Bishop Dean E. Wolfe of the Diocese of Kansas has written a reaction to “The Book of Daniel.” Our thanks to Melodie Woerman, the diocese’s director of communications for sharing it with us. Here are the key paragraphs:
“I trust no one believes this could be real life in the Episcopal Church! In short, “The Book of Daniel” is a sensationalized version of clergy family life, a sort of “Desperate Housewives” meets “Seventh Heaven.”
This series is intended as entertainment and not as a serious depiction of modern clergy life. However, as does all fiction, the show expresses truths Christian of all types will recognize. Clergy are real people who need to depend upon God and not their own piety or giftedness. The power of prayer is real. Jesus Christ is a present reality, and real life without God is extremely challenging. These realities are fairly portrayed, and I believe most people will be able to understand the difference between truth and sensationalized fiction or farce.
While some have sought to censor the show, I see no need to contribute to the publicity the show has already received through their efforts. The value of any art form, including television, is found in its ability to communicate deeper truth through drama or comedy. If “The Book of Daniel” is able to achieve this goal, it will make a contribution to its viewers. If it is unable to achieve this, I suspect it will remain on our television sets a very short while.”