Program's Sarcastic Portrayal of the Savior Miffs Ministry Spokesman
by Jody Brown
January 10, 2006
(AgapePress) - - "Extremely repulsive." "Intentionally offensive." "Flippant." Those are just a few of the adjectives being used to describe a new television series on NBC that portrays a pill-popping priest with an extremely dysfunctional family that includes an alcoholic wife, a homosexual son, and a drug-dealing daughter.
The Book of Daniel premiered last Friday during prime time -- but the days and weeks leading up to the pilot saw several pro-family groups and media watchers urging Christian viewers to be cautious of the content of the show. The American Family Association, for example, called the show a "mockery of Christianity" as well as an example of the network's "anti-Christian bigotry."
Along those same lines, Bob Waliszewski with Focus on the Family offered his take after previewing the pilot and one additional episode. Waliszewski is blunt about how he feels about the program.
"I find [The Book of Daniel] extremely repulsive in its portrayal of Jesus Christ and intentionally offensive in its flippant attitude toward behaviors almost universally agreed upon as unhealthy to society, morally bankrupt, and -- dare I say it -- sinful," he says in a recent press release.
But the Focus on the Family spokesman says he most concerned about the "sardonic" depiction of the character of Jesus on the show, who he says is portrayed as a "wimpy, white-robed visitor who cares little about evil, addictions, and perversity." Waliszewski worries how people unfamiliar with the real Jesus found in Scripture will respond.
"The 'Jesus' [in the program] is a long way from the holy compassionate Third Person of the Trinity who created the universe, then found the sin-problems of mankind so egregious that He gave His very life sacrificially to bring redemption," he shares. "Viewers with limited knowledge of the Bible are going to be asking themselves, why was He crucified?"
Basically, says Waliszewski, Daniel's Jesus "winks at the behaviors the genuine Jesus was crucified to save us from." And that, he adds, is indicative of the program's "callous attitude" towards anything Christian.
Several NBC affiliates chose not to carry the series premier of The Book of Daniel last Friday, among them stations in Beaumont, TX; Tupelo, MS; Meridian, MS; Little Rock, AR; and Terre Haute, IN. And according to the American Family Association, NBC ended up selling advertising for "pennies on the dollar" after several advertisers pulled out, taking with them several million dollars in advertising. AFA continues to encourage its supporters to ask local advertisers to follow suit if their local affiliate continues to air the program.
