Make Me a Christian

We've moved well beyond entertainment which pits Christians against lions. But the Britain's Channel 4 is looking to throw Christians and atheists together for a new "reality" TV show called "Make Me a Christian."

In this corner, we have (pictured above) the Rev. George Hargreaves, founder of Operation Christian Vote and the Christian Party (UK), a female Church of England vicar, an evangelical preacher, and a Catholic priest. In the opposite corner we have a less than random sampling of 13 non-Christians including a lesbian schoolteacher, an avowed atheist biker sporting requisite tattoos, a white Muslim convert, a womanizer, a couple pregnant out of wedlock, a couple of parents too busy for their kids, and a witch who lap dances for a living.

The goal is not to convert their hearts and minds to belief in Jesus Christ as savior and Lord. The objective is to get the group to act more Christian. So according to Channel 4's website,

The mentors visit the volunteers in their own homes, to get a picture of their lives and to give them guidance. The parents are asked to spend 15 minutes each day with their children. The lesbian is ordered to get rid of her explicit pictures and books. The young man and his pregnant girlfriend are given some instruction in the basics of Christianity. The lap-dancing manager is discovered to have more than a passing interest in witchcraft and magic - her books and ceremonial paraphernalia are taken away. The womanising 20-something is persuaded to agree not to 'look lustfully at a girl'.

David Waters writes,

I suppose we can't fault TV producers who are trying to make a buck for thinking that Christians are merely people who get straight A's in behavior, or that becoming a Christian means cleaning up your act in three weeks or less.

Even church leaders have a hard time deciding what it means to be a Christian. Some say you become a Christian in an emotional, born-again instant, others say that being a disciple of Christ is a lifelong process of spiritual discipline. Some say it's all about your own personal beliefs, others that it's all about doing for others.

I haven't seen the show and so I don't have a reasoned critique. But I can't imagine wasting my time watching it if it was broadcast here, not least because of the disconnect between reality and reality TV in which actions are not done in a vacuum, but knowingly played to the camera while we all pretend it's how they would act without the impending TV show. That's without bringing up the reality show techniques that ensure the drama needed to boost ratings. I don't blame TV producers for wanting ratings. I just wonder at labeling it "reality." It's like labeling Hostess Twinkies all natural because at some point in distant memory wheat and corn were involved in making the snack.

A show based on converting folks to Christianity may get some viewers, but is likely to fall short of the Rev. Hargreaves goal of starting a nationwide revival in Britain. Changing someone's outward actions to more closely conform to a biblical ideal without any real conversion means you want to change yourself in significant ways without asking for the help of the Holy Spirit. It's a great way to make someone superficially more Christian for a time (while cameras are filming). But like a vaccination, it will likely only expose the participants to a weak strain of Christianity so that he or she never wants to look more closely at the faith again. It's a good thing Jesus was resurrected otherwise this show may well have him rolling in his grave.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor