The look is always the same. Eyes grow big, eyebrows raise, and heads tilt to the side. And then the question: “You’re going to do what?!”
“The Sodom and Gomorrah story. But in a contemporary setting – a fictional present day resort town in the American West. It’s a character driven drama series like you watch on cable, but with good theology.”
Then comes the awkward pause, as the person tries to decide just how concerned they need to be about my craziness, and whether they are going to try to talk me out of my latest project.
Those that do offer a variety of reasons why this is a bad idea.
“It’s such a negative story. You should focus on God’s love and acceptance rather than his judgment. We need to build bridges with people, not tell them they are sinners.”
“That’s Old Testament. New Testament Jesus is all about grace, not punishment.”
“You will be seen as a hater and kill your career.”
“The subject matter is just too controversial. Nobody is going to work with you on this. It will be impossible to get funding or distribution.”
“The Sodom and Gomorrah story has been widely misinterpreted in history. I don’t think you should perpetuate old fashioned interpretations of that passage.”
“America may have its problems, but I really don’t think you can compare our present culture with Sodom and Gomorrah. God would not judge us the same way he did them.”
The list goes on, and I genuinely appreciate the effort to spare me from tackling a project that people see as flawed from the start. Indeed, it is for that reason that I decided to offer this written justification right up front. As much as I realize we face many obstacles trying to get this series made, I believe it is well worth the effort. Here are a few reasons why.
Read and share the rest of this article here: https://americanbabylon.substack.com/p/why-i-am-producing-a-series-based