Living by the Book?

What happens when you try to follow the Bible without a real relationship with Jesus Christ? That’s the premise behind the new CBS sitcom Living Biblically, though its writers and producers may not realize it.

The show, which premiered on Feb. 26, follows film critic and all-around average guy Chip Curry (Jay R. Ferguson), whose unexamined life is disrupted first by the death of his best friend and then by the discovery that his wife is pregnant. These events inspire him to want to be a better man, and so, hearkening back to the Catholic faith of his childhood, he decides to study the Bible and follow, as he sees it, the “rules” for better living.

This setup is a bit of a departure from the best-selling nonfiction book the show is based on. Jewish author A.J. Jacobs is an agnostic who took on “Biblical” living as an experiment in stunt journalism. Patrick Walsh, the show’s creator, thought that wouldn’t be compelling enough for a TV series, and turned to his own history to give his main character a more relatable motivation.

“I grew up in a devoutly Catholic home and attended church regularly. My dad teaches Catholic theology,” explains Walsh. “I knew there would be enough challenges in pulling this off, so I based the show off the religion I was most familiar with and incorporated a rabbi.”

In these deeply divided times, CBS is taking some big (and welcome) risks by even opening the door to depicting faith in a humorous way. If the show isn’t critical enough of some Biblical standards, it will risk making strident secularists angry. If it goes too far in dismissing them or characterizing them as bigotry, it will risk offending not only believers, but also Americans who consider themselves at least culturally Christian even if they don’t personally follow Christ.

In the first three episodes screened for critics, the show walks that fine line fairly well. There is some foul language, but that’s to be expected if you approach the show as I’d suggest you do—as a sort of anthropological exploration of the Christian faith by a post-Christian society.

It’ll be clear to genuine Christ-followers that Chip is Christianity-curious, not Christian, but his misconceptions are common and far from malicious. At the very least, his Bible-inspired attempts to be more honest and loving show the common grace of good results.

As Walsh says, “Currently [it’s] more about a man who is transformed by the Bible in a way that is leading him to better, healthier, more fulfilling life.” So, yes, it’s a soft version of the Joel Osteen/Oprah prosperity gospel. But given that these are the same erroneous assumptions much of the rest of the country makes, it would seem churlish to feel overly affronted.

The show still needs some time to settle into a rhythm and mine its concept for more original humor. No doubt it would have felt fresher and worked better as a modern-style, single-camera show without a live audience. But that’s not how old-school CBS does things. Still, there are some laugh-out-loud moments in the first few episodes, as when Chip decides to carry out an Old Testament penalty against a cheating co-worker. As I always remind people, the first few episodes of Seinfeld weren’t very funny either.

The main question is whether Chip will eventually progress into a deeper understanding of the Scripture he is studying. Specifically, will he eventually come to realize the fatal error in his efforts to live Biblically—that it’s impossible for anyone to keep the Bible’s perfect standard, which is why we all need a perfect sacrifice to keep the standard for us?

Given the open-minded, constructive start the show has already made, it’s not unreasonable to hope it could continue onto some firmer (and hopefully a little funnier) ground.