New York City councilman Peter Vallone is calling on Christians to boycott the new ABC show GCB. He says the title alone (the letters stand for Good Christian B–ches, and the program is still being released under the original name in Australia and New Zealand) is enough to earn the ire of religious TV watchers.
“I can’t imagine that they would consider using that language against any other faith,” Vallone told The New York Daily News. “I think all religions should be respected and none should be attacked—we should stand together in this.”
Vallone’s volley is just the latest in almost a year’s worth of reaction to a show that officially began this past Sunday. And he’s right that the name—even couched in initials—is enough to trigger some anxiety in the faithful, and understandably so. It’s awfully jarring to see the core descriptor of our faith—a faith we’d consider as a good thing—paired with a profanity.
I reviewed the show (you can check it out here), and let me be honest: There’s not a lot to like about GCB. It’s crass and crude and not particularly well made (though some of the actresses do shine). Christians are depicted as kooky at best, duplicitous monsters at worst.
But frankly, I expected all that. With a name like GCB, how could I not? Maybe in a strange, backhanded sort of way, ABC did us a favor—telling us right up front whether this was the sort of show we Christians might like.
After all, ABC wasn’t counting on us as regular viewers. I think it’s meant to cater to “non-Christians” in the potential audience (if such a statement can be made in a country that is still nominally three-fourths Christian)—folks who don’t have much regard for who (they think) we are and what (they think) we stand for.
And that, in its own way, is pretty interesting.
On its face, I don’t think we can draw too many conclusions from how this show portrays Christians or Christianity: This is about as fluffy and empty a bit of television as you’re likely to see this side of Real Housewives of New Jersey. But the fact that ABC felt fairly secure in airing it illustrates something about our culture: Namely, that a least a broad swath of the culture think Christians deserve a little harsh treatment.
Which triggers in me a question: Do we?
It’s a deceptively complex question.
Most of us know that, sometimes, we Christians give ourselves a bad name. We can be mean and petty. Most of us have probably been hurt in or by the Church. I know I have. But I’ve probably done my share of hurting, too. There’s a little Pharisee in me—maybe in all of us. And sometimes it comes out.
People notice when we falter in this way. And because what we sometimes project rubs hard against who Jesus is and what Christianity’s about, they’re more likely to remember our missteps—and be less likely to forgive them, I believe. They forget, or simply don’t know, that we’re all fallen people (Christian or not), bound to mess up at inopportune times. GCB, in a small measure, reflects that.
Sure, I get a little angry when Christians are made to look bad. Sometimes it feels unfair. But often, I’m more sad than anything … because sometimes our critics have a point.
But I also draw a distinction between honest critique and clueless critique—and GCB falls more into the latter category.
A quick example: In the show, head hypocrite Carlene takes Amanda to task for working at a place called Bootylicious, and Amanda’s horrified at her judgmentalism.
“If memory serves, even Jesus hung out with whores and thieves,” she says.
And that is true, to a point. And yet if my memory serves, Jesus—still with all His characteristic kindness in play—suggested that the whores should stop their sinning ways. (The thieves on the cross, well, they weren’t in position to keep sinning in that way anymore.)
GCB also appears to suggest that good Christians should never judge or correct one another … but I don’t think that’s true either. In my reading of the Bible, it seems like we’re called to love each other as we are—and push ourselves to be better. The world sometimes gets the words “grace” and “acceptance” mixed up.
I’m not going to formally boycott GCB, but I won’t be watching either—unless my editor tells me it’s time to update our TV review. Hey, I already know I’m messed up: I don’t need a TV show to confuse the point.
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