NBC stirred controversy with the recent airing of the limited-run television series, “The Book of Daniel,” prior to the network’s airing this month of the 2006 Winter Olympics.
NBC described the series as a “provocative, edgy and compelling fictional drama about an Episcopalian priest’s family and the contemporary issues with which they must grapple.”
The show’s main characters included Daniel Webster, a drug-addicted Episcopal priest; his alcoholic wife; his son, a 23-year-old homosexual Republican; his daughter, a 16-year-old drug dealer; a 16-year-old adopted son who is having a promiscuous relationship with the bishop’s daughter; his lesbian secretary; and an unconventional white-robed, bearded Jesus, who talks to the priest.
The series was written by an openly gay man, Jack Kenny, who, in defining God, said, “I don’t necessarily know that all the myth surrounding him (Jesus) is true.”
Kenny defended the program.
“I (apparently naively) thought that this show would be embraced by most Christians. It’s ironic to me that the accusation has been that the show ‘demeans’ and ‘mocks’ Christianity when the intention was always the opposite: to treat the Christian beliefs of the Webster family as second nature. I’ve always longed for gay characters for whom sexual orientation was not the defining feature, but was simply...there. And that’s what I’ve tried to do with the Websters,” Kenny said.
Leading the effort to have NBC affiliates drop the series, and for advertisers to withdraw their sponsorship, was the American Family Association.
AFA Chairman Donald Wildmon denounced the show.
“The decision by NBC to air the series reflects the anti-Christian bias which exists at the highest levels of the network. Christian bashing is in style at NBC.”
Randy Sharp, director of special projects for the AFA, noted, “NBC lost a lot of money on this show that got a dismal Nielson rating. To mainstream corporate advertisers, this show clearly has leprosy written all over it.”
Several advertisers pulled their sponsorship of the program.
In response, Kevin Reilly, president of NBC Entertainment, called the advertising situation for the program, an “age-old issue.”
“We want to run contemporary programming, and we want to create the best possible environment for advertisers. Sometimes those two things don’t always go hand-in-hand. Sometimes, you have to experiment to find the right side of the line,” Reilly said.
Viewer complaints prompted a number of NBC affiliates to drop the series, including WSMV-TV in Nashville.
Station General Manager, Elden Hale, said, “Based on reviews of the first three episodes and the clearly voiced concerns from our viewers, we have determined that the program, ‘The Book of Daniel,’ is not appropriate for broadcast television in this community.”
“Daniel” was soundly criticized by a number of conservative organizations, including the Parents Television Council.
PTC Founder and President, Brent Bozell, said, “Just as the twelve days of Christmas were ending, as millions of Christians celebrated the sacred mysteries of the virgin birth of a messiah, NBC was preparing for the birth of an opposite kind: a new TV series mocking Jesus as just another amusingly clueless televised sidekick. It’s not that he’s unlikable. It’s just that he’s clearly not God. He tells Daniel he doesn’t know the future: ‘Hey, I’m not a fortune teller.’ As ‘entertainment’ emanates from the dens of ‘spirituality’ in hot-tub Hollywood, no one will be making that wacky dramedy about the Buddhists or the Muslims any time soon. Only that sickening apple-pie thing called Christianity gets singled out as a comedic PR stunt,” Bozell stated.
Likewise, Focus on the Family’s Bob Waliszewski found the series “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 sinful.” “Still, most egregious is its portrayal of Jesus. On Daniel, the Individual believed to be the Savior of the world by nearly a billion people around the globe is cast as a wimpy, white-robed visitor who cares little about evil, addictions and perversity. The Jesus of Daniel 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. While I recognize that there are members of the clergy who struggle with many of the issues personified by the Webster family, it is the show’s callous attitude toward all things Christian, especially the sardonic depiction of Jesus, that causes me the most concern,” Waliszewski said.
Don Swarthout, President of Christians Reviving America’s Values, called the show, the “most thinly veiled attack upon Christianity and all people of faith that has ever been put on a major network.” “This entire program is a disgrace to all of the decent people in America. How can anyone expect decent people to enjoy this so-called serious drama about a man who is the pastor of a church who lives his live with so much daily junk in his life? How can anyone expect a program written by a practicing homosexual, who does not even believe in the principles of Christianity, to be fair toward people of faith?” Swarthout asked.
Moral Majority Founder, Rev. Jerry Falwell, called the show a “typically skewed Hollywood presentation of people of faith.”
“I guess, since the networks long ago deemed that morality is an ever-changing mood, it was determined that Christian characters would also need to reflect a sense of moral imbalance and fundamental corruption. So, if Christians aren’t portrayed as complete lunatics, they are shown as being just as confused about life as network executives. These depictions of ‘Christians’ are wholly dishonest. I’m not saying that Hollywood needs to have Billy Graham or James Dobson starring in a new sitcom. But I do wish the movers and shakers in Tinsel Town would take a moment to consider how unfair this plot against Christians has become,” Falwell said.
The Episcopal Church itself has had little to say about “Daniel.” The church had no role in the program’s creation.
National church spokesman Bob Williams was quoted by Religion News Service as saying, “NBC’s new program is fictional drama. But, as a point of fact, the Episcopal Church is known for taking an open approach to life’s complexities.”
Some within the denomination believe that the series should be used as a vehicle to introduce people to the real church. Jim Naughton, who set up blogofdaniel.com for the Diocese of Washington, D.C., told RNS, “More people are talking about the Episcopal Church today than at any point since the consecration of (openly gay Bishop) Gene Robinson. If we don’t get involved and try to shape (the discussion) and let people know what we’re really like, we’re missing a tremendous opportunity.”
Bishop Dean Wolfe of the Diocese of Kansas, said, he trusts that “no one believes this could be real life in the Episcopal Church.”
“This series is intended as entertainment and not as a serious depiction of modern clergy life. However, as does all fiction, the show expresses truths Christians of all types will recognize. Clergy are real people who need to depend upon God and not their own piety or giftedness. The power of prayer is real. Jesus Christ is a present reality, and real life without God is extremely challenging. These realities are fairly portrayed, and I believe most people will be able to understand the difference between truth, and sensationalized fiction or farce,” Wolfe said.
The American Anglican Council, which is comprised of conservatives within the Episcopal Church, issued a scathing review of the show.
“It is a travesty with no redeeming qualities. It is an affront to biblically faithful Episcopalians and Anglicans who have been devastated by the Episcopal Church’s abandonment of the apostolic faith.
Tragically, it is not entirely inaccurate in its depiction of revisionist theology and doctrine adopted by a majority of Episcopal Church leadership. ‘The Book of Daniel’ does not represent the average Episcopal Church across the United States, but it hits close to home with regard to revisionism espoused by numerous bishops, clergy, dioceses and congregations. While it is highly unlikely that one would find almost every sin and perversion of truth imaginable lived out in a single family, as the show portrays, the program does offer an accurate representation of the downward spiral of the Episcopal Church over the last 30 years. The script even gives a wink and a nod to the ‘current crisis,’ with references to ‘a slap on the wrist from Canterbury’ and ‘an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire.’
Some Episcopal leaders simply turn a blind eye to behavior such as adulterous relationships, homosexuality and drug abuse, while others openly defend the ‘right’ to personal choices, and glorify ‘experience’ over Scripture, tradition and reason. The real question the show raises is, “Who would want to be part of a church that embraces such lifestyles, theology and doctrine?” the AAC asked.
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