In order to watch the internet replay I had to fire up my Windows PC, download Windows Media player 11, update it and then only in Internet Explorer could I watch the programme. I wish I hadn't been so persistent.
After less than two minutes I had to stop watching. It wasn't the portrayal of faith that bothered me, it was the faith that was being portrayed that bothered me. In the opening few minutes I saw a version of Christianity that worried and, if I'm honest, offended me. Is this kind of militancy a true reflection of Biblical faith? No wonder the scientific community think we hate them, no wonder the gay community think we hate them. In those two minutes I heard no mention of grace no sense of sharing the pain of a broken world, no attempt to engage in dialogue. All I heard was judgement and condemnation.
This is not the faith I share. This is not the faith I want to share.
It's sad to think that some evangelicals are rejecting the label "evangelical" in favour of "red letter Christian". If the kind of militant, venomous expression of evangelical faith I saw in those two minutes of TV is going to become the only expression of evangelicalism that society sees, then I guess I too will need to find another label to describe myself.
Whilst I recognise that Channel 4's documentary, as do many documentaries, focused on the sensational, I do get the uneasy sense that it points to an underlying mood swing in some sections of the church which not only offends ordinary people in the streets, but actually contributes to alienating them from the God who loves them.
If Jesus came to save the world rather than condemn it, how come some of his followers only appear to use the vocabulary of condemnation?
2 comments:
I haven't watched the BBC much, but it seems like they are not balanced, but rather, cherry picking from extreme edges. Your take?
Hi Scott,
Just to clarify, the documentary in question was not a BBC programme but Channel 4, one of the commercial broadcasters in the UK that provides terrestrial TV as well as cable and satellite stations.
Sadly most of the documentaries produced these days seem to focus on the sensational rather than trying to present a balanced point-of-view. Perhaps balance no longer makes "good television".
I also wonder if programme makers really know what to do when they encounter faith in any form. It rarely fits the received wisdom of our culture, and it has to be said that the church is best known for what it is against rather than for those things for which it stands. It's not surprising then that the documentary makers look to the extremes to make their case for the dangers of religious belief.
I wonder if either the BBC or Channel 4 would be interested in a documentary about grace?
Post a Comment