| A
quick check of the TV listings now shows that at least in terms
of network television, the answer might be "Yes" and "Wow,
quite a lot!"
In a phenomenon that has received surprisingly little attention
in the Christian community, God has returned to prime-time TV in
force, and with more people watching than anytime since Bishop Fulton
J. Sheen went up against Uncle Miltie (Milton Berle) in the 1950s.
For the first time in 40 years, an overtly religious TV program
with a Christian worldview is in TV's top 10. Touched
by an Angel has been the new hit of the year. And it's not alone.
CBS's Promised Land and WB's 7th Heaven also give Christians reason
to hope that television can be more than a vast secular
wasteland.
"The inscription over the Gates of Hell in Dante's Divine Comedy
reads: 'Abandon hope all ye that enter here.' A lot of people think
that might as well be the inscription above the gateway to Hollywood.
Don't believe it."
-- Martha Williamson, executive producer, Touched by an Angel
Faith can be shown as a positive influence in people's lives. Audiences
seem to welcome the change.
CBS had such success with Touched
by an Angel that it moved it to Sunday evenings following 60
Minutes, with spectacular results.
Executive producer Martha Williamson also generated a spin-off series,
Promised Land. After a family is touched by the angels and their
Boss, they travel around the country helping people in times of
crisis.
The Camdens: Spelling Relief
on WB
Another example of Christianity in prime time appears on the fledgling
WB network. Each week, you can watch the exceptionally charming
Camden family sort out their troubles with love and mutual respect
on 7th Heaven. Stephen Collins plays the Rev. Eric Camden, a pastor
and father of five in a surprisingly functional household.
Perhaps one of the biggest surprises of each hour is in the credits
when the names Aaron Spelling and Duke Vincent roll by. We have
come to associate those producers' names with Melrose Place and
the steamy Savannah, which was canceled after only one season. But
it was the suggestion of Spelling and WB's chief executive officer
Jamie Kellner that Camden's job be church pastor.
With the exception of the Ned Flanders family on The Simpsons, it's
rare to see regular church attendance on network TV. 7th Heaven
creator and co-executive producer Brenda Hampton says, "I could
be wrong [laughing], but I think there are plenty of normal people
across the country going to church."
Sometimes funny and sometimes touching, episodes have dealt with
crime, alcohol abuse and death in the family. In a memorable episode,
a neighboring African-American church is burned and the Camden family
and their congregation pitch in to support their neighbors, confronting
their own prejudices in the process. It was a moving hour of television,
addressing a critical national issue.
The only dark cloud on the horizon is that relatively few viewers
seem to have discovered 7th Heaven on WB. Tell your friends about
it. It's worth supporting.
Martha's Angels
When I first heard the title Touched
by an Angel makes explicitly clear that God loves us and has
a plan for our lives. We need to reach out to him. He is eagerly
awaiting our response. He shares our sorrows. He can't wait to show
us his love.
Williamson has been true to her word. Episodes have dealt with difficult
issues like suffering, religious con artists, the purpose of miracles,
adultery, abuse and
even grace vs. works.
The Limits of Commercial TV
Prime-time television, of course, does not belong to any particular
religion or denomination. We are all tempted to demand that depictions
of religion in the media endorse our particular views. A moment's
reflection tells us that we can't expect that of network TV. As
the price of its very existence, it has to please a wide variety
of people. It exists to advertise, entertain and, on a good day,
educate and inspire.
The particularly Christian aspects of Touched
by an Angel are expressed not in direct language, but by paraphrased
biblical passages that Christians will have no trouble recognizing.
Viewers who are not familiar with the Bible just think of them as
wise words from "somewhere." In one episode, a character
learns that he is saved by grace, not by works, when his efforts
to keep track of his good deeds fail to win God's favor. He finally
responds to the hints given to him by the angels that he can't build
his own stairway to heaven.
The lesson is eloquently taught without using religious language.
Yet the inability to get too explicit is the factor that may leave
some people grumbling that Williamson is serving up a watered-down
gospel. Is that fair?
Is Martha Williamson supposed to preach the gospel in its entirety
on prime-time TV? Is that something Christians think is CBS's job?
A prime-time producer is doing well if she can touch her audience's
hearts. She is doing even better if she can make them think. And
she deserves our gratitude and enthusiastic prayers if she is successful
in making them think about God.
Prime-time network TV is probably not the likely place for evangelism
proper. But how many Christians would have guessed that it could
be such a successful place for preevangelism? The ratings say that
about 14 percent of American households tune in to Touched
by an Angel every week. At best, 1.5 percent tune in to the
most-watched religious programs.
Touched by an Angel wouldn't
have survived its first season if not for the support of loyal viewers
who wrote to CBS to ask them to save the show. CBS obliged, and
as word spread, the ratings grew. Remember Christy? The Christian
fans of that show weren't as successful in keeping it on the air.
Perhaps we Christians are learning a lesson.
We don't hesitate to complain when TV networks serve up unwelcome
helpings of sex and violence. Perhaps we should thank them when
they do well.
Williamson says that she writes from the heart and that she expects
her stories to draw a tear or two each week. She says that the crying
usually starts when one of the angels says, "God loves you."
Williamson receives many touching letters from viewers. This one
came from a prisoner in Nashville, Tennessee:
"I just wanted to let you know you have made a major impact
on those that watch from behind prison walls. Each Saturday evening
there comes a certain 'hush' in this room. Mostly, inmates are society's
rejects. Many go years and never hear an 'I love you.' But each
week, I've noticed your scripts always manage to include the message
that God loves each of us and we are important to Him. In an entire
lifetime of words, goals, and accomplishments, I'm not sure there's
any contribution more important. Thanks to people like you and the
messages of love, hope, and faith, there will never be enough darkness
to put out the light."
In prime-time TV as in life, it is better to light a candle than
to curse the darkness.
TV's Junk Food Junkies
The reason God on prime time is a big deal is that most TV has not
been friendly to Christian values for a long time. There is still
a lot of toxic TV.
Even the "family hour" is full of sexual innuendo and
adult themes. Sex is often casual, lying is merely a joke, and every
taboo is a target.
Of course, to make a story, you must have good guys, bad guys and
some conflict. No one would tune in to watch people "making
nice" every day. But is there a point to the conflict? Do we
see the devastation caused by murder, adultery and promiscuous sex?
If we do, perhaps we're just seeing the modern version of storytelling
that has been around from time immemorial, and there is nothing
to get excited about. But if not, then perhaps we are seeing the
values that define us undermined by the storytellers.
Blaming TV's writers and producers is too easy an out. We have to
look deeper. Nobody seems to want to say it, but the reason sleaze
and evil gets on the air is that a lot of us watch it. If the public
rejected programs that reject Christian values, such programs would
no longer exist. Our neighbors, friends, relatives and sometimes
we ourselves empower trash by buying it.
There is a reason TV programmers react cynically to calls for "quality
programming." The unfortunate track record is that when networks
stick their necks out and try to put something educational or family
oriented on the air, audiences often ignore it. As a "TV nation,"
we get pretty much what we deserve, and what we ask for.
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