Book of Daniel

I have heard that many people in the "Christian" community have gotten up in arms about this show. Some NBC affiliates have decided not to air the show because of complains from so-called Christians. Here is the official website.

Emmy nominee Aidan Quinn (“An Early Frost,” “Plainsong,” “Legends of the Fall”) stars as Reverend Daniel Webster, an unconventional Episcopalian minister who not only believes in Jesus - he actually sees him and discusses life with him. Webster is challenged on many levels as he struggles to be a good husband, father and minister, while trying to control a nagging addiction to prescription painkillers, and an often rocky relationship with the church hierarchy, led by Bishop Beatrice Congreve (Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn, “Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore,” “Requiem of a Dream”), Roger Paxton, a senior warden of the parish and stalwart churchgoer (Dylan Baker, “Kinsey,” “Happiness”).

The reverend also has loving, but challenging relationships with his three children: Peter (Christian Campbell, “Trick”), his 23-year-old gay son, who struggles with the loss of his twin brother; Grace (Alison Pill, “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen”), his 16-year-old daughter who doesn't try to push her father's buttons but succeeds at it nonetheless; and Adam (Ivan Shaw, “All My Children”), his 16-year-old adopted Chinese son, a handsome and cocky high school jock with a wicked sense of humor. Keeping Webster grounded is his strong and loving wife Judith (Susanna Thompson, “Now and Again”), who is fighting her own fondness for mid-day martinis, as well as Jesus (Garret Dillahunt, “Deadwood”), whose frequent chats with Daniel serve to remind him of his strengths and weaknesses.

Appearantly, the fact that the minister has a gay son and the slew of other problems being dealt with my the minister bothers the happy-go-lucky reality of mainstream Christians.

The fact is that in this story, the guy actually has a relationship with Jesus. This pretty much confirms that the minister is still His and still part of the "church," as Jesus would say. The minister is also dealing with real-life issues--something, appearantly, True Christians (TM) are not supposed to be bothered with.

I was listening to the Glenn Beck Program this morning, and a fill-in was hosting the show. The host made a good point about how arrogant some Christians are to think that an NBC affiliate should not show a program so that no one sees it. I find this unfair, because from what I have heard from the previews, it shows a more realistic side to "Christian life" as it were, as opposed to the pat TBN storylines in which the son turns straight, the minister gets back in line with his institution, and everything is resolved a two-hour movie.

I think the problem is that the faith of some is so fickle that they can not handle anything that challenges their simplistic world view. As powerful and outspoken as these Fundamentalists may be, their faith shatters at the touch of reality. Allowing challenging things in the public eye weakens their cause even more--hence the reason simply "tuning out" is not enough for Fundamentalists.