How can Christians reconcile their beliefs with entertainment that misrepresents Christianity?
Entertainment and media are largely secular, making it difficult to find TV shows, music or social media that do not promote some version of earthly desires or worldviews. Given this context, “Good Omens” appears relatively harmless, catering to teens and young adults. The show follows Crowley—a mischievous demon—as he forms an unusual friendship with the angel Aziraphale, and they try to avoid Armageddon.
“Good Omens” plays around with Christian beliefs and concepts—angels, demons, the anti-Christ and Armageddon. When I began to watch the show, I could not immediately identify why it should be considered harmful to viewers.
The first thing I noticed while watching the show was that the angels and demons had distinctly human characteristics, emotions and relationships. They had extra powers but, otherwise, Crowley and Aziraphale were just like regular humans. Crowley is mischievous, but he is harmless compared to the other demons, and Aziraphale—although he is an angel—can be tempted to side with Crowley. The show focuses on the friendship of the angel and demon, who try their best to defy their good and evil urges.
The angelic and demonic forces in the show are also humanized—quarrelsome, petty and imperfect—but their “human” nature makes it difficult to reconcile the forces with our understanding of angelic or demonic beings. With petty angels and redeemable demons, Crowley, Aziraphale and the show’s viewers are left without a sense of the horror of true evil or awe of the glory of God.
Lack of reverence or horror is not an unintended side effect in the show; “Good Omens” hinges on questioning the standard interpretation of biblical or historical events. Even in the very first scene, biblical events are changed. Adam and Eve flee the garden rather than being cast out. As the angel and demon appear, Crowley does what is in a demon’s job description: he places doubt in Aziraphale’s mind—was what God did just? Throughout the show, Crowley tries to persuade Aziraphale that God is mistaken or that, either way, none of it matters.
At one point, Crowley even admits, “I can’t see what’s so bad about knowing the difference between good and evil.”
Together, this almost-human pair represents how trivially “Good Omens” treats Christian beliefs and demonic influences. Rather than displaying the true evil of the Satanic, the anti-Christ is just a baby, the demon and angel are just two beings doing their jobs and the end of the world is not that serious.
Crowley and Aziraphale’s plan is to manipulate the child with their respective good and evil natures—so that the anti-Christ grows up a normal child. This an interesting concept, because though the means of good and evil influence are most likely not the same, and the stakes are not the end of the world, humans are designed with good and evil desires related to God, our sinful nature and the devil. This depiction of the influences that create humanity’s war between good and evil was interesting, and not altogether inaccurate. Though the director, Neil Gaiman, has many controversial opinions involving Christianity in this show, this is one theme that is worth attention.
Watching secular or religious shows that twist or trivialize Christian beliefs is not necessarily wrong; it is good to challenge media, compare it to biblical teaching and form new opinions and beliefs while remaining educated. But watching a show like “Good Omens” for entertainment can normalize and humanize negative spiritual influences—until they give you a jump scare, but you can argue that it is just an actor.
It is easy to forget the demonic forces depicted on screen represent real beings whose only purpose is temptation and the corruption of your soul.
As I touched on before, the most complicated aspect is the way that “Good Omens” treats doubt. The characters continually encourage viewers to doubt God and ask questions. Was there a better way? What counts as evil? Does any of it even matter? Questioning God is not wrong; it is natural, a part of our sinful nature and need for proof of the supernatural.
However, questioning God’s authority through media without the intention of challenging those assumptions can plant seeds of doubt outside of our spiritual search for the truth.
As a Christian, there are always moments of doubt or fear but shows encouraging that thought process are misleading. They allow demons to have a voice, a plot and an opportunity to garner the sympathy of viewers. If an angel can be misled, and demons are not purely evil, then who is to say that the Bible is honest concerning Heaven and Hell? While it is not necessarily wrong to watch secular shows, I do believe the line is much finer when it comes to shows that distort Christian beliefs.
What we put into our bodies and our brains affects our beliefs and behaviors. This show is no different.
