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Christianity Today, April (Web-only), 2008 |

Theology in the News

Channel Surfing for Common Grace

How reality TV broadcasts echoes of the gospel.

Collin Hansen | posted 4/04/2008 09:45AM

Like it or not, reality TV is here to stay. That much became clear when television studios weathered the recent strike by Hollywood writers. Reality TV is cheap, and the ratings are strong. This bottom ...

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Jack	Posted: April 14, 2008 3:46 PM

"These refreshing acts of selfless community spirit encourage the audience. This is how we want to see the body of Christ work together toward a shared goal of serving the common good." Yes, I agree that these acts of kindness towards hurting strangers ought to serve as modern parables for the Church of Christ. There is much to learn from here, including unity and diversity within the body. But to say that these examples of self-sacrifice echoes the gospel is a long stretch. The gospel is about God sending Jesus Christ, His Son, to die on the cross for our sins thereby paying a debt that none of us could ever pay. Through Christ's substitutionary death all sinners who place their trust in Him escape the wrath of a righteous God and avoid the just punishment which is meant for them. The fact is we are sinners in need of a solution for the problem we face. It's not that we face an outer problem with an inner solution but we face an inner problem with an outer solution: Jesus Christ.

E. Adesina

Posted: April 11, 2008 9:49 AM

I particularly like the way the article compared both the similarities and differences between Reality Shows-highlighting Extreme Makeover: Home Edition- and the Christian Gospel. In the Bible (Ecclesiastes to be specific) we learn that nothing is new. On the other hand when you experience spiritual awakening as you do in being born again or the physical analogy of receiving a new home, the joy and thrill is irrespective of whether your experience is a new one or not.

Margaret Nahmias

Posted: April 10, 2008 3:27 PM

I disagree with you Phil Apperances do matter in the professional world. Would you dress like a slob on the job,even if the dress code was casual? It is What concerns me even more is how TV protray sex. Sex is often seen as sign of maturity and creatvity when maturity is required to make wise desicions concerening sex. It is almost too easy to show someone getting hot and heavy, rather than focus on character development Never mind the graphic stuff.

Ralph

Posted: April 10, 2008 1:24 PM

I agree with the author's views on these make-over and "reality" shows on TV. Without the billions spent in advertisiing, these shows would rarely be produced or shown. Also, many of the reality type shows are set up so that the people being filmed are tempted and degraded and humiliated into doing things that they woud not usually do. Many of them seem to be milder versions of mtv's jackass, which was the beginning of this horrible trend. I cannot imagine Jesus Christ doing anything like this. I am glad that this article points out clearly the traps and reversed Christian values behind the makeover shows, and I think it could be very useful to many Christians who watch tv. God bless you.

rimerague

Posted: April 09, 2008 10:54 AM

I'm not so sure that "If you look inside yourself, you will find a unique inner beauty waiting to burst onto the world scene." is a redemptive message that in any way reflects the gospel. Nor does Extreme Makeover: Home Edition emphasize the showering of "undeserved riches". The gospel is the good news that despite all we are a merciful God has come to rescue us from ourselves, sin, death and the oppressive rule of satan and the powers and principalities. We now have a just, righteous, and loving One ruling the world and the cosmos and we can find true life under that rule. We are transformed, not by having something blossom that is already within us, but by the Creator God working His good and perfect will into our being and raising us to new life. Home Edition always emphasizes the deserved-ness of the people whose homes they build, though they give them more than they could imagine. You don't see them building homes for the homeless who have no resources to give to begin with.

Phil	Posted: April 09, 2008 8:33 AM

Concern over what people wear or how fancy a house they live in, is almost exactly the opposite of what Jesus says in the gospels. Even a casual reading of the words of Jesus show that He is far more concerned with the condition of our souls than with what we wear or where we live. Shows that promote the idea of making over our exterior appearance, feed a world view that these things are important. They are not.

Justme

Posted: April 09, 2008 5:44 AM

We, as a family started to watch Extreme Makeover Home simply because my kids had a heart for the poor and we wanted to show them how many different types of "needs" there are. At the end of each show we talk about it, we talk about how grateful we are with what we have, and while the houses built are much bigger and nicer than ours, at least our starting point is better than what these people had. I think it is all in perspective....it can be a learning tool and foster thankfulness or it can be a "I want, I want" kind of thing. For us, it's been a learning tool and makes us want to get out and help people in any way we can.

Kathy

Posted: April 08, 2008 7:36 PM

I work for a company that is has supplied products for Extreme Makeover Home and I have had the honor of having a product I paint on the show. While we get some of the story and I can say our staff has cried over most of them. There for me was a deep feeling when I painted for the show as I knew I was giving someone something that no one else could. I was very humbled by the experience and felt a sense of accomplishment, I know it was not my talent that produced the finished product but God's and his strength and love with every stroke of the brush. Do you or people who know me know what or who? No, and that is not mine to tell. God gives me great strengths everyday and but by his grace and blessings I am not one that is on the receiving end of the show.

Anonymous

Posted: April 08, 2008 6:29 PM


Hey LastDazeMan - Dem are all lies you be watchin' on Law and (dis)Order....tune into the Good Book and get the Truth.....the word is alive...you must be kinda dead???

Anne	Posted: April 08, 2008 5:44 PM

I don't watch a lot of reality television. When I see someone who claims to be a Christian. They usually do things that would not make Jesus very happy. Stephen Baldwin, for instance, on Celebrity Apprentice. Stephen went along with whatever underhanded thing that Piers Morgan wanted to try. He only complained when he was in the boardroom with Donald Trump. If you are a Christian, you have to walk to walk live your life as Jesus would want you to. Very little that people do on Reality television would qualify.

LastDazeMan

Posted: April 04, 2008 3:40 PM


They keep coming out with new episodes of Law and Order, etc. The Bible's story has never changed. Come out with new stories in the Bible and maybe I would spend more time reading the Bible than watching TV.

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