wfn.org | [UCC NEWS] UCC LEADER SAYS

[guessb@ucc.org]

United Church of Christ
United Church News
The Rev. J. Bennett Guess, news director
216/736-2177
<newsroom@ucc.org>
<news.ucc.org>

For immediate release
January 10, 2006

UCC LEADER SAYS 'BOOK OF DANIEL' HOOPLA UNDERSCORES HOW 'RELEVANT RELIGION'
IS TWISTED AS 'CONTROVERSY'

While far from conventional, NBC's controversial religion-themed series,
"The Book of Daniel," displays the "power of grace to sustain imperfect
people striving to be faithful and always coming up short," says the Rev.
John H. Thomas of the United Church of Christ.

Thomas, general minister and president of the 1.3-million-member mainline
denomination, believes the mounting "controversy" surrounding the farcical
TV series is actually another clear sign of how mainstream culture,
including many religious institutions, "resists religion that is relevant."

"I've never met an Episcopal priest with the kind of family, or the amount
of money, Daniel has," Thomas told United Church News. "But I do know many
Christians, including many, if not most ministers, struggling with grief,
ambition, disappointment, guilt, doubt, temptation or even addictions in
their lives."

Thomas, who watched the somewhat-ludicrous series' premiere episode on
Jan.
6, said television is rarely the place where one finds "interpretations of
the faith cherished by Christians across the ages," but unconventional
storytelling ? such as the kind used by creators of "The Book of Daniel" ?
still can help viewers explore important theological themes.

"If you're looking for an experience of conventional religious orthodoxy,
you should probably join a congregation on Sunday morning reciting the
Apostles Creed rather than watching 'The Book of Daniel,'" Thomas said.
However, he insisted, orthodox Christianity is just as likely to be
perverted by "so-called media evangelists" as twisted by television
sitcoms.

"'The Book of Daniel' isn't conventional, but that may be an advantage
for
those who find simplistic solutions to life's hard questions shallow at
best," he said. "Based on the first episode, the underlying theme seems to
be the power of grace to sustain imperfect people striving to be faithful
and always coming up short."

According to Religion News Service, conservative Christian groups have
already mobilized to protest the show. The American Family Association's
website is coordinating a letter-writing campaign under the banner headline
"New NBC Drama Show Mocks Christianity," RNS reported.

Thomas, however, said it should not come as a shock, for example, that
a
pastor ? either on "The Book of Daniel" or in real life ? could accept
and
affirm his gay child, have a daughter with legal troubles, or be married to
someone with depression or alcoholism.

The "Daniel" controversy reveals how religion can sometimes be shallowly
interpreted as irrelevant when it comes to life's somewhat-messy realities
? and how difficult it can be to understand the radical nature of grace,
Thomas said.

"It's always surprising to discover how controversial grace can be," Thomas
said. "But then, even in Jesus' time, unmerited, undeserved grace left
many
religious authorities furious."

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