 PM
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