Friday, October 10

What would you know about God if your only source of information were US television?

Beliefnet has a great article about the "God block" that is on US TV this season:

What would you know about God if your only source of information were US television?

It's a question worth asking this year, with no fewer than four new shows with theological implications. This week CBS takes its second shot at portraying God in three years with its heavily promoted "Joan of Arcadia," and next month Fox will introduce "Tru Calling" and "Wonderfalls." "Carnivale," on HBO, is the Almighty's cable debut.

I've watched Joan - and she is fairly ooze-y, pretty emerging and definitely grappling with the Divine Mystery. Two quotes that Barbara Hall (joan's creator) makes really grabbed me:

Who does TV cast as God?
I don't have time to watch a lot of television—it's the dilemma of the television writer. But my understanding is that God is the fixer. He loves us a lot and fixes everything. I don't see God as the fixer. We're not doing that. God works through people. He can guide. He gives Joan information.

What's your hope for "Joan"?
My purpose is to start the discussion. I have nothing to teach or preach because I don't know. It's a huge part of my spiritual practice that God is a mystery, and there's no way I'm going to break that down. What I wanted was to create a show that would get people talking about the kind of things we're talking about. I have a feeling that people want to talk about these things. People don't have a form in which to talk about them.

How do we live out a church that provides people a forum to talk about a God that is working thru each of us ? Funny that a broadcast TV showwould aspire to that.

posted by lisa | 4:49 PM | |