The Simpsons Character, Ned Flanders

Is it really reasonable to judge a show that's been on for more than ten years based on 2-3 minutes of a show that you've never see and don't know the context of that show?

 

The answer, of course, is that it is unreasonable. The three minutes you saw may not have put God in a positive light, but several other scenes and episodes (far outnumbering the bad) glorify God and the role Christianity has on society and the family.

And the Simpsons is supposed to be funny, not a theology lesson. If I want something that will always glorify God, then I'll read His word, the bible. If I want something to make me laugh, I'll watch the Simpsons. The excellent overall characterization of religion in the show is merely a pleasant side effect.

 

Well fellas, I am not going to try and argue about a television show with the experts. The mockery of my Lord in that 2-3 minutes was enough.

Enjoy your Simpsonology.

Best wishes.

 

I wasn't trying to run you off. If you have something to say, don't be shy about saying it. All I was suggesting was that in a show that's lasted for more than 14 years (I originally said "more than ten years" but was soundly corrected), there might be something to the show that you might not see in a mere three minute viewing, especially since there are a couple of episodes that deal with Hell in one way or another. I think the episode you're describing is either one of the Halloween shows or the one where Homer steals cable TV.

In the first case, I don't really know that that's a fair representation of the show, since Halloween shows are usually fantasy and tend to be very surreal.

In the second, if all you saw was Homer going to Hell, then you missed the first twenty minutes of the show, which dealt with morality and religion and how God figures into matters of morality.

It should also be noted that, when Homer does enter Hell, he does so happily at first, having made his choice. If you stayed to the end of the show, you know that he was tortured (we assume for eternity) by fire, as the Bible describes, and by the fact that, in Hell, all potato salad has chunks of pineapple in it.

You hear the agonized voices of those in Hell, so I don't think anyone can say that the show is suggesting that Homer made a good choice in choosing Hell.

One of my favorite episodes is "Pray Anything" where Homer is awarded the church property in an injury lawsuit. He tries to "reform" the church, ineffect starting his own pagan religion, even mimicking the Israelites' golden calf.

When all Hell breaks loose (literally!), it's up to Rev Lovejoy to reintroduce Christianity to the congregation.

Not only does this episode not mock God, it's one of the strongest commentaries around around the importance of religion, in this case Christianity and the moral confusion we fall into without God's guidance.

Don't get me wrong, if you just don't like the show, that's fine and I'm not trying to convince you to watch it. I'm just saying that the show isn't so shallow that you can make a proper judgement based on seeing a three minute clip.

Not only is this show anything but "anti-Christian", I don't know of another show that works so hard to illustrate Judeo-Christian values.

 

I think the illustration of hell where Homer is forced to eat doughnuts for eternity was very amusing - my all time favourite simpson moment has to be the halloween special where the family is beamed up by Kudos and Kang and the tracker beam is not strong enough to pull homer onto the ship - as an aside I can't remember the name of the b-movie that the plot is based on - anyone here know?

 

Like a lot of other Halloween specials, that was based on an old Twilight Zone episode, but I can't remember the name of that episode

 

That's one of my favorite moments too.

 

Just saw the "Pray Anything" episode again.

This episode should be shown in every church in America and required viewing for American Christians.

 

Oh dear. I watch Simpsons a little too much. I say "okely-dokely" all the time. People have chuckled and I didn't realize where I'd gotten it.

Kim