I enjoy “The Simpsons.” Besides irreverent humor, it offers abundant life lessons. Homer almost always ends up doing the right thing, even if it doesn’t look as though he’s headed that way at the beginning of the show. Some critics have argued “The Simpsons” is one of the most moral shows on television. According to Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, “It’s one of the most subtle pieces of propaganda around in the cause of sense, humility and virtue.” Back in 2001, The Christian Century suggested the Simpsons might be TV’s most religious family.

But as much as I love the Simpsons, I’m afraid they may have taught a generation or perhaps even several generations that Christians look like Ned Flanders. Ned Flanders, a devoutly evangelical Christian, is the Simpsons’ next door neighbor. Although he’s good-natured, cheerful, honest, and among the most compassionate of Springfield’s residents, Homer Simpson can’t stand him. 

Ned Flanders doesn’t swear. Instead, he says, “Ding dong diddly!” or “Hey diddly ho!” He avoids alcohol. In one episode, he complains, “I’m not thinking straight; why did I have that wine cooler last month?” As for sexual pleasure, Flanders advises, “Just tell them that God wants them to ignore everything in their bodies that God is making happen.” In other words, Ned Flanders is no fun. His faith keeps him from enjoying life’s ordinary pleasures. He says he grounds his behavior in Scripture: “I’ve done everything the Bible says – even the stuff that contradicts the other stuff!” 

Okay, that line actually is funny, because the Bible is full of contradictions. But if Ned Flanders is the only Christian you encounter on a regular basis, you might think all Christians are like him. A painful Ned Flanders moment that sticks in my memory is when Ned and his family return from a trip, and Homer asks where they’ve been. Flanders replies, “We went away to Christian Camp. We were learning how to become more judgmental.” 

Ouch. Double ouch.

And perhaps worse, Ned Flanders isn’t cool. 

I’m not saying “The Simpsons” should get rid of Ned Flanders, or that conservative Christianity and maybe even Christianity in general don’t deserve a ribbing. Comedy is an effective form of social commentary, and as someone put it recently, the church isn’t being persecuted; it’s being challenged to act like Jesus. But “The Simpsons” is one of the most popular shows in television history and has aired for over 30 years. 30 plus years of Ned Flanders, the corny, goody-two-shoes caricature of an American Christian. I fear that for many, especially folks under 40, Ned Flanders is the face of Christianity. If you think being a Christian means being like Ned Flanders, why would you choose that?   

I wish there were a way to balance the Ned Flanders effect by reminding people of the many people who really deserve to be the face of Christianity, who have acted like Jesus. Of course folks have heard of Martin Luther King, Jr., but they might forget that he was a Christian pastor acting on the most basic principle of his faith: love your neighbor as yourself. 

They might not remember that William Wilburforce, the British politician and leader of the movement to abolish slavery, was an evangelical Christian.

They may never have heard of Oscar Romero, the El Salvadoran archbishop who spoke out against social injustice and violence amid the conflict that led to the Salvadoran Civil War. Romero said, “The ones who have a voice must speak for the voiceless,” so he spoke up. He was assassinated for doing so.

They also probably never heard of Dorothy Day, the Catholic journalist and activist who insisted on the preferential option for the poor and helped establish the Catholic Worker Movement. She practiced civil disobedience, which led to her repeated arrest, including in 1973 at the age of seventy-five.

They may never have heard of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Lutheran pastor and theologian who resisted Hitler and Naziism and was executed for it. 

They likely never heard of Dom Helder Camara, the Brazilian priest and liberation theologian who said, “When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.”

Closer to home, they may not know about Glenda Hope, the Presbyterian pastor who led San Francisco Network Ministries in the City’s Tenderloin neighborhood for decades, a ministry that serves the unhoused, the drug-addicted, and the outcast. She established San Francisco SafeHouse to help women escape prostitution and continues to work closely with that organization.

And they probably haven’t heard of Janie Spahr, who describes herself as “a lesbian, feminist, Presbyterian minister committed to justice issues for the lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender community, pursuing connections for wholeness with other oppressed communities claiming their freedom.” I’ve known Janie and worked beside her at various junctures since the early 1990’s before I went to seminary. She has met hostility and rejection with a colossal heart and genuine love. Her bold leadership has transformed lives and communities.

Janie Spahr turns 80 this month. I thank God for her long, courageous ministry. Janie Spahr, Glenda Hope, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King, Jr., and so many others, ordinary folks who walk the walk, who march in Pride Parades, help with disaster recovery after hurricanes, stand up for Black Lives Matter, fight for fair housing, welcome the stranger, heal the afflicted, offer water to the thirsty and food to the hungry: these should be the faces we associate with the Christian faith; these are followers of Jesus. 

Ned Flanders isn’t a bad guy, but he doesn’t work as Christianity’s poster child, and he’s held that position for a long, long time.