Letters to the Editor
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A dose of reality from another 'real life preacher'
Although "The Book of Daniel" contained some pretty cliche' characters and plot directions- it did succeed in sending one message to the many Christians who avoided the boycott and watched on Friday night regardless: Clergy are people too- and romanticizing their existence or placing unreal expectations upon their lives (see "Seventh Heaven") full of sugar-coated wholesome goodness is simply ignorant.
Whereas that other show about a clergy family found on the WB serves as a soothing balm to the wounds within the church, "The Book of Daniel" rips off the band-aid and exposes the churches' problems to the rest of the world. Is this good? That's for each Christian church to decide for themselves- but pretending these problems don't exist within our given institutions embodies the very hypocrisy that so many non-Christians trumpet day after day.
If any good can come from this program, it will be that the most balanced and 'normal' character on the show seems in fact to be the gay son. I'm hopeful that the plot for his character will direct him towards seminary and the problems that even progressive churches like the ECUSA have with gay people. Then the show will in theory create an actual positive change within these institutions, intended or not by NBC.