The Blog of Daniel and Why Love is a Scary Thing for the AFA
Sue just passed on the news (which she found over at BuzzMachine) that the Episcopal Diocese of D.C. has started The Blog of Daniel. From The Blog of Daniel’s first post:
The Book of Daniel, a new television series, debuts Friday, January 6 on NBC. The main character is an Episcopal priest played by Aidan Quinn. The Rev. Daniel Webster has an addiction to painkillers, a fractious family and a deep, if sometimes difficult, relationship with a Jesus who actually shows up to chat from time to time. Will the new show–scheduled for eight episodes this season–capture the reality of contemporary Episcopal life? Will it be good for the Church or bad? The Episcopal Diocese of Washington offers this blog as a place to discuss these and other issues raised by the show. We welcome you to this blog.
It will be interesting to follow this blog throughout the first season of “The Book of Daniel” – if the show isn’t horrible, that is.
BuzzMachine also links back to Radosh.net, where Danial Radosh points out exactly why a religious family who loves their gay son is scary scary stuff:
I have no intention of actually watching the show, which looks idiotic (though I did love Jesus when he played two different crazy dudes on Deadwood), but I kind of hope people do so that they can see that there is a religious left out there — or at the very least, a religion which embraces gay folks. Again, exposure to that truth will make it harder for groups like the AFA to pass off gay-bashing as “Christian values.”
So – I watched about half of the show and wandered off. It appears that it is aiming to be NBC’s entree into Desperate Housewife territory and it will probably find an audience as the show evens out a bit. The plot seems to have as many romps/improbable situations, at any rate.
They handled the gay son well in the small section I saw. I have high hopes that NBC will continue to support this show. I think it’s important to showcase a tradition of faith that is inclusive and tolerant – not all Christians are fundamentalists or evangelicals. Although there were some odd quirks to how they presented the Episcopal Church, it certainly came across as a loving and supportive Christian organization.
Half the show? You missed the lesbian character!
The show didn’t hold my attention all the way through, but I, of course, didn’t see what the big deal about it was and why anyone who it offended couldn’t just choose not to watch.
A quote from Cathy at Domestic Psychology was included in a post “TN blogs on the airing of ‘Daniel'” at KnoxNews:
Thank you for deciding against censorship of “The Book of Daniel”. Thank you for treating Knoxvillians like intelligent adults. Every television is equipped with an off button. Allowing us to make our own decisions what we do and don’t watch is the right choice.