Will Christianity Survive?

Introduction

No, this isn't about Jesus' words "I will build My Church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it." No, this isn't about the long term viability of the Christian Church. We've been around two thousand years and we'll be here til Jesus returns. This is about the TV show Survivor, now in its fifteenth season and yes some people still match it (myself included).

CBS: Survivor China

Survivor always has a collage of characters. If you watch Survivor Live on CBS.com, you'll learn that most of the cast (aways) are cast offs from the acting world. In other words, most of them are actors and not real people. This season, just look at Dave and Ashley. Dave is a former model and Ashley is a female wrestler. They are at each others' necks the whole two episodes so far and no wonder, they are both actors! I wonder if CBS gives the cast aways "Scripts" at least loosely like "Alright you want to be this kind of person.." or "pick one person to pick on and be cool with everyone else." Cuz it seems that many of them fall into these predictable niches. Or maybe CBS just sees into their souls and can readily identify who will turn out a certain way.

Contestant: Leslie Nease

Which brings me to the point of this entry. Leslie... the token Christian. Leslie seems at first glance like a nice lady. A Christian Talk Show Radio personality. Actor... So shes a talker and a Christian woman... you'd figure a nice personable kind of lady. We haven't seen much interaction between her and other tribe members yet. Except episode two's major blunder. She receives a gift from the opposite tribe: a clue to the hidden immunity [insert non-religious word here]. What does she do? Look for it a little and then tell it to the token gay guy. And then there's the great scene in episode one where she takes James under her wing (that was a touching picture, a sincere reaching out on her part).

But what is she known for? As they arrive on set at the beginning of the game, the Buddhist monks welcome the Survivor contestants to China and invite them to participate in a ritual of welcome. Jeff Probst, the host, is sure to tell the contestants before the ceremony that nothing religious is being done but it is rather a cultural, non-religious welcome. The contestants then put on garb and enter the temple with a huge Buddha statue. The monks play some music and start bowing down to Buddha. The contestants are asked to do it and they follow suit. Leslie begins, but is convicted about it and she stops and exits the temple. Probst immediately pounces upon her afterwards. He asks why she left, which is okay to ask. But then he asks, "do you think this decision will affect her interaction with her new tribe?" That question stinks and automatically prejudices her tribe against her no matter what she says.

Then we come to the opening music for the show. Every contestant gets two video sequences about them. One is their mug shot and another is of them doing something in the game. Leslie's video? Her crying after leaving the temple.

Wrap-up: Media Biased

Come one CBS, throw us a bone, just cuz we have some standards, don't throw us to the lions. This is the problem with Christians in the media. It's not that we behave badly, it's that you'll find any reason to make us look different and weird. And we are... just as Peter told us... "we are strangers and aliens in this world."