Church of England Recruits Simpsons to Teach Theology, Boost Attendance

June 26, 2007

As you read this story keep in mind I teach my kids theology directly from the Word of God and they love it. They don’t even know what the word relevant means or who the Simpsons are. The Church is in a sad state of affairs when the leader of a major denomination actually likes to watch this junk and advocates its use as a means of teaching biblical principals to our children.

The Church of England believes that the beer-drinking Homer Simpson and his street-wise son, Bart, have addressed religious issues in a way that makes them interesting to teenagers who would normally be bored by long sermons from the vicar. This from the same church who has developed the “Alpha in a Catholic Context” course for the apostate Roman Catholic Church.

The Church continues its downward spiral. Lord may we return the Word of God to its proper place in our churches.

Consider the following portion of scripture and Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the same.

Isaiah 29:9-16

9Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.
10For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.
11And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed:
12And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.
13Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
14Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
15Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?
16Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary: The security of sinners in sinful ways, is cause for lamentation and wonder. The learned men, through prejudice, said that the Divine prophecies were obscure; and the poor urged their want of learning. The Bible is a sealed book to every man, learned or unlearned, till he begins to study it with a simple heart and a teachable spirit, that he may thence learn the truth and the will of God. To worship God, is to approach him. And if the heart be full of his love and fear, out of the abundance of it the mouth will speak; but there are many whose religion is lip-labour only. When they pretend to be speaking to God, they are thinking of a thousand foolish things. They worship the God of Israel according to their own devices. Numbers are only formal in worship. And their religion is only to comply with custom, and to serve their own interest. But the wanderings of mind, and defects in devotion, which are the believer’s burden, are very different from the withdrawing of the heart from God, so severely blamed. And those who make religion no more than a pretence, to serve a turn, deceive themselves. And as those that quarrel with God, so those that think to conceal themselves from him, in effect charge him with folly. But all their perverse conduct shall be entirely done away.

By Eric Young, Christian Post Reporter Tue, Jun. 26 2007 01:46 PM ET (Online Source)

LONDON – The Church of England is getting help from the Simpsons to provide a more relevant way of teaching children about theology and to give a boost to dwindling congregations.

Mixing it Up with the “Simpsons”, a book to be released by the Church of England’s publishing company, will be sent to youth advisers in every diocese across the country next week, the Sunday Telegraph reported, with the hope of showing how Christianity is relevant to life today through issues tackled in the popular U.S. TV cartoon series. Clergy will be urged to show episodes of “The Simpsons” that focus on Christian themes such as love and punishment.

The book’s author, Owen Smith, is a youth worker in the Kent Diocese of Rochester and insists the cartoon series is filled with biblical references. He looks to illustrate this in the book with quote comparisons.

Smith told the Sunday Telegraph: “’The Simpsons’ is hugely moral, with many episodes dealing with issues and dilemmas faced by young people. The willingness of the show’s writers to deal with questions of both morality and spirituality makes the program an ideal tool.”

Mixing it Up with the “Simpsons” has been made specifically to help keep youth interested in church, as the number of under-16s attending worship in the Church of England on Sundays has decreased by 12 percent over the five-year period between 2000 and 2005.

The initiative has received backing from the Church, with Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams speaking of his adoration of the show.

The Church of England head said that the cartoon was “generally on the side of the angels and on the side of sense,” and also explained that beneath the dysfunctional image of the animated family lay an example of “remarkable strength and remarkable mutual commitment.”

“For all that Homer is a slob and Bart is a brat and Lisa is a pain in the neck, you know there’s real affection and loyalty,” Williams said.

According to Church House Publishing, the official publisher of the Church of England, Mixing it up with The Simpsons is split into two parts each with six sessions; the first part is for those who are newer to church and the second part is for young people who have been coming to church for a little longer.

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