A
new sit-com is scheduled to premier this evening. It is called “Living Biblically.” I will not see it,
but I am 99% sure that I would not care for it if I did. The premise is about a
man, who after some traumatic experience, decides to live his life according to
the Bible. Apparently, what the comedy will revolve around is this main
character’s efforts to work out a rigid understanding of Old Testament law in the modern day. (One spoiler alert suggests
that he will chuck a rock at an adulterer. Something fun for everyone.)
The
predictable sources are agitated. They will watch the show for the rest of us
and keep us all advised as to what we should feel offended about. In the
meantime, they will organize the obligatory boycotts of all the relevant
advertisers.
I
accept that these efforts may be well-intended attempts to preserve a Christian
presence and influence in the culture, and I regret if my presentation to this
point sounds a little condescending or overly critical. It’s just that after
many years of the same old response to any movie, television show, play, piece
of art, or children’s book that rubs Christians the wrong way, we may need to
explore a new way of reacting. The visceral reflex of taking offense and
attempting to exert pressure on Hollywood or the culture-at-large to behave
themselves seems to be rather fruitless when all is said and done. They just
keep misbehaving.
These
thoughts began to take shape as I listened to an interview of one of the
executive producers for the new show. He insisted that no offense or ridicule
is intended. He just wants to explore the place of religion in an entertaining
way. He also attributed part of his interest to the fact that he was raised
Catholic. I entertained the possibility that he was being completely
disingenuous when he said that no offense is intended. However, I also
considered that I could extend to him the benefit of the doubt. That way I
would not need to resent him for being deceitful. Still, I cannot escape the
conclusion that he is being absurdly naïve. Believers ARE going to feel misunderstood, but should we not be prepared for
that anyway? It is not exactly a “scoop” to learn that the citizens of the world
will misrepresent the citizens of the kingdom.
Perhaps,
a better default reaction than immediate protest is for Christian leaders and
parents to gather their respective flocks – congregations, Sunday School
students, children, etc. - and
reinforce to them the wisdom of Scripture. The world cannot be expected to
reflect the values and the sensitivities of those who are reborn of the Spirit
of God. It is incapable of even understanding them. It follows, then, that we
have no real foundation for feeling offended. It is not realistic to expect
that the world's entertainment media will cater to Christian sensibilities.
...
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of
God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because
they are spiritually discerned. – 1
Corinthians 2:14
The world has no concept of
the purpose of the Law of Moses; that it was a temporary arrangement for
forging and protecting a holy nation. The world has no hope of understanding
the “types” in the ceremonial law that pointed ahead to and found fulfillment
in Jesus. The world has no basis for comprehending how the Law gave way to
grace when it was nailed to the cross of Christ.
We must find a better default
reaction to the world’s ridicule than simply fighting back with the world’s
methods. These are legitimate and valuable teaching moments for our people. Besides,
on those few occasions when our Christian protests do affect any change at all,
those changes dissolve almost instantaneously. Perhaps, it is better to take
the slap of insult on the cheek from the powers that be in the entertainment
field and expend our energies in preparing ourselves to give meaningful answers
to those we encounter who need such answers for real life questions.
