Ned Flanders, of "The Simpsons" TV program

The Christian right has recently found themselves to be in an awkward position concerning the "The Simpsons" TV program. A recent episode (which I did not personally see) had the Simpsons hometown of Springfield legalizing and promoting homosexual marriage.Obviously, this is not a perspective favored by the Christian right - But they have the problem that "The Simpsons" also has a long history of a fairly positive display of Christianity. Most notably, the Simpson's neighbor Ned Flanders.In an episode of my very limited exposure to conservative talk radio, the host was downplaying the positive significance of the Ned Flanders character. His impression (and he admitted to not having seen the program much) was that Ned Flanders was portrayed as a "dufus", not something favorable to Christianity.Certainly, a fair number of the shows characters do have a significant "dufus factor", including Ned Flanders. But I do think that Ned does come off very favorably as a fine human being.I do NOT wish this to be another "Homosexual Marriage" topic. Rather, I am aiming for a discussion of my view that Ned Flanders is a good representation of what a "good Christian" is. I guess that the particular Christian church that the various characters attend, and the minister of that church, could also be part of the discussion.(Submitted to the "Faith and Belief" forum)Moose

Actually, the crayon in the brain caused the genius - Homer lost it when the crayon was removed.The moment was a detail of a greater context, that had nothing to do with Flanders or his faith. As created (and it is fiction) I don't think the moment does the true Flanders character justice.But at worst, I think it would only be a momentary wavering of faith on Flanders part. If the situation were to have been explored in greater detail, I think Flanders response might actually have been "This looks right, but it can't be true. Still, I better not let this out." Then he burns the paper. By the way, the scene continues to show Homer playing copies of the "proof" on the windshields of the area cars.We know that the non-existance of God can not be proven (Can't prove a negative). Whether Flanders would have realized this is open to debate. But I think his Christian faith in itself would convince him that the "proof" couldn't be correct.Bottom line - I can't hold that this little incident makes Flanders a hypocrite.Moose

Watch it, or you'll be dealing with AdminFatTony.Moose

In reference to the crayon in/out situation - Yes, my memory of the incident was bad.Now, from the "Goofs" section of here, the reference supplied in message 13: "The Simpsons" program often is in reasonably close contact with "real life". Much of what happens in the program could conceivably really happen, although I certainly hope the are no Homers out there, at the controls of nuclear plants. Indeed, some episodes, such as the ones concerning the death of Flander's wife or the death of saxophonist "Bleeding Gums" Murphy have very serious themes.That said, there are also the episodes that are much more in "fantasy'' territory. The Halloween specials and the episodes featuring the space invaders are prime examples. I think that the "Genius Homer" episode is very much tilted towards this "fantasy" type style, and should thus not be weight very heavily in the evaluation of the natures of the characters in general. After all, in a Halloween special, Ned Flanders might actually be portrayed as some sort of evil character. Are you going to hold such a thing against Ned? Ned is faced with what I will call an "absurdism" - A proof of the non-existence of God. As such, might the only reasonable response also be an "absurdism"? How would you suggest that he should have responded, to maintain his "good Christian" status?I also though of a possible alternate plot line. What if "genius Homer" would have presented Ned with a "proof" that Ned did not exist? Should Ned have read the proof, and upon finding it unflawed, promptly disappear?Moose{Added by edit:Re: Dan's message 18 - I think that "Fat Tony", with the "How, may I ask, did you get past the hall monitor?" quote, would make a fine avatar for AdminJar.Also fixed a typo.}This message has been edited by minnemooseus, 03-12-2005 14:39 AM

I just stumbled upon and re-read this old topic and thought it worthy of a bump.Any new comments about the Simpson and religion?Or something like that.Moose

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I think I agree. Ned Flanders is an unrealistic portrayal of "true Christianity" in that he is doing a pretty good job at living the ideals of Christianity. No comment.MooseEdited by Minnemooseus, : Change ID's. I change the default to Adminnemooseus since I do most of my posts as Adminnemooseus, then I start posting as Minnemooseus.

A lot of the Simpsons characters are designed to be mocked for their foibles. Ned seems to be mocked for being too nice and too happy. What a jerk. OK, Ned sometimes does cross over into the goofy. He's not alone there, the show is primarily a comidy. You're saying that Ned is not a pretty good Christian? Where is he straying from "good Christian"?MooseEdited by Minnemooseus, : Damn ID thing again.