as they shouted out with "glee"

in a recent episode of "glee", the show tackled the subject of "religion" and how each of the members of the glee club viewed it.  there has been a lot of talk about the episode and many christians have publicly denounced the episode, crying blasphemy and the like.  while i do agree that the episode teetered on the edge, and even crossed over in a few instances into the land of blasphemy, my concern is that those who watched it, or didn't watch it, but rather went on what someone else said about it, and missed a valuable glimpse into our society. 

to get a feel on the pulse of a society on any particular subject, a good lithmus test is to look at the entertainment that is valued by that society.  the artists that are usually the most popular are the ones that society as a whole identify with most.  if we look back through history, we can see that even as far back as ancient greece, the theatre was a political commentary on the times in which they were living.  shakespeare was so popular because he reflected the views of the common people.  today is no different.  glee has grown from an obscure late night "dramedy" to one of the most popular shows on television.  musicians are scrambling to get their songs performed on the show, and celebrities are clammering for a guest spot in an episode.  and considering the recent news pieces on the religious illiteracy of society, it is no surprise that the writers of the show chose this subject to focus on. 

but what of the content?  for those of you that missed the episode, the synopsis is basically two different story lines.  finn, the former quarterback of the football team, has a religious experience when he sees the face of Jesus in the burn marks on his grilled cheese, that he refers to as his "grilled cheesus", and begins asking for trivial prayer requests that seem to be answered.  meanwhile, kurt, the homosexual member of the glee club, has a dad that has a major heart attack and is in a coma.  the rest of the club attempts to reach out to him and pray for his dad, which only angers him because he doesn't believe in a "god that would take his mother away (she died when he was young) and would now do this to his dad.  besides, what kind of god would "make him gay" and then have his followers tell him he was going to hell for something he "had no control over". 

so, i challenge you to step back away from your holy blessed assurance and look at the characters in this episode and get a snapshot of society's various views of god.

first, there's kurt.  we all know someone like him.  they claim a disbelief in god because of all of the bad things that have happened in their lives, their families' lives, their friends' lives, the world, etc.  in a sense, they are blaming a god they claim to not believe in, for their misfortunes.  and they see those who do believe in god as judgemental and more evil than they because of the way that the believers treat them.  what do you say when you are confronted with a kurt?  do you ostracize them and call them a sinner?  do you try and give them a theology lesson explaining why they are wrong? 

next, there's puck.  puck is the high school jock that is mr. popular.  he responds to the question of religion by saying that he is a total "jew for Jesus" and that Jesus is his favorite "heb".  yet, his life is one that could hardly be classified as the embodiment of christian morals.  our youth groups are filled with pucks.  do we disciple them and lovingly point them to the truth?  or do we ignore their behaviours and hope that they figure it out through osmosis?

look at finn.  he has a religious experience (can anyone say "youth camp"?) and begins asking for things that are trivial and even unbiblical, praying to his triangle of grilled cheese with Jesus' face on it as if it were a golden buddah.  our youth groups are also filled with finns.  they have a religious experience and they build a faith around that experience, and when it's challenged like finn's was by the guidance counselor, it crumbles, leaving us singing the familiar bars of "losing my religion" like finn at the end of the show.  that's just it, he did lose his "religion".  that's because there is no validity in religion.  but so many in our society treat God as if He was a magic genie that is there solely to answer our petty requests, thus centering their religion on themselves as opposed to God, and falling flat and feeling empty and hopeless in the end.  do we encourage this behaviour by relying on a big event such as a youth camp to lift us or our youth up, but neglecting solid biblical teaching and discipleship throughout the rest of the year?

and sue sylvester.  who could forget sue sylvester?  she is the acid-tongued cheerleading coach who has it in for the glee club, and sees the club's new musical numbers on religion as a chance to jump in and slam the club for violating separation of church and state.  as the show goes on, she is much like kurt, in that she prayed and prayed to God to heal her sister who has down's syndrome, only to see her prayers go unanswered and her sister mocked and ridiculed by the bullies of society, leaving her jaded and bitter and denying the existence of any sort of God.  but she takes hers one step further.  she tries to force her nonbelief on everyone else around her.  she says at one point that in a public school students are not allowed to express their religious beliefs, which is completely untrue.  when we are faced with a sue, do we stand up and refuse to back down?  or do we withdraw our kids from the school and quickly retreat from confrontation and shuffle them into a "christian" school (which, by the way, are usually filled with the same sorts of kids that are in the public schools, they just have their names on a church roll somewhere).

as we are bombarded in the episode with this barrage of negativity towards religion, there is the one small candlelight that breaks up the darkness, and from the most unexpected place:  sue's older sister with down's syndrome.  at the end of the show, sue is playing checkers with her sister and asks her if she believes in God, to which her sister responds "yes!"  when sue protests about her profession and reminds her about her condition, her sister replies, "sue, God doesn't make mistakes!"  sue, then replies in a moment of near realization, "would you pray for me?" and her sister replies "yes!"  in the midst of adversity, do we shine bright for the Saviour?  do others see a peace in us that they want?

as the debate continues about the religious overtones of glee, we as christians can either step up and take notice, and then develop a gameplan of how we are to engage the culture that is reflected in the episode, or do we bury our heads in the sand?  the thing about burying our head in the sand, the danger is still there, and everyone around us can see our cowardice exposed, leaving us looking ridiculous and portraying nothing that the world sees as remotely attractive.  ever wonder why Jesus chose a party with drinking to start His earthly ministry?