'Living Biblically' Could Be Great TV, But The True Challenge Is Bigger Than We Think

 

Big Bang Theory star Johnny Galecki has sold a new show to CBS about living one's life - literally - according to the Bible. But truly 'living biblically' is harder than we think.Reuters

The TV network CBS is making a new sitcom called Living Biblically, a drama all about living life literally according to the commands of Bible. The show is an adaptation of A.J. Jacobs book The Year Of Living Biblically in which Jacobs recounted his experience of a year of trying to take every command of the Bible literally. This light-hearted account involved a big-bearded, white-robed Jacobs wandering across America attempting to avoid shellfish, make an animal sacrifice, and stone adulterer.

The Hollywood Reporter describes the premise of the CBS show: 'The project centers on a modern-day man who, at a crossroads in his life, decides to live life according to the Bible.' The show will be produced by Big Bang Theory star Johnny Galecki.

What should Christians make of this prospect?

Clearly, this is not expected to be a reverent, 'faith-based' exploration of Biblical wisdom. Some Christians might fear that the show will only invite mockery of those who do attempt to take the Bible at least a little bit seriously. Others might be excited that it could prompt new discussions with friends about faith and the Bible.

I doubt that the show, if it hopes to reach mainstream America, will be an unrelenting roast of Bible-believers, though it certainly won't be a pious production either. Whatever the show turns out to be, it's worth reminding ourselves just what 'living Biblically' actually means. Namely, it doesn't have much to do with avoiding shellfish. It's much harder than that.

A bigger story

The Bible is made up of many stories that make up one big story. Its essential narrative character is not a quirk of history but is bound up with our own identity as story-making individuals looking for a great storyteller to guide our lives. In other words, our lives are all about stories, and crucially, so is the Bible. To treat it merely like a list of divine do's and don'ts, a 'manual' for how to live, is to miss the point.

Firstly, the narrative nature of the Bible provides important context for much of what may be otherwise baffling. Its teachings need to be heard as, when and how they were first heard, to be properly understood. Some commands were for a certain time and not another, some have specific purpose. Some commands get retold, or new teachings are introduced. As one Rabbi once put it: 'You have heard it said...But I say to you...'

To truly understand the Bible, we have to see its bigger picture.Reuters

God communicates to people through his word because he desires relationship, redemption and restoration. The scale of the Bible is cosmic, and is about far more than what we do - It's about being caught up in a bigger reality, written into a bigger story. The commands of the Bible shouldn't be ignored, but if we think that they're the ultimate purpose of the Bible, then we miss the forest for the trees.

Writer Eugene Peterson writes: 'Spiritual theology, using Scripture as text, does not so much present us with a moral code and tell us, "Live up to this," nor does it set out a system of doctrine and say, "Think like this." The biblical way is to tell a story and invite us, "Live into this - this is what it looks like to be human in this God-made and God-ruled world; this is what is involved in becoming and maturing as a human being."

A greater challenge

Another problem with the cartoonish premise of The Year Of Living Biblically is that it emphasises the comic and trivial (strictly attending to ancient ritual laws) whilst missing the truly challenging. The greatest challenge of scripture is one that runs through its story but is seen most clearly in Jesus. We must die to self and follow a crucified Messiah. Through a life of self-sacrifice, we learn to live out what Jesus said was the ultimate summing up of the law: to love the Lord your God, and to love your neighbour as yourself.

That kind of Biblical living takes not a year, but a lifetime to even begin to understand. It's a call that has only become more relevant and more demanding in a pervasively narcissistic society that values the self above all. Whether it's the inward gaze provoked by social media, or our capacity to ignore the injustices of the world so long as we enjoy comfort, we all need to be compelled again by the story of Jesus: God himself, giving his life for others in radical love.

To become like Jesus is not a command that we can ever tick off a checklist, but it is a goal that's worth living for. Crucially it comes not in abstract form as a command from a distant, demanding deity, but as a call from a saviour who gives us grace as we stumble towards that which we hope to become.

Who knows what will become of CBS' new TV show about Living Biblically. It might be quite a good laugh.

To truly 'live Biblically' though, is a challenge that transcends any comedy shtick. It's a call to be part of a bigger story: the transformation of the universe – and our lives with it.

You can follow @JosephHartropp on Twitter.