#341. Being Switzerland (Or me and the "Family Guy")

I saw an interesting bumper sticker on a car at the library today. Here's what it said:

"All praise & glory to Satan, my Lord & Savior."

If you're wondering if I tried to guess whose car that was when I was in the library, the answer is "yes." I thought maybe they would have a pitchfork or a black cat at their feet or a big snake around their shoulders. Unfortunately, none of that happened and the would be fan of satan, please note the lowercase which is the middle finger of grammar, was not properly identified.

I will say though that I appreciated this person's directness. It's not that I liked the bumper sticker but I appreciate the understanding this person showed in putting that on their car. They clearly knew there was not some sort of weird grey area in life. They knew that neutral is not possible. They knew there were two sides and were not at all confused about which one they were on. I can't say I do as good a job most days.

You see, sometimes I live my life as if it's possible to be Switzerland. I pretend in my head that there are three paths to choose in this world. There is God's way, satan's way and neutral. But there's not, over and over again that is established in the Bible. Jesus even says in Mark 9, "for whoever is not against us is for us."

But I don't live that way. I have rewritten that verse to read, "Anything that is not inherently evil or illegal is OK." That takes God out of the picture. That takes the holy and the pure out of the picture. And it leaves me watching the show, "Family Guy."

That show is horrible. I agree. That show is foul and filthy and not redeeming to my heart and not uplifting and not something I need in my head or my soul. Chances are, I will agree with everything you say that is negative about that program. That I watch it sometimes is not a good witness, not very mature of me and not something I should ever be proud of.

Here's the thing though, I trick myself into thinking it's OK because it's not technically evil. I mean porn, witchcraft, the occult, those things are clearly not healthy. Family Guy is just a crass cartoon. Drugs, stealing, lying, those are clearly sins. Family Guy is just a 30 minute television show. I could do this all day.

And maybe I need to. I love in Hebrews 5 when Paul says, "solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."

I love that the one example he gives of someone mature is that they can distinguish good from evil. He sets up the idea that it's not easy. And that in order to be able to do it, you have to train yourself through constant use.

The tricky thing about this whole idea is that it's so easy to corrupt into being judgmental. For me to say, "my definition of faith is the only right one and if you don't like it you are siding with the devil. You're such a pagan."

I don't have a clear answer for that, but I do have a thought. Maybe it's not about getting one answer and then moving on with your entire life as if you've been given the formula or secret code to God. Maybe it's about doing what Paul said, putting the question of good or evil to everything we face? Maybe it's about constant use.

I will probably make 100 decisions this weekend. Instead of jumping in as fast as I can, I hope I ask myself which side am I choosing. Is this good or evil? Wrong or right? Bumper sticker for the devil or for God?

Update:
Decisions are not always easy, lines and boundaries get blurred, disagreements arise. Life is messy and so is Stuff Christians Like now and I think that is a good thing. I have really enjoyed reading the comments on this post. Not only that, I have enjoyed learning from them. I do not have the answers and feel blessed when other people share their hearts.

So the basic counter argument to this post is well summarized in two excerpts from great comments:

Overall, my response to the content in my own heart is more important than the actual activity of seeing cartoon characters and hearing dialogue.

I don't think watching something profane is morally wrong. It is what we do, not what we see that make us pure or impure.

I thought it might be good to address those or at least continue the conversation. First of all, I agree with the statements above to an extent. I think that there are lots of things in this world that are not immoral by nature. Money for instance is a great example. How I respond to it does shape how it influences my life. Whether I use it to feed the homeless or feed my ego does change the argument. Money, by itself, is not evil. Our response to it can be though.

And I know that in 1 Corinthians 6:12 Paul says, "Everything is permissible for me - but not everything is beneficial." I know you could use that verse to argue about watching shows like Family Guy. (Although the "everything is permissible for me" is actually what a Corinthian church said, Paul was simply counteracted it.)

Where I disagree however is the idea that everything is morally neutral and it is always our response that makes it pure or impure. I think there are tons of examples where the nature of something is decided long before we respond to it. Porn, by nature is impure. Crack cocaine by nature is impure. Lying by nature is impure. We don't need to react to these things or activities to make them impure, that is part of their very existence. That is woven into the fabric of what they are.

I admit, this idea of pure and impure is new to me because I've only been pursuing God for a few years. But the verse I always come back to is Philippians 4:8:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

I like this verse because Paul seems to say that a thing can be true and pure. He does not say, "think pure thoughts on neutral things thus making them pure." Nor does he say, "think about such things to determine what they will be." Not at all, instead he says there are things that are noble, right, pure, lovely etc. They do not require our interpretation or use to make them one way or another. They simply are that way regardless of how we react to them.

So then the question becomes, is something like Family Guy pure? I honestly believe you can easily argue that the show is well done, well written and perhaps one of the best produced programs on television. (The scene where Stewie teases Brian about the book he is writing will forever make me laugh.) But is it pure? Can you argue that a show that features a character drugging a girl because he wants to rape her reflects an act of purity? Or a father attempting incest, or a character whose sole role is to be the neighborhood pedophile? Is that noble? Is that lovely?

I know those examples feel extreme, but they're not. They're part of the normal routines on Family Guy. I didn't pick the worst, just the ones that came to mind the fastest. Nor am I saying anyone that disagreed with me is saying those things are noble. Not at all.

It's a weird debate, I admit. You could argue that there is redeeming value to the show. I mean, how can I watch and claim to see Jesus in the ultra violent movie, Man on Fire, and then criticize Family Guy, a cartoon? I can't and hopefully this did not come off as judgmental.

I am in no position to judge anyone and am not telling you how to make your decisions. The only one I can really choose for is me. And I confess I fail at it a lot. And, I thank you for walking into this messy life with me. I think it's going to be a lot of fun.