The Most Revolutionary Statement about Christianity — on GLEE!
Something MIND-BLOWING happened on Fox’s musical show Glee this week. And no, it wasn’t the awesome tribute to the dearly departed Whitney Houston (though seriously, that was kind of amazing). Did you catch it?
Since I watch all of my television programs a day later on HULU for a paltry $7.99 a month, I was able to rewind–and rewind, and rewind — just to make sure I saw and heard what I thought I saw and heard.
This is perhaps one of the most radical statements about what it means to be a Christian that I think I’ve ever heard on basic cable in the entirety of my TV-watching life. Observe [if you can]:
Sorry, you won’t be able to watch the clips without a Hulu Plus Subscription
If you aren’t able to watch this clip, an openly Christian teenager, Joe, (nick-named Teen Jesus) has a crush on former lead cheerleader and currently paralyzed Quinn Fabray. (Before I go any further, KUDOS to Glee-creator Ryan Murphy and company for even having an openly Christian teenager on the show who is actually interested in living and loving like Christ! Super awesome!)
Teen Jesus is conflicted because he is starting to have hard to control sexual feelings towards the beautiful, helpless Quinn and he goes to Glee Club-mate Sam for advice on how to deal with his sexual feelings in light of his desire to live a holy life that is pleasing to God — a.k.a. abstaining from sex until marriage, as the Bible teaches.
Sam excuses his own sexual activity by saying, “When the Bible was written things were easier; there was no internet, no girls in short shorts!” So he implores Teen Jesus, “[L]et’s be a new kind of Christian, one that prays and does right by people but understands that some of those rules are kind of old school.”
Teen Jesus protests and explains that abstaining from sex is a way of “putting the spiritual over the physical so you can feel closer to God.”
AND HERE COMES THE REVOLUTIONARY STATEMENT:
Sam tells Teen Jesus: “All I know is, Quinn’s a great girl. But you’re going to have to decide: do you wanna be closer to God or closer to her?”
OMGLEE DID YOU CATCH THAT?! Seriously, for all of Sam’s explaining that there was such a thing as a “new kind of Christian” who can still basically do whatever (s)he wants and still be considered a “good Christian,” Sam was still able to articulate the main point about Christianity and sex before marriage: it’s a choice between God and the person you’re lusting after. Point-blank. Period. End of Story.
There is no getting around the fact that our sexual choices — whether abstinence, celibacy, or full-on engagement — are really choices between our will and God’s will. And that statement was made on one of the most popular teen shows on television!
Seriously, I was like:
And that wasn’t even the end of it! Just to solidify the point that bringing up the idea of a choice between God’s way and our own way was NOT an accident, the writers of Glee doubled down on the point in a scene between Teen Jesus and Quinn:
Teen Jesus explains to Quinn that he wants her to be his girlfriend but at the same time, his faith “means everything” to him. But he explains that he’s confused, because when he’s with Quinn, he doesn’t care about “what God says about sins of the flesh,” he just wants to be next to her. “You would give up your faith to be with me?” Quinn asks him, curiously. “I don’t know.” He responds. “Are you asking me to?” Quickly, she says, “No, never.” He seems disappointed, thinking that it’s because she doesn’t like him that way. She reassures him that’s not the case and that it’s just, “nice knowing that there’s something out there that can’t be lost.”
It’s a beautiful, REAL scene that many devoted Christians –from teenagers and beyond — struggle with daily. And whether Teen Jesus or any other Christian fall down in that struggle is between them and God and wholly irrelevant to my larger point here.
Ryan Murphy and the Glee writers have a history of tackling mainstream issues through ground-breaking story-lines — from gay and lesbian teen relationships, to bullying, to suicide. But on Tuesday night, at least 6.9 million households in this country — not even including the millions like me who watched it the next day on HULU or DVR’d it — heard the truth about what it means to be a Christian: making the choice between your love and desire for Christ and your love and desire for your own way. Through this Dance With Somebody episode, millions of Christians had it reinforced for us that there is actually a right way and a wrong way to do Christianity, and we have the God-given free will to make whatever choice we will as to whom we will serve: God or ourselves.
That’s pretty revolutionary, Glee. And yet another example of why I love you so!
For more on what Christ says about Sex and WHY, read this post: “Twisted: Why God’s ‘No Marriage, No Sex’ Rule is for Protection and Pleasure, Not Punishment.”
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:1-2)
wow, here i was wishing i had cable so i could catch the whitney tribute, and i missed out on a greater point. kudos to “glee,” indeed.
guess i’ll wait around for someone to post it on youtube cuz i don’t have hulu either!
I had a convo with Twitter folks about the actual Whitney tribute portion of this episode and I think consensus is that if their goal was to make us run to our iPods and hear the real thing, then they succeeded! lol. If anything, with this episode, they just highlighted how in a class all her own Whitney was. She can’t really be covered. But I was entertained by their efforts! You can watch the episode on Hulu next Wednesday! They make you wait 8 days…
you really did a great job of pinpointing that part and explaining it. i didn’t watch the episode yet (heard great things about the whitney tribute), but you’re explanation between our will and God’s will was so simple yet profound, for me at least. thanks for highlighting it for those of us that may have brushed over it
Thanks so much for reading AND commenting, a.chigozie! I appreciate you so much!
This was an awesome article and I agree God has called us to a life of abstinence. I also partially agree with Sam that in the old days girls were married at 16 so a life of abstinence or celibacy (for those who never get married) is difficult. The church tells young ppl “don’t have sex” but it’s not clear how to steer clear of temptation when it’s being thrown in their direction. It’s awesome they tackled the mental and emotional struggle many of us Christians have!!!
This was an awesome post. I haven’t watched Glee in a little while, but I’m going to have to start watching it again.
Thank you so much for reading and commenting, Mia!! I appreciate you!! Glee makes me so happy sometimes!!
that episode i agree touchd me nd i totally cn relate to joe nd hw he was unwilling to give up his faith for a girl, my only disappointment comes wit that episode valentines day wen mercedes says 1 in evry 10 pple is gay meanin 1 of the apostoles myt hv been gay, tt was shear blasphemy @ s max, wen givin out those statistics they only mean 1/10 of the population is gay nt tt 1 in evry 10 pple is gay, also wat gives her the guts to say sumthn so bad, im african nd we grown up in the word nd the word specifically says man shal nt lay wit anotha man nd vice versa, Glee is a show tt promotes homosexuality nd i thnk ts rong nd pple shud nt lie to each otha yes we r all sinners bt mostly we sin unknowingly, homosexuality has got to stop, sodom and gommorah wer destroyd bcoz of homosexuality, wat has this world come to, God hv mercy on our souls….
Hi Mimi! Thanks for reading and commenting. I have to disagree with you. I absolutely believe we as Christians sin knowingly — and often. I believe that is what makes us quintessentially human, to screw up and sabotage ourselves and know it’s wrong before we do it yet continue to do it anyway. Joe on Glee eventually was willing to give up God for Quinn. That’s what we do every time we sin, we make a choice that what we want to do is more important to us than pleasing God. Those are called idols, whether we realize it or not. If you’re a Christian woman dating a man who has absolutely no desire to put Christ first, that’s a blatant choice to disregard God’s commands to be “equally yoked” (more on that in this post: (http://www.districtdiva.com/2010/08/twisted-why-nothing-about-jesus-is-keeping-you-single-lonely/). Even judgment, Mimi, is another way to choose ourselves, our own desires and own ego over what Christ requires Christians to do.
Regarding Glee in general, it’s not a Christian show, which is why I found the statement about premarital sex and Christianity to be so revolutionary in the first place. I think our expectations of the show should not be that it upholds a Christian standard or, for that matter, that ANY non-Christians should be held to a Christian standard. I would love for there to be high-quality Christian shows on television and I’m working on writing one, myself! Let’s continue to have compassion for those who fall just as we fall and still receive the mercy and grace of Christ. Let’s just keep this world in prayer and pray God keeps us as we walk our own Christian paths with a desire to please Him! Thanks again, Mimi!