Did anyone see "The Book of Daniel" on NBC on Friday night, Jan. 6? If so, what did you think of it? Did you find it offensive? Are you a person of faith or not? Do you think it should stay on the air? Will it be a hit?

Here's my take on "The Book of Daniel". Although I was very concerned that the show would be quite offensive, in order to make an informed, objective opinion, I made sure to watch both episodes Fri. night. And I've definitely come up with an opinion - what a load of tripe! This show seemed to go out of its way to be offensive.

Let's see - where to start? Let's start with the best part of the show (and that's not saying much). The Jesus character was pretty much portrayed as I thought he would be - Not really blasphemous or unlikable, but rather wishy-washy. Even though there were all sorts of immoral behavior going on around him, Jesus never condemned sin or spoke about the error of those people's ways. It seems his favorite line was "He's really a good boy," despite incredibly immoral behavior of the character in question. Jesus was certainly not presented as Savior in any way, shape, or form. I don't think I'd be standing too close to Jack Kenny any time soon.

And the main character, the Episcopal priest Daniel Webster. He spouted such non-Biblical nonsense as, "Maybe we should not ask for forgiveness from the church or God or Jesus Christ unless we first forgive ourselves." Where's that found in the Bible? Or how about, "Don't beat yourself up for giving in to temptation." Yeah, after all, we wouldn't dare want people to feel bad about sinning! Plus, he asks a couple in pre-marital counseling about their sex life, makes a joke of their "living together in sin", offers only a "moment of silence" at a graveside funeral rather than a prayer, and never once condemns any of the multitude of sinful behaviors going on around him. Not to mention the fact that he's addicted to drugs (Vicodin pain pills), has no control whatsoever over his family, and curses often, even taking God's name in vain!

The other characters were no better. Webster's wife is reliant on her afternoon martini and has no more of a clue on how to deal with their kids than her husband. The 23-year old son is gay. The adopted high school son (who looks old enough to be a college graduate) is a horn-dog who'll jump anything in a skirt. The 16-year old daughter is selling drugs to raise money to support her efforts to become an anime artist. To help those efforts, she gets someone to help her steal software off the Internet in exchange for drugs. The housekeeper smokes pot. Webster's brother-in-law just embezzled over $3 million from the church and was killed by the mob. His widow is having a lesbian affair with a woman apparently involved in the embezzlement. And Webster's father, who is a bishop, appears to be having an affair with the female bishop who presides over his son's parish. Whew!

This show seems to go out of its way to offend! Other than the Jesus character, who was not really overtly offensive, I could not find one sympathetic, likable character in this entire show. For the creator of this show to say that this is "a loving Christian family" is preposterous. While Christians certainly make mistakes and fall to sin often, rarely have they devolved and stooped to the cesspool level these characters are at. If the show is supposed to be about redemption and family love, I certainly didn't see any of that in these episodes. As a Christian, I am sick and tired of seeing Christians on TV portrayed as either wackos, pedophiles, or hypocrites! And this show doesn't help by portraying this highly dysfunctional minister's family as one with obviously no one steering them in the proper direction.

I had determined that I was going to watch this show so that I could make an informed decision about the content. But as the night went on, I grew more and more uncomfortable because of the level of immorality (almost debauchery) portrayed in this supposedly "Christian" family. At the end of the night, I must say that this is one of the more offensive shows I've ever seen. I certainly won't watch it again, and I certainly hope that NBC is bombarded with requests to remove it from the airwaves!

A sidenote: As less than 33% of their ad time was sold, it's obvious that NBC is having trouble finding sponsors for this program. And for good reason. Respectable companies are leery of the backlash they could and probably will receive by sponsoring this garbage.

I am a practicing Episcopalian. I watched The Book of Daniel last night and loved it! It was well written, well cast, and beautifuly directed. The Jesus character is not meant to be a supernatural embodiment of the divine, I think, but an externalization of Daniel's inner voice: that's why he says the things Daniel already knows.

Yes, they hit us with a lot of things last night: Daniel's Vicodin addiction, Judith's fondness for martinis, Peter's sexual orientation (and Daniel's well-meaning but somewhat clumsy ways of handling it), Adam's falling in love for the first time, Grace's quiet observation of her family, Mrs. Webster Alzheimer's, Bishop Webster's (is he the Presiding Bishop, or at the same level as Daniel's Bishop?) rather tortured affair with Bishop C., etc.

Yes, we Episcopalians tend to be fairly comfortable with issues of sexuality (as long as it is consensual, and in a loving context), so I found Daniel's advice and reactions to be right on the mark.

The show is dealing in a frank and shockingly honest way with issues of drug use among the WASPY upper classes, which is new on network TV.

All in all, I like the show, and will continue to watch.

I couldn't have said it better myself. The show was very good in my opinion. Kudos to NBC!

I can't tell, honestly, if McDawg is just really riled up or is doing some serious trolling.

His comment seems to be either one of two things:

1. That the show is an unfair representation of the 'average' Christian family. I don't think anyone would argue that it was supposed to represent the average Christian family...it is a TV show, and they amp up the drama to make it interesting. Nobody thinks that the average suburban housewife is like the characters on "Desperate Housewives" or that the average doctors are like the ones on "ER", do they?

2. That no family with a bunch of flawed and troubled members could truly be Christian (and, by extension, moral). I find that to be quite naive: to say that family with drug addicts, alcoholics, gays, and promiscuous kids cannot be Christian sounds like a pretty quick conclusion to jump to, and an unfair one at that. People have problems, even Christians. I find it offensive that the post seems to imply that families with a load of problems are somehow immoral and living in a 'cesspool of debauchery.' I'm not a Christian, but I find the implication that my family, with its share of problems with drugs, alcohol, etc is somehow debauched. If that's the message of Christianity, to judge others, then I'm glad I'm not a Christian.

I'm going to be charitable and assume McDawg isn't trolling and meant the first, not the second.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: philosopherEric,

How's your baby doin' there, Mr. Dark, Patchy Eyes?

The little one is amazing. She's growin' like a weed, and she's been sleeping through the night since she was about two months old. She goes to bed at 8pm and wakes up at 8am....she's the perfect baby!