Christians in the Culture

Here’s a little quiz for you. Who do you think might have said this:

Any guesses?

Maybe Michael Landon said it, speaking of his warm and fuzzy, family-friendly TV shows.

Maybe Tim Tebow said it, wanting to explain why he Tebows on TV.

What’s your guess? Which TV show that speaks to young people would get your vote as being the one that takes seriously its responsibility to make the world a better place?

Jonathan Chait tells us, in an article in the New Yorker, that  the person who is taking seriously his responsibility to teach young people is Doug Herzog, president of MTV.

Here’s the paragraph that contains the material I quoted above:

The history of Hollywood is a long tug-of-war between artistic conscience and the bottom line. Louis Mayer, fearing the backlash from William Randolph Hearst, offered $850,000 to the producer of Citizen Kane to suppress the film and burn the negative. The show Thirtysomething endured a series of advertising boycotts. One scene, with two gay male characters in bed together, cost ABC $1 million in advertising; another, of them kissing, cost an additional half million. Network president Roger Iger cited his “social and creative responsibilities,” and the executive producer noted, “I am grateful that ABC was willing to air the program at a loss.” Even some of the cheesiest and most commercial ventures feel the pull of social conscience. “We’re talking to young people every day, and a lot of responsibility comes with that,” said Doug Herzog, president of MTV. “We believe that through the medium of television we try to make the world a slightly better place.”

I have some respect for a man who believes in his message so strongly, that he’s willing to lose a million dollars in order to get it out. And it worked. He, and others like him, have done a great job of convincing the world that the homosexual lifestyle is normal.

What about Christians?

Are we willing to spend money promoting our message? Sure we are. The Christians I know are the most loving and generous people around. They believe they have a message that saves lives and they are willing to spend on missions.

Then why doesn’t the world think Christians are great the way it thinks the homosexuals are great?  

For one thing, our message is, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” and that’s not what the world wants to hear. Repenting doesn’t sound like a lot of fun. It brings to mind, struggle and pain and a need to put sinful desires to death.

We can’t do much about that problem. The message is what it is.

Another problem might be that we’ve treated this country as a rebellious Christian nation, instead of as a foreign nation needing to be evangelized.

The Moral Majority sounded more like Old Testament prophets calling down fire from heaven upon the prophets of Baal, and less like Paul who became all things to all people so that by all means he might save some. And as it turns out some members of Moral Majority weren’t all that moral and they’re no longer the majority. Oops.

Chait wonders why the Conservative Right gave up the fight to make Hollywood clean up, but I’m not sure the conservative right should have ever fought to clean up Hollywood to begin with.

What if conservatives moved into Hollywood to live? Maybe Christian readers and movie-goers could look at Christian writers the way they look at missionaries. What if we allowed Christian writers to follow in Hudson Taylor’s footsteps and dress their novels and scripts to look like Hollywood movies? 

I believe Hudson Taylor was criticized in his day for dressing like a Chinese man, but now, most missionaries do what they can to adapt to the native culture. How can Christian writers adapt to the culture without compromising their faith and witness?

Taking a jab at impotent conservatives, Chait says, "What passes for a right-wing movie these days is Dark Knight Rises, which submits the rather modest premise that, irritating though the rich may be, actually killing them and taking all their stuff might be excessive." Very funny line. What about the Christian message, though? Secretariat had a modest Christian message: God created horses. Can we do more?

What is the Christian version of two gay men in bed?

Any ideas?

Hat tip to Justin Taylor via Rebecca LuElla Miller, for links to Chait's article.

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Sally Apokedak is the editor of the Best Books for Young Readers newsletter. Subscribe for a chance to win a Kindle Fire or a Google Nexus. Winner's choice, and it will arrive in time for Christmas.