TV Theology

      I do not get my Christianity from television, but I pay attention to how Christians, fictional and otherwise, are portrayed there because I know some people do. Television exists to shape opinion. It's subtle, but undeniable. You are being entertained in the hope that you will buy the merchandise advertised during your favorite program. It's a fair trade off. The problem is the shaping of opinion doesn't stop at the commercials. That's why networks change their minds when there is an uproar over what is aired and sponsors are threatened. Every program you watch tells a story and every story has a message or, as we dinosaurs say---a moral.

      Now, don't get me wrong, every story needs a bad guy. But, in the best written stories, a bad guy doesn't always look like a bad guy. Which brings me to the point I wish to illustrate. In a recent episode of Bones, an FBI agent quotes scripture several times to a preacher whose daughter is gay in an effort to find a motive for murder. We all know he's looking for that knee jerk reaction of "hate" all Christians have whenever gays are mentioned. Here's the twist, the preacher commends the agent on his knowledge of scripture and tells him, "You know the scriptures, but these verses pale in comparison to the true message of Christ's love and acceptance."

      Whaaaat?

      The scriptures, all the scriptures even those that tell us what we're doing is wrong, are the true message of Christ's love and acceptance. More than that, the scriptures are Christ. He is the Living Word of God. There are no true and false messages living side by side in scripture. There are no inspired, blood laden verses and uninspired, pale verses keeping company in the Bible. Christ is not divided.

     Someone may quote to me, "the letter killeth, but the Spirit maketh alive." To which I say, "Amen," and remind them that the Spirit never disagrees with the Word. How can He? The Spirit and the Word are one. It is the Spirit of God that brings the Word to life in us. Jesus said, "The words I speak to you are life."

     "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth."

     What has that got to do with the words of some television character? The writer didn't pluck that thought out of thin air. He's heard it before; those words come from real life. Sharing them on television gives them an air of legitimacy; the story a sense of realism; and watcher a tacit permission to believe a hidden message exists in scripture that exonerates the guilty apart from the written word.

     The message is hidden in the story. People say they ignore such things, but it's not lost on anyone. Nothing that we see or hear is "lost." The true message of Christ's love and acceptance apart from the scriptures is alive and well in our society. What was once “ignored” for the sake of not raising a fuss has become accepted fact.

     Don't believe me? Think about how KY's His and Hers, or Trojan products being advertised on television was unheard of in our parents day. Today it's normal and we chalk it up to enlightened morals. Americans from our President on down are infected with the notion that every rule of law, human and divine, is open to personal interpretation and we are free to obey or neglect them as we will for the "true Good of all." Accommodating the whims of every man is hailed today as the blessing of diversity.

      Christianity is not exempt from this infection. Christians are being seduced by the spirit of accommodation. Christianity and Christian worship are being bent to the will of the unwashed. The shame of "seeker friendly" churches is not the music they play or their style of worship, it's their offer salvation without repentance; life without new birth and heaven without abandoning one's affinity for the world. They beacon, "Come, celebrate our diverse lifestyle and call it Christianity."

      This alternative doctrine and worship is not misguided. It is demonic.

      Christianity produces joy unspeakable and full of glory. But, it doesn't start out that way. New birth comes with tears brought by the pain of guilt. New life matures in the transformation of every thought and intent of the heart. Before I became a Christian it bothered me a great deal to hear Christians say that the things I said and did were contrary to God. It was true, but it still bothered me. My feelings did not change the message of Christ's love and acceptance; they only kept me from that love and acceptance.

     I had what the world had. I had it in abundance and was empty. I wanted something different. I wanted what those Christians had. I couldn't get it by bending them to my will. I had to submit my will to God's and accept the wisdom of those I once thought foolish. Every child of Adam carries around a load of guilt. We carry it every moment of every day. It doesn't get lighter by saying, "Don't judge me." Guilt gets heavier the longer we apply salves to our conscious. Salves---like a television version of Christianity.

     The message of Jesus says, "Come unto me all ye who labor and are heavy laden...I will give you rest." That is the true message of Christ's love and acceptance. There is no other.