Friends of God

I just watched the documentary Friends of God: A Road Trip with Alexandra Pelosi. Alexandra Pelosi is the daughter of Nancy Pelosi, our ever beloved Speaker of the House. Somehow, she managed to make another documentary entitled Journeys with George, in which she actually travelled with the 2000 Bush campaign. You know, liberals often present Bush as a secretive person who likes everything to be scripted, but you have to marvel at a man who lets Nancy Pelosi's daughter travel with him so she can broadcast to the world a behind-the-scenes look at him and his campaign.

The Friends of God documentary has some pleasant moments. You have the cutest kids saying "I believe in creation, not evolution." There was a picture in which a dinosaur was pulling a buggy (which somewhat reminds me of the Flintstones). And Ms. Pelosi interviews Christians who have nose-rings and long hair. Okay, that's not exactly a pleasant moment, but I'm happy that the Gospel is reaching all kinds of people.

There are four scenes that stand out in my mind. The first one showed a gift shop at a Christian carnival, in which there were stuffed dolls of biblical characters. Ms. Pelosi looks at the unkempt-looking Jesus doll and says, "Jesus isn't looking too good these days, is he?" I was rather disgusted. A Jesus doll? That sort of trivializes Jesus, doesn't it? Where is this carnival's reverence? Do we want our kids to put Jesus in the same category as their teddy bear or stuffed gorilla?

The second scene that stands out in my mind is Ms. Pelosi's interview with Ted Haggard, the scandalized ex-pastor and former President of the National Association of Evangelicals. Haggard said that many people are disappointed when religious scandals occur because they deeply wish that godly people existed. Then, as if her viewers don't watch the news, Ms. Pelosi informed us that Ted Haggard later resigned from his pastorate because of homosexual activity. She quoted Haggard as saying that he had continually wrestled with this dark side of his personality.

Granted, when I first saw Haggard's face on the documentary, my thought was, "Get that hypocrite off the set! I don't want to see his face." But what if he truly meant every word that he said? I know for myself that there is often a gap between what I believe and what I actually do. I can look at God's way and say, "That is wholesome and right and good, and it makes a lot of sense," but human nature is a powerful force for sin, not to mention the fact that Satan is always trying to trip Christians up. As far as Haggard's comment is concerned, I think that many non-believers like it when Christians stumble, since they can then say "Gotcha!" But I also think that there is a genuine desire for good people to exist. People are starving for hope. I can even see this on shows like Smallville (as we'll see tomorrow).

The third scene that sticks with me involves Mel White, the ghost-writer for Jerry Falwell and Oliver North who later came out as a homosexual. White was visiting Falwell's church, and Ms. Pelosi asked him why. He responded that he was privileged to sit in as his enemies plotted against him. He then characterized Falwell's people as men and women who are not activists for the money, for they are on a crusade. I could somewhat detect that White admires conservative evangelicals, even though he's also scared to death of them.

The fourth scene featured a family that home-schooled its kids. The woman of the family cheerfully said that she never envisioned in her younger years that she would become a housewife. She didn't particularly care for kids, she wasn't much of a nurturer, and her dream was to become a lawyer. Yet, God changed her. She loves raising her kids and being with them moment by moment. I like this scene because it teaches that God can change people, and that gives me hope.

So I don't think that Ms. Pelosi was intending to preach the Gospel in her documentary, but that's what she ending up doing.