Is The Simpsons Offensive ?

[Desert Rose]

Okay, I admit it. I watch the show.

However. lots of people say it makes Christians looked stupid, I guess because of Ned Flanders.

I have mixed thoughts on that.

1. I've know some Christians who've really acted like that, and it didn't bother me. It was just they way they were.

2. It shows Christians messing up sometimes. Well, all I can say is I sin like a lot of people so I mess up sometimes myself. I'm only human and I sometimes act like it.

3. They have some stuff that has mocked Christianity.

4. On one hand, Ned had remained faithful, so what does that say about his faith ? Remember the asteroid shelter ? Had the whole town been inside, no one would've survived.

I just want to get the opinion of other people, so feel free to reply. Thanks!

[Kkun]

It really just depends on what season it is and how close it is to a political election that Matt Groening's vitriol comes out. Some seasons really are worse than others, especially the later ones. The "Christian" stereotype is played out particularly in Ned Flanders throughout the entirety of the series, but for the first several seasons, it's actually fairly mild and what I would call good-natured ribbing because, as you point out, Ned remains (mostly) faithful and is played for laughs. Some of the jokes relating to God take on a much more sinister edge in later seasons, but the Simpsons hasn't been funny in a while, so Groening is really just kind of spitting in the wind. I think it's been time for FOX to pull the plug on this one for a while.

I'd say pray about it and consider it, though, if you're worried about it. If it starts to have an effect on you, cut it out.

[rocklobster]

The only episode that offended me religiously was when Bart became a Catholic. Those jokes were not appreciated.:shake: However, my favorite episode was the one where Bart sold his soul to Milhouse. A very Christian episode.
But I wouldn't worry. Simpsons is no Moral Orel, that's for sure.

[Momo-P]

It's all a matter of how you look at it.

Early Simpsons DID mock Flanders, but how many episodes ended with extremely good Christian points? There was the episode where they each lived out a story from the Bible, the one where Bart sells his soul (mentioned), the one where Bart prays to God for snow and Lisa reminds him to keep his word, the episode Homer thinks he's going to die and listens to the Bible all night...I mean, the list really does go on quite a bit. To me, it was like a race thing.

If you're black and make a racist joke it's "ok" because the joke is about you. Same here. Originally Groening was pretty Christian, so it never came off like he was mocking God or Christians. To me it was more like when we (there's a thread about it now) make fun of the Christian companies that release rip-off movies, trends, etc. It's not that we're mocking their goal, but sometimes they just go about things in ways we don't agree with. Ned was a good Christian--great! But he also was EXTREMELY cheesy. "Hididdly ho neighboreino!" It's like the Brady Bunch, nobody acts like that, and quite frankly, Christians don't even need to act like that.

A good example would be a vague episode I remember. I think both houses caught fire and Homer started laughing. Almost immediately however, a raincloud appears and saves the Flanders house. A lot of scenes like this happened in the show's run and...call me crazy, but they really don't seem evil to me. If anything it usually resulted in showing that Homer mocking him was wrong and that he needed to stop doing it. But for humor's sake, Homer obviously never did.

Some Christians look at the scenes and feel like we're being mocked and hated, but some, like me, just don't. If you really don't feel that way? Just pray to be safe, but otherwise don't let other people make you feel bad.

[Desert Rose]

Yeah, it dosen't really bother me. I happen to like Bart's crank calls, and just wanted some other people's perspective. Thanks!:)

[Cap'n Nick]

The only consistent message of The Simpsons is that confidence in humanity is generally unfounded. That's actually a fairly Christian message, I think.

[Nate]

The only episode that offended me religiously was when Bart became a Catholic. Those jokes were not appreciated.:shake:

So you're saying you don't like Catholic Heaven? I mean come on, I have to play badminton for eternity. I don't even know what badminton IS!

[Raiden no Kishi]

So you're saying you don't like Catholic Heaven? I mean come on, I have to play badminton for eternity. I don't even know what badminton IS!

Not nearly as fun as goodminton, that's for sure.

.rai//

[Etoh*the*Greato]

So you're saying you don't like Catholic Heaven? I mean come on, I have to play badminton for eternity. I don't even know what badminton IS!

Protons have mass? I wasn't even aware they were catholic!

[rocklobster]

What I didn't like was that they insinuated that Catholics were a whole other religion, which is untrue. We worship the same God you Protestants do, we just have a different method.

[Fish and Chips]

Not nearly as fun as goodminton, that's for sure.

Let's bring things to a new low here at CAA.

As for Ned Flanders, I find it interesting he was originally written as the ultimate Nice Guy neighbor for Homer to dislike for no reason. Yes, he's devolved into a caricature of the Religious Right since the earliest episodes, but his original intent still strikes me as notable. Certainly one of the more honest and compassionate people in Springfield, if portrayed a bit off the deep end.

[Nate]

What I didn't like was that they insinuated that Catholics were a whole other religion, which is untrue. We worship the same God you Protestants do, we just have a different method.

...that...that was the point of that entire episode.

Did you not watch the ending? What you just said is what Bart says at the end of the episode.

Yes, he's devolved into a caricature of the Religious Right since the earliest episodes, but his original intent still strikes me as notable.

Flanders is a great character, and he's had a lot of development. I haven't seen the more recent seasons (I think I stopped watching it around season 12 or so, not because I didn't like it, but because being in the Navy made TV watching difficult), but he went through a lot of growth and became a lot more human in the middle seasons, especially in the episode "Hurricane Neddy," and of course his wife's death in "Alone Again, Natura-Diddily." I think the Praiseland episode was where Flanders' character started taking an odd turn.