Do non-Christians get their information on Christianity from watching fiction on television?

Question

I just saw an episode of Law and Order where the wife of a preacher was discovered to have been a ex-hooker.

In the story the woman confesses to a crime that her husband had confessed to rather than let her congregation know about her past.

If I had a dime for every ex-hooker, ex-drug addict, ex-alcoholic, ex-bad guy I met in a church I would be richer than Bill Gates.

The idea that a congregation would fall apart because the wife of a preacher used to be a hooker is so far fetched that it is as totally unbelievable as Chuck Norris killing twenty guys with a burst from an uzi.

But

It did make me think, do people think this is what Christians are like? Obviously. Law and Order is a popular television show that has been on a long time. People watch it because they think of it as being "realistic".

The only way most of the ridiculous claims about Christians in questions on this board make any sense at all to me is if people get their information from fictional television.

When I was a child my mother, an agnostic, and my father, an atheist, took me to church to please my grand parents.

That limited experience and having read the Bible (my grand mother paid me to) did nothing to change the stereotypes about Christianity that I learned from listening to my parents, friends and tv.

After doing a bunch of church hoping while I hitch hiked around the nation and then after twenty years of participation with different ministries and churches my stereotypes about Christians are gone.

I now believe that fiction often creates stereotypes that closed minded people propagate without ever realizing that they are bigoted AND that long term intimate contact with the stereotyped people eliminates those stereotypes.

Chi-Guy picked up where I was going with this and even though I hate his politics he is right on target with his answer.

Fictional stereotypes spread hatred and animosity across race, religion, sexuality, etc, separating people from their potential.

Answer 1

I think bad examples and misinterpretations of Christians are the major contributor to bad information among non-believers.

I see so-called preachers teaching so much bad information concerning the bible, I understand why so many have been turned off.

Answer 2

you are right, churches don't necessarily fall apart because their preacher turns out to be an ex-hooker etc, look at the catholic church for example. But people being as credulous as they are will either wait for the next ex-hooker pastor or move on to a different church where the pastor could be a pedophile or something. Point being that though some priests/pastors are hypocritical criminals, the congregation is usually made up of people who are looking for someone to give them their illusion of comfort and frankly it doesn't matter to them where this comfort is coming from.

But most non christians do know about christianity from personal experience because most people know someone who is a christian or were once christians themselves. That is why atheists tend to know more about the religion than christians do. Tried tested and discarded

Answer 3

I'm sure they get some from television...unfortunately, they also get a lot from people that they meet at work, at school, on the street, etc... that claim to be Christians but don't practice what they preach. Sad but true, a majority of Americans claim to be Christian...but in my experience, only a small fraction of that number actually understand that actions speak louder than words. They use the bible to justify all sorts of hate and discrimination, the shun people they view as sinners, they even condemn other Christians that aren't part of the same denomination they follow. I've had Christians tell me that I'm going to hell because I'm divorced, because I went to bars in college, because I make a lot of money, because I have gay friends, and more. A pastor's wife once told me that I couldn't be a "real lady" because I bit my nails! They seem to forget that Jesus spent a lot of his time with sinners and that he commanded us to love everyone!

Yes, the fictionalized accounts on TV may be dramatized a bit, but I've actually witnessed a group of so-called Christians walk away from a church when they discovered the new pastor was married to a woman that had been divorced. As a child, I watched a church split up because the pastor's adult son was convicted of a federal crime (associated with a bank robbery attempt).

Answer 4

Jane Fonda talked about her conversion to Christianity after moving to Atlanta and finding all these "cool, funny, hip" people who just so happened to be church-going Christians! She was shocked - shocked! - to find you could be a real genuine likable person AND a Christian...BOTH....at the same time *GASP*!!!

I think that is basically growing up in Hollywood and accepting media stereotypes of believers - and the media's anointed spokesmen for our faith (ala Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson) were always the most hateful, bigoted and intolerant....just what the media wants everyone to believe is true of ALL Christians.

Answer 5

i would say that a part in a script might be a half truth. sure, the connotations are harsh to people foreign to sleazy street life,but there is all kinds in the world and the idea had to come from somewhere.

all those people find that show believable because they do see a lot that is actually true. go figure. Shakespeare was quite correct when he wrote "there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in your philosophy".

Answer 6

I think most non christians receive their "true" stories from stories. All christians are not ex cons, or hookers and the like. It just goes to show that we all bleed red blood, but those who turn to Christ has found the light to change; others walk in self pity and blame God and themeselves.

I love Law and Order, but everything on that show isn't real. As with most t.v shows.

Answer 7

I watch about 2-3 hours of television a week, sometimes not even that much. I have a whole family full of christians and my mother attempted to raise me christian so I have my information first hand. I've also taken a number of classes in comparative religions and have had many discussions with professors of theology.

Answer 8

No, in fact, I don't watch TV.

My experience is largely first hand; the church my parents belonged to ostracized my parents best friend, because he came out as gay. It got to the point where his vehicle was vandalized when he parked it too near the sanctuary.

My experience is also informed by the loving and compassionate Christians I've known over the years; ones who would never endorse that kind of meanness.

Answer 9

Ridiculous

Answer 10

Whoa, whoa, wait just a minute buddy, Chuck Norris can do anything, he could kill twenty guys with his pinky finger, he dosen't even need an uzi.
However, I do believe that many non-believers have the wrong idea about Christians, our beliefs and the way we live our lives.