GCB – Disinfecting or Denigrating?

By: American Decency Staff

By Lisa Van Houten ABC’s “GCBâ€Â returned last night after being preempted last week.  “GCBâ€Â finished in last place in overall network ratings for its timeslot with 5.7 million viewers. Take Action! Click here to send a message to the corporations that align with the mocking of Christianity on “GCB.â€Â Returning advertisers include:  Ace Hardware, Subway, Vaseline, Honda, Overstock.com, L’Oreal.  New advertisers include Applebee’s. All detergent, Bank of America, and Resolve Spray-N-Wash. Sadly, even though the show came in last, “GCBâ€Â had its best ratings in five weeks.  Add up the number of Christians in America and 5.7 million should seem like a paltry number in comparison. So why is a show that ridicules the Christian faith still on the air?  Why wasn’t the show immediately yanked in response to a loud chorus of protest from American Christians? Perhaps because there hasn’t been one.  More like a whisper of protest.  I know many of you our readers have spoken up and expressed outrage regarding this show that is the most blatant example of Christian bigotry to ever air on network TV.  And so while I may very well be speaking to the choir, the lack of response from the overall Christian community is a vivid example of the lethargy of the Church in America. Perhaps too many of those 5.7 million viewers are made up of church-goers.  I’ve followed blogs about “GCBâ€Â and have seen countless comments such as “I’m a Christian and I love this show!â€Â Or maybe today’s Christians are so accommodated to our decadent culture because they spend too much time playing the Hokey-Pokey with the world – except they put their foot in the world and keep it there. Actress Annie Potts who plays one of the characters on “GCBâ€Â claimed that the show is actually “disinfectingâ€Â Christianity.  She stated:  “I’m getting a lot of letters and tweets and things from people who are Christian people who are happy to see the hypocrites called out.  I think all true believers love to have hypocrisy routed out. I mean it’s – what do they say – sunshine is the best disinfectant? Put it out there. Call it what it is. You know, satire is always helpful for society.â€Â The only thing is, as one commentator stated:  “The problem with this show’s portrayal of Christians is that it is not intended for Christians to poke fun at ourselves or to hold us accountable for our too-often worldly behavior.  The problem is the show is viewed by a non-Christian audience as an accurate portrayal of Christians’ hypocrisy.  At the very least, you must agree that it falsely presents the message of our faith.  For the world that is in desperate need of the Savior, that’s not entertaining it’s just sad.â€Â And that is the concern regarding “GCB.â€ÂÂ  The point of the show is not to light-heartedly point out the speck in the eye of some who call themselves Christians, but to paint all of Christianity with the same speckled brush – leaving viewers with the false impression that this offensive portrayal of Christianity is a true picture of our faith. As the saying goes, ‘we may be stupid, but we’re not dumb.’  Annie Potts may be trying to sell “GCBâ€Â as “sunshineâ€Â and “helpfulâ€Â for society, but the kind of help and light that society truly needs comes only from the Son. Take Action! Click here to send a message to the corporations that align with the mocking of Christianity. ========================================================== To support our efforts please click here or mail your gift to American Decency Association (ADA), PO Box 202, Fremont, MI 49412. American Decency Association is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

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