I guess the biggest problem that the Christians have with The Book of Daniel is that the Jesus portrayed here makes no judgment call on any of Daniel and his families sins, for a lack of a better word. This Jesus says nothing to Daniel about his pill popping habit, except "I thought you were cutting back." He says nothing about the gay son, the drug selling daughter or the hot to trot son who thinks with his dick. And not a peep about Mom’s need to have a martini at the drop of the hat.
But, that, is not what I would expect of Jesus, to be honest with you all. Sure, maybe a nudge here, a sly comment maybe, but Jesus - I’m assuming - is not going to judge me. That is -if there is something beyond this mortal coil - God’s territory.
I want to believe that there is something beyond this human existence. I remember back at the turn of the millennium, when a science guy was explaining in the grand scheme of the Earth’s existence, humans are a minor blimp on its course through the cosmos. It got me to thinking -and still does 6 years later - that I hope there is something - a heaven or a paradise - beyond here, and not like my brother who thinks this is it; that once you die, you become worm food. While there is some logical thought to it, that we are only here a short time and our only goal should be to reproduce and die out, like any other species on Earth.
However, through religion, we are told that there is a purpose for our existence, even beyond reproducing. Which is the heart of their argument about gays. Most gay men and women will not reproduce, which is an apparent sin in their eyes, vis through God. And their belief -and something they must cling to despite scientific evidence that supports it - that we gay people choose this "lifestyle."
The brain is a complex machine, and it will be decades or more before humans will fully map it, and in the end, it could still remain a mystery. This is not a liberal thought that persuades me that I did not choose this life. I know this is who I am. God, in His infinite wisdom, made me this way. How do I know? I don’t know, it’s just something that I feel with in every fiber of my being. It’s not like I convinced myself that this who I should be. My brain responds in a different way when dealing with men and females. Sure, I can appreciate the beauty of a woman, but they certainly don’t crank the engine.
Since they don’t, for some religious leaders, it is the evidence that I am sick, depraved, and given into the flesh. It’s like a Christian reviewer by the name of Jeffrey Oversteet gave his opinion on Brokeback Mountain on his site called closer look. Basically, while he liked the film from its technical style, his views on the subject matter became a cold, and calculated dissertation on sin.
"Brokeback Mountain" he writes, "is a film in which all kinds of people engage in all manner of wrongdoing. Yes, there are two men who hastily plunge into an intimate sexual bond, and as a result, their relationship narrows to become an unhealthy sexual obsession rather than a flourishing friendship and love — they become enslaved to their lust, and it disrupts the rest of their lives."
Which is true, from a perspective. And while even I can accept that - as he says in his personal beliefs -that "there is meaning in design, and that men and women were designed for each other in quite obvious ways, that the union of two fundamentally different sexes is the fulfillment of a purpose, and that the union of man and woman often bears fruit is a sign of that blessing."
I also -in my personal beliefs - that there is a randomness in everything and gay people are part of that randomness. That not everything is what its suppose to be. Humans are flawed creatures, and we do make choices that are not healthy for us. But while it would be nice to have a chorus of people to bounce issues of every time we need to make even a minor decision, we generally go with our first thoughts. Sometimes it works, other times it fails.
Of course, in the context of the film Brokeback Mountain, its time setting prevented these men from having a healthy life. They created a duplicitous world which is wrong. They ended up hurting themselves and their loved ones. But, again, the 60s was still a difficult time to be gay and as history has proven, it is thousands times more difficult in small towns and where religious activity drives people further into their own personal Hells.
Today, despite what religious leaders will lay claim to, being gay is more easy. Still, we have seen that these "leaders" can cause problems.
Such as Rev. Donald Wildmon, who is the chairman of the American Family Association. He did not sit through an episode of The Book of Daniel. Instead, just based on the promotional material and articles in trade magazines, he passed judgment on this show. It was attacking Christianity, and that would portray Jesus in "very unconventional"
But what I saw, while not Eric Camden of 7th Heaven, was a person caught up in all sorts of "TV problems." No family has this much going on, but that is what drama is all about. Most of 7th Heavens drama came from their kids - and outsiders - mistakes. Eric and his wife were -unlike a lot of parents I’ve known - so good and perfect. I posted earlier that the biggest problem with shows like 7th Heaven (and others like Highway to Heaven and Touched By an Angel) was that their stories became simplistic and were generally resolved by the end of the hour. It was as if they knew their metaphor was too complex, so they had to quickly resolve it, loess the viewing audience begins to think.
The Book of Daniel is not perfect, as I see no reason to continue to bring up Adam being Asian. Yeah, I understand that some exposition is needed in the pilot of a show, but I felt it was unnecessary, along with the mentioning he was adopted. It was obvious.
Is the show stereotypical? Yes, by goodness. Does that make it bad? No. I think all people have to realize that when the bright light of day is shown in all our hidden corners, we have things people don’t want to see. I can believe that there could be a pill popping priest out there, as much as I can accept that there could be a mother so overwhelmed by grief over the death of a son from leukemia that she needs a few dink to get through the day.
Still, while I guess its possible, I did find the female bishop, Beatrice Congreve (played by the impeccable Ellen Burysten) and the father of Daniel (Bishop Bertrum) a bit hypocritical -especially after the dinner sequence when the grandfather was quizzing Peter (the gay son) on why he was not seeing girls. I mean hey, his wife may have Alzheimer, but sleeping around with another women will seem just as bad as Peter being gay (at least in the context of Bible).
The other thing that bothered me was Grace’s passion for manga. I see no real good reason for her to do what she did, as having the talent to draw should not be considered a sin. Sure, historically, artists have always had a burden of no one understanding their passion. But as accepting as the family is of so many things -like no one realizes that Daniel is addicted to Vicodin or that nobody -including the maid - sees that Judith drinks too much, the gay son -that they would have problems with Grace drawing manga seems stupid.
And I won’t even touch the Catholic priest and the mob connection. Jebus, as Homer Simpson would say.
Still, we are a society divided not by important issues like food, environment, taxes, homelessness, health care and what not. No, what drives this United States is sexuality and abortion. Two important issues, in some respects, but ones that do not deserve the huge pie of problems we have.
Ronald Reagan helped dumb down America in the 80s with his blending of fact and fiction (and author Richard Reeves notes in his new biography of Reagan, that the former president "believed that a story repeated five times became truth", a dangerous idea that we still live with today). Religious leaders continue to do this today, going after "regular" Americans, as they call them, using fear, hatred and intimidation to accomplish goals that are in no way Christian. Entertainers like Pat Robertson and FOX News are shock jocks, just another form of Howard Stern they attack due to his ability to talk to people in a clear, no bullshit sort of way.
Wildmon attacked Daniel before he saw it, which just lessens my opinion of him. How many times have we been told not to judge things, people, until we "walk a mile in their shoes?" Sure, now that the show has aired, I expect him to condemn it even more.
But at least his opinion will mean something now.
The Book of Daniel does have flaws, but it also tries to show a more realistic look at a family. As I said, no family is that dysfunctional, but it also not far out of being impossible, either. TV is a great medium to explore these possible family situations. If they were perfect or if they resolved every thing in an hour, it does betray the non-fantasy aspect of the show.
To a certain point, I will try to ignore the more stereotypical aspects of the show, but underling the whole concept is that this is all a possibility. If life was like 7th Heaven, while that would be nice and all, it would also be boring.
Someday, I will talk about my sister-in-law. She is a sweet girl, but who was brought up so sheltered from the real world, that she sees everything in absolutes; all black and white. Even my dad, who was a hairs breath from becoming a priest, disagrees with her "moral" compass.
It will be a hoot.
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