Here we go again
More chipping away at the foundations of western civilization…
I thought that multiculturalism (together with its tyranny of political correctness) protected minorities from culture bashing. Certainly if you are part of a minority group you can expect the liberal left to stand up for you like a big brother and tell everyone to play nicely, that after all everyone’s beliefs are valid today and are all worthy of equal respect and supposed credibility.
So what is happening here to the beliefs of the Christian minority, those who sincerely believe in the Gospel message? Why are they being ravaged with contempt and mockery? Why doesn’t Christianity deserve the same respect given to Islam, for instance? What voice in the media dares to do with Muhammad as NBC has done with Jesus?
I am talking about a new TV show called “The Book of Daniel”.
Here, have a read of this:
The new show is called “The Book of Daniel,” which is first and foremost a tired carbon copy of the outrageously dysfunctional suburban family shtick, but with the twist that this time, the Fool is played by Our Lord. Episcopal minister Daniel Webster is hooked on Vicodin and sees Jesus Christ regularly. His wife is an alcoholic. His son is gay. His daughter sells marijuana. His adopted Chinese son is a teenage sex machine. His female bishop, who asks him for one of his “Canadian headache pills” for the codeine, and later raids his office for more, is having an adulterous relationship with his father, who’s also an Episcopal bishop, whose wife has Alzheimer’s and keeps talking about penises.
Are there enough ridiculous, plastic characters in this spectacle yet? No, apparently not. Daniel’s brother-in-law escapes town with the church treasury, but his wife and the church secretary have gone from a menage a trois to a saucy lesbian relationship. To find said brother-in-law, Daniel seeks out “Father Frank,” an Italian Catholic priest who (no stereotypes here?) uses his Mafia contacts to hunt down the missing money, so the mob can compromise Daniel.
The creator of the show is one Jack Kenny. Apart from his departure from the Catholic Church where he felt unwelcome, one of the first facts reported about him is that he is gay, something that gives folk a chance to credit him with a preconceived stereotypical character, but that aside, the following is what he is reported to have said about himself.
“I’m a spiritual person,” he says. “I don’t know specifically what’s going on up there. I think there must be something going on, whether it’s an energy we’re all connected to or an old white man with a beard and a robe.
“I do believe in Jesus. I don’t necessarily know that all the myth surrounding him is true, but I read his teachings, and I think he was a great teacher and a wonderful philosopher. I think he had a great idea: `Love thy neighbor.’ There’s nothing wrong with that.”
To have such questions, I wonder how much attention he paid to his reading. If Jack Kenny thinks so highly of Jesus, then one surely has to ask why is he creating such a show? He might see nothing wrong in loving thy neighbour, but what about loving thy God? Is this how it is done?
A review by Joey Guerra includes the following comment:
To be sure, The Book of Daniel delves deep into heady, heavy topics within its fist two episodes. Themes of homosexuality, drug addiction and open marriages should have the AFA [American Family Association] spitting fire for many months to come. All that outrage should, in turn, translate into healthy ratings.
At its heart, however, The Book of Daniel is a compelling, unexpectedly comical, portrait of a family’s personal struggles with issues of faith, forgiveness and redemption. Daniel shows us that there are no easy answers in life, just constant questioning that moves us forward at a sometimes painful pace.
Those who object to this show are caught between a rock and a hard place. Why should they have their pearls trodden by swine, the graphic imagery used by Jesus to describe this sort of thing? And yet to protest plays right into the hands of the money grabbers who are making a profit by exploiting the attention of protestors. Even commenting here is giving the show attention, but it is hard to ignore when so much is contemptuous that needs exposing as such.
Now I have a question for Jack Kenny. Will he be brave enough to create a similar show about Islam? After all, surely multiculturalism demands a fair airing of all beliefs. Or might something roll off his shoulders before even the first act was filmed?
The last sentence in that quote is only half true. There may be no easy answers in life, but there most certainly are answers. They are found when one gets genuine about what Jesus is offering, gives up treating Him with contempt, and starts taking a good hard look at one’s life from His perspective instead.
