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CURRENTLY IN TELEVISION
An encouraging moment

Jim Coggins

An encouraging moment in North American culture occurred recently when 7th Heaven beat out Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the 2001 Teen Choice Award for favourite TV drama series. Buffy focuses on teenagers and the occult. 7th Heaven, on the other hand, focuses on the family of Eric and Annie Camden and their seven children. Eric is a Christian minister, and the shows are often constructed around morality lessons on issues such as honesty, responsibility, sexual morality and commitment. The parents discipline and love their children. The children respect their parents. The characters pray and have their prayers answered, sometimes; yet the focus is on becoming people who serve God, not on miracles. They welcome needy people into their home and genuinely love them. The Camdens and their family life aren’t perfect (the plots revolve around solving problems, after all), but they are good. The church is shown in a positive light, even while admitting some of its weaknesses. The show occasionally falls into the trap of resolving problems too easily (within an hour), yet some problems persist and require a slow growth in grace. 7th Heaven is not just a return to older family shows such as Ozzie and Harriet and Father Knows Best; this program has some Christian content as well as family values. Only rarely have I found problems with the theology or morality presented. Viewers shouldn’t be overly optimistic that the actors or producers are all committed to the values held by the Camdens; they may just have figured out what sells. However, there is biblical precedent for such a thing (Philippians 1:17), and this is truly a remarkable television program.

The more remarkable (and encouraging) thing is that teenagers prefer a program about morality to one about witchcraft. My own teens watch it, well, religiously. I had heard good things about 7th Heaven, which is now entering its fifth season, but it is only in the past year that we have been able to watch it regularly. Local TV stations in our area had apparently chosen not to broadcast this positive-values program, until good ratings in other markets forced them to reconsider.

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Last modified November 13, 2001.

© 2001 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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