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The program focusses on Monica, an apprentice angel who is quided by a supervisor to help a different individual each week.
Make no mistake, Touched By An Angel is better for Christians to watch than almost any other regular network program. However, it falls short of the "Christian" label. It is not bad, but in several senses it is inadequate.
The most obvious inadequacy is that the show feeds into the New Age preoccupation with angels. Though the angels in the show always point people to God, there is danger that viewers will look to angels rather than God to solve their problems. The uniqueness of Christianity is that we have the privilege of communing not with angels but directly with God Himself.
A second inadequacy is less obvious but also dangerous. In the show, the angels have human foibles and failings, they can't override human free will, but they have the responsibility of using words to direct people toward God. If angels are preaching the gospel, Christians may feel they are released from responsibilty, there is nothing left for them to do but watch television. The reality is that Jesus gave responsibility for the Great Commission to humans, not angels.
The third inadequacy is that Touched By An Angel, as a network program, must attract a wide audience and therefore seeks to be inclusive of all religions. It talks about "God", not necessarily the Christian God, and almost never mentions "Jesus". One recent episode featured a man who was recording his good deeds in order to earn God's favour. The angel explained that we cannot earn God's favour, but that God Himself overcomes our failures, bridging the gap between our efforts and God's holy standards. It was a perfect time to bring in Jesus' death on the cross, the only basis on which God bridges this gap. However, the show cannot be exclusive, so it said only that "God" bridges the gap. The anomaly with this is that it is only Christianity that has this theology of grace. Judaism and Islam are more focussed on law. To Buddhists and Hindus, the question does not even make sense: in the Eastern religions, there is no clear sense of sin and therefore no need of a Saviour. The theology presented in this episode was uniquely Christian, but it was presented as if all religions hold it.
Feel free to watch this program and affirm the truth it presents, but also be aware of the areas in which it falls short of the full truth.
The Herald is continuing to search for a regular columnist or columnists who would write regularly about television.
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