"You're by far the worst poster on TWeb" and "TWeb's biggest liar" --starlight (the guy who says Stalin was a right-winger)
"Overall I would rate the withdrawal from Afghanistan as by far the best thing Biden's done" --Starlight
"Of course, human life begins at fertilization that’s not the argument." --Tassman
Good show based on a popular 90s comic series, but I think it's interesting (though not surprising) how many fantasy TV shows taking pot-shots at orthodox Christianity are on air right now. It's always been popular to do so, but I don't remember seeing so many shows with that as a main premise as I have lately. Just off the top of my head,
Preacher
American Gods
Lucifer
Outcast
The Leftovers
The Exorcist
People are absolutely fascinated with Christianity, but only so long as good is called evil, and evil is called good. God is always evil or incompetent (or simply missing), and Satan is charming, and not so bad a guy afterall. It'd be nice if there was something at the level of these shows in terms of writing and creativity, but pro-Christ. I imagine Satan wouldn't let that happen without one hell of a fight though.
Good show based on a popular 90s comic series, but I think it's interesting (though not surprising) how many fantasy TV shows taking pot-shots at orthodox Christianity are on air right now. It's always been popular to do so, but I don't remember seeing so many shows with that as a main premise as I have lately. Just off the top of my head,
Preacher
American Gods
Lucifer
Outcast
The Leftovers
The Exorcist
People are absolutely fascinated with Christianity, but only so long as good is called evil, and evil is called good. God is always evil or incompetent (or simply missing), and Satan is charming, and not so bad a guy afterall. It'd be nice if there was something at the level of these shows in terms of writing and creativity, but pro-Christ. I imagine Satan wouldn't let that happen without one hell of a fight though.
Supernatural
That's what
- She
Without a clear-cut definition of sin, morality becomes a mere argument over the best way to train animals
- Manya the Holy Szin (The Quintara Marathon)
I may not be as old as dirt, but me and dirt are starting to have an awful lot in common
- Stephen R. Donaldson
The missing/uncaring God seems to be a relatively common theme. Another example is the Legion movies and short-lived TV series
I'm always still in trouble again
"You're by far the worst poster on TWeb" and "TWeb's biggest liar" --starlight (the guy who says Stalin was a right-winger)
"Overall I would rate the withdrawal from Afghanistan as by far the best thing Biden's done" --Starlight
"Of course, human life begins at fertilization that’s not the argument." --Tassman
Then again, if divine intervention from a benevolent God were an option, where would the story be? Do you really expect show producers to put enough thought into giving good reasons for God to not instantly solve the problem of the episode(e.g. character growth, the characters need to do it themselves, no need to intervene due to the characters being capable enough to solve the problem, stick to problems at a real word level of danger)? Especially since the threats might be world threatening.
If it weren't for the Resurrection of Jesus, we'd all be in DEEP TROUBLE!
The missing/uncaring God seems to be a relatively common theme. Another example is the Legion movies and short-lived TV series
Before that, of course, was The Prophecy movie series, and a dozen other movies and tv shows that also work on the same premise of angels=bad, demons=good. You'd think after all of these decades with the same trope, creative types would eventually do something different, but flipping the Biblical mythos on its head, painting Christians as dumb and/or villainous, and then slapping on some sort of Gnostic subtext is apparently still considered creative and radical. Of course, as I mention above, that's little surprise seeing as the adversary is pulling the strings. Poisoning the hearts and minds of people against God, his kingdom, and his people is part of this spiritual battle.
Then again, if divine intervention from a benevolent God were an option, where would the story be? Do you really expect show producers to put enough thought into giving good reasons for God to not instantly solve the problem of the episode(e.g. character growth, the characters need to do it themselves, no need to intervene due to the characters being capable enough to solve the problem, stick to problems at a real word level of danger)? Especially since the threats might be world threatening.
You mean like Highway To Heaven, Quantum Leap, and Touched by an Angel? The premise of divine intervention has been positively displayed in shows before, it's just it's always been saccharine sweet stuff that my mom and my grandmother would watch, not me (not to mention they never mention Jesus). A TV series that deals with spiritual warfare could make for an excellent series. While God's kingdom has indeed come, we will still deal with antichrists in the flesh, and with principalities, powers, and rulers of darkness in both the flesh and in the spiritual realm til Christ's return. That could make for some fascinating entertainment, as well as a wake up call about what's really going on in the world. What makes shows like American Gods, The Exorcist, Leftovers, Outcast, and yes, even Preacher so compelling (at least initially) is that there are elements of truth sprinkled in them. American Gods highlights that there is, in fact, spiritual principalities that have lost their place, and that there is a struggle in the spiritual realm between the forces of good and evil. The Exorcist and Outcast highlight that, yes, demons can oppress and possess people, and that we have power through Christ Jesus to cast them out. Likewise, Preacher highlights that we, as believers, all have the Holy Spirit in us, that prayer is powerful, and that those who believe in Christ Jesus can do all the things he did on earth, and greater. They've just taken these premises and twisted them. Be nice if we could have some shows of high caliber that told it as it is.
Good show based on a popular 90s comic series, but I think it's interesting (though not surprising) how many fantasy TV shows taking pot-shots at orthodox Christianity are on air right now. It's always been popular to do so, but I don't remember seeing so many shows with that as a main premise as I have lately. Just off the top of my head,
Preacher
American Gods
Lucifer
Outcast
The Leftovers
The Exorcist
People are absolutely fascinated with Christianity, but only so long as good is called evil, and evil is called good. God is always evil or incompetent (or simply missing), and Satan is charming, and not so bad a guy afterall. It'd be nice if there was something at the level of these shows in terms of writing and creativity, but pro-Christ. I imagine Satan wouldn't let that happen without one hell of a fight though.
The missing/uncaring God seems to be a relatively common theme. Another example is the Legion movies and short-lived TV series
I was disappointed to see that get cancelled so quickly.
I'm curious to see whether the TV version of "The Strain" gets around to bringing in the supernatural / angelic aspect of the print version. The final season is about to start, and there have been only the vaguest hints of that.
Before that, of course, was The Prophecy movie series, and a dozen other movies and tv shows that also work on the same premise of angels=bad, demons=good.
The Prophecy series and the Legion / Dominion series were more complicated than that. "Lucifer" (who only ever existed in KJV-dom anyway) was "bad," demons were bad, angels could fall into either category. In the Prophecy series, Lucifer helped the "good guys," but was clearly evil and had evil ultimate goals.
You'd think after all of these decades with the same trope, creative types would eventually do something different, but flipping the Biblical mythos on its head, painting Christians as dumb and/or villainous, and then slapping on some sort of Gnostic subtext is apparently still considered creative and radical. Of course, as I mention above, that's little surprise seeing as the adversary is pulling the strings. Poisoning the hearts and minds of people against God, his kingdom, and his people is part of this spiritual battle.
It's all the more subtle because a lot of them don't really paint satan as "good," just as not much worse than a lot of the angels.
But yeah, even someone like me (If it's not on Netflix or doesn't show up on DVD, I don't watch it) has vaguely noticed the trend of, "Anti-Religious," fantasy shows over the last bit as well. I like to think it'll inevitably implode on itself from oversaturation and Taking Itself Too Seriously(TM), but hey... we can dream, can't we? Heck, it'd be fun to see a show that satirically turns the premise on it's head, where the Protagonist is fighting against God... except God isn't actually the raging colostomy bag that the protagonist thinks He is.
I also imagine that a show with Pro-Christian themes (even the aforementioned satire) would get written off as, "Preachy," whilst conveniently overlooking the fact that- in all reality- everyone's trying to get a message across (be it, "I had a crap day, I'm mad," or "Jesus is awesome," or even, "THE MEANS OF PRODUCTION MUST BE SEIZED, COMRADE!").
But yeah, even someone like me (If it's not on Netflix or doesn't show up on DVD, I don't watch it) has vaguely noticed the trend of, "Anti-Religious," fantasy shows over the last bit as well. I like to think it'll inevitably implode on itself from oversaturation and Taking Itself Too Seriously(TM), but hey... we can dream, can't we? Heck, it'd be fun to see a show that satirically turns the premise on it's head, where the Protagonist is fighting against God... except God isn't actually the raging colostomy bag that the protagonist thinks He is.
I also imagine that a show with Pro-Christian themes (even the aforementioned satire) would get written off as, "Preachy," whilst conveniently overlooking the fact that- in all reality- everyone's trying to get a message across (be it, "I had a crap day, I'm mad," or "Jesus is awesome," or even, "THE MEANS OF PRODUCTION MUST BE SEIZED, COMRADE!").
The idea of having a guy try to fight God and fail is a great premise. Heck it is the premise of paradise lost. Honestly I think christians are scared of making art. We think it won't be good.
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