A Priest And A Rabbi Walk In A Bar...

I'm really not sure why we're not able to laugh about religion.

Sure, it's based of very personal beliefs we hold that affect our eternal salvation. But, if mankind is able to kill in the name of religion, certainly we can all laugh about it, as well.

Today I got all caught up on The Book of Daniel. One thing for sure: if there's a movie, book, tv show, or anything else calling to be banned or boycotted, I want to see it for myself.

But before we go any further, let's define our terms. People of faith who are calling for other religious people everywhere to avoid this show are not guilty of censorship. Only the government can censor. This is simply a group of narrow-minded people organizing other narrow-minded people to take part in an action against an issue they perceive to be unfair and unjust.

What certain NBC affiliates are doing is making a business decision based on attracting the largest viewing audience available while not losing their lucrative advertising contracts. Sorry, no First Amendment violation there.

In case you're not familiar with the show, there may be something to the protestors' argument. The show features a Vicodin-popping Episcopalian priest married to a martini-downing trophy wife; they are parents to a gay son, a drug-selling daughter, and another sex-craved adopted son; the wife's sister is a lesbian whose ex-husband stole several million dollars from the church funds and skipped town; the priest's father (a bishop, nonetheless) is having an affair with his son's boss to cure his loneliness caused by his wife's Alzheimer's. Oh, and the only way for the priest to get the church's stolen money back is to allow a Mob-owned construction company to get a building contract for the church's new school. Last is The Savior, Himself. He's more a New Testament God than Old; in other words, He is mercy first, repentance second, generally turning his head to sin but overly concerned with tailgating.

So, yes, the show has been over-dramatized for effect. Or as I call it, fiction.

To be sure, there is a lot of inferior programming on prime time tv; to make matters worse, these shows are re-run quite often. Most are lacking in creativity, script, acting skill, and plot. But Book of Daniel is not one of them. In fact, all of the elements necessary for quality programming are present.

The only problem is a contoversial subject matter.

So, if you don't like the show, find something else to watch Friday night. Just don't demand that I do the same.