Theology and The Simpsons

By Rev. Robert Wentzel

It’s true—there is a connection between The Simpsons and theology! It’s just that it’s generally not good theology . The animated world of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie and their quirky community of fellow Springfieldians is a comedic look at contemporary American culture, and matters of religion are regularly targets of the writers’ satirical and often irreverent commentary. The Simpsons (and most of their neighbors) attend Springfield Community Church whose pastor is the longsuffering Rev. Lovejoy. Zealous neighbor, Ned Flanders, is the poster child for born-again Christians. Other religions get airtime as well. Apu, the owner of the local Kwikee-Mart, is Hindu. Krusty the Clown is Jewish. God Himself makes a guest appearance in many episodes.

But I probably don’t have to tell you any of this. Almost every young person I’ve asked is a frequent viewer of The Simpsons, often against the wishes of his or her parents and other authorities who fear that young people will be corrupted by the examples of bad-boy Bart and the clueless Homer. But you watch anyway. You know the dialogue. You know the characters. You know the plots. What you may not realize, however, is that your viewing could be an exercise in theology.

Simply put, theology is words about God and words about the things of God. Every person who thinks about God, speaks about God, or even denies that God exists is doing the work of a theologian. Theology can be good or bad, true or false, wise or foolish, useful or useless, helpful or harmful. Most people base their theology on what their experience and reason teaches them—a “theology from below,” so to speak. We Christians, and Lutherans in particular, base our theology on what God has revealed in His Word—a “theology from above,” given to us as a divine gift.

Holy Scripture reveals to us what our experience and reason cannot—that our God is the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Holy Scripture reveals to us that we are by nature sinful and unclean, and that we cannot free ourselves from the power of sin, death, and the devil by any effort of our own. Holy Scripture reveals to us that only in the person and work of Jesus Christ, God the Son taking on human flesh, do we find forgiveness of sin and eternal salvation—salvation by grace alone and through faith alone. We preach Christ crucified for our sin and raised for our justification. This is the theology that we believe, teach, and confess.

This is the “theology from above” that those who produce The Simpsons do not understand. Instead, they usually mirror the mistaken theologies of both the unbelieving world and of Christians whose beliefs have been compromised by applying “theology from below.” Very few of the writers are Christian (a notable exception is Conan O’Brien of late night television fame), and therefore are unequipped to rightly represent Christian theology. We should not be surprised when they are not able to do so. Their job is to entertain their audience and, above all, to attract advertising revenue. That’s how they keep their jobs.

So how does The Simpsons show portray the Christian faith? In essence, it erroneously teaches that it’s all about trying to be good and trying to make God happy. Perhaps the most telling episode focuses on Homer’s refusal to attend church with the rest of the family. He initially finds there are no consequences. Then, in a dream, he is visited by a white-bearded, white-robed God who thunders, “Thou hast forsaken my church!” Homer counters with, “I’m not a bad guy! I work hard and I love my kids. So why should I spend half my Sunday hearing about how I’m going to hell? I figure I should try to live right and worship you in my own way.” God seems to find Homer’s response quite reasonable. Later in the episode, Homer, falling asleep on the couch on Sunday morning (with the help of a few beers), starts a fire with his cigar and is saved by Christian neighbor Ned Flanders and a crew of volunteer firemen of various faiths led by Rev. Lovejoy. Of course, Homer draws the wrong conclusion—”The Lord is vengeful.” He does agree, however, to give church another try.

Funny stuff. Irreverent. Bad theology! But harmful to your faith? Not necessarily. The key is to be discerning, that is, to know the one true faith delivered to you and so be able to judge what you see and hear wisely. In my family, I often watched The Simpsons with my teen-aged children, and helped them understand the theology, good or bad, that they were seeing and hearing. St. Paul tells us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12: 2 ESV) They became skilled at discerning the good theology from the bad, although they often complained about my sermonizing while they were simply trying to enjoy the program. It’s a constant hazard when you’re a pastor’s kid.

You, too, can learn to practice discernment. Your Bible and your pastor and your Small Catechism teach you the very wisdom of Christ, the Word of God made flesh, and this divine wisdom will make you wise unto salvation through faith in Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 3: 15 ESV). So, in the immortal words of Bart, “Don’t have a cow, man!” Laugh at The Simpsons, and learn about the folly of the world in which you live, but present yourself where Christ’s Word is preached and His Sacraments administered, and you will be kept firmly grounded in the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and Him crucified for you.

Rev. Robert Wentzel is the pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Walton, Nebraska. He can be reached at rwentzel1@windstream.net