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The Pixel Punk Diaries |
God or the Girl
Last night I got sucked into watching God or the Girl, the A&E documentary about four guys discerning the priesthood. I wasn’t planning on watching the show, because I had experienced enough real life drama for the day, the highlight of which was a near-fistfight between two old guys over the rules at the community pool. (“Can’t you read? The sign says no kids in the pool after 3 PM!!”) But that’s a story for another time. Let’s talk about God or the Girl.
I’ve been on two MTV reality shows myself, and I know first hand that Christianity doesn’t work in the machine known as “reality television.” Like everything else on TV, the end goal of a reality show is to get high ratings so you can charge a lot of money for commercials. Nothing commands high ratings like sin, so that’s what the show: lust, greed, pride, wrath…
So you can see why I was skeptical when an A&E decided to do a show about four guys discerning the priesthood. I was afraid A&E would make a sensational show that manipulated four guys for the sake of entertainment. Or even worse, they’d make a dull Christian show about nice guys doing nice things. What I saw last night was entirely different. It was a raw, honest look at discernment. And that includes talking about sex.
I mean seriously, the most frightening thing to our society is not a bad economy or even terrorism. On any given day the real fear of people in our society is the thought that they might never have sex. That is why most people reduced the decision to be a priest to be a decision about sex. And if we are going to be honest, that’s what every young Catholic—myself included—thinks about when they wonder if God might be calling them to be a nun or a priest. Why celibacy? Anything but celibacy!
When every other reality show is about people trying to have sex, it’s refreshing to see people trying to not have sex. When every other reality show is about people trying to have sex, it’s refreshing to see people trying to not have sex. It’s equally refreshing to see these guys put their faith in God with such difficult decisions. Why become a priest when you already have the perfect job? Why become a priest when your mom wants you to, but you don’t? Why become a priest when you are in love with your girlfriend? It is these real-life dramas are what made this show intense and interesting.
So God or the Girl gets two thumbs up from me. And I don’t say that just because I’m a Catholic guy in the media, because I find that very little of the Christian life is not entertaining. (That, ironically, is what makes the Christian life so good.) But this show is good stuff, so make room tonight to check it out:
Monday, April 17, 2006
5:00 pm Episode 01 - God or the Girl
6:00 pm Episode 02 - God or the Girl
9:00 pm Episode 03 - God or the Girl
10:00 pm Episode 04 - God or the Girl
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
1:00 am Episode 03 - God or the Girl
2:00 am Episode 04 - God or the Girl
9:00 am Episode 02 - God or the Girl
10:00 am Episode 03 - God or the Girl
Visit the God or the Girl website
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Matt Smith is the Director of Internet Ministries for Life Teen, an international Catholic youth ministry based in Phoenix, Arizona. He is the creative force behind Life Teen's cluster of websites that receive nearly 2 million visits a year. Since staring on MTV's "Real World" and MTV's "Road Rules Challenge", Matt has traveled the country speaking at colleges, universities, schools, and Catholic parishes.
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