FOX’S ‘LUCIFER’ Lets Viewers Know What Deception Looks Like
I’ve been a freelance journalist for several years now. In all that time, I’ve worked for small town newspapers, an entertainment guide, and several Internet sources. I’ve written about everything from hard news, local community events, conducted hundreds of interviews, written music reviews, and even one theatrical review. So, having said all that, it’s not much of a stretch to include a brief…very brief…review of a new show on the Fox Network.
Lucifer stars Tom Ellis as Lucifer Morningstar, with Lauren German as detective Cloe Dancer. Okay, the premise is rather bizarre. The original fallen angel gets tired of Hell and decides to take a vacation. Naturally, he chooses Los Angeles, where he owns an upscale night club, drives an expensive sports car, is flushed with cash, and lives the ultimate hedonistic life style. Ellis plays Lucifer as a suave, womanizing character with a British accent. No James Bond inspiration here…
In the pilot episode, a murder is committed outside the nightclub, which almost makes Lucifer feel something akin to compassion. This is how he meets and teams up with Cloe Dancer to solve the crime.
Granted, it’s a bit of a stretch as far as the plot is concerned. When I first saw the ads for this show, it made me think, “Are you kidding? On Fox?” The only reason I watched it was because it followed the X-Files, and my wife and I are both huge fans of that show. When Lucifer came on, we decided to watch it for a few minutes just to see how bad it could possibly be.
We were surprised. While the premise is kind of lame, the dialogue is excellent. So far as we were able to tell from the pilot show, the portrayal of Lucifer is actually Biblically sound.
The TV Lucifer is handsome, sophisticated, and very charming. 2nd Corinthians 11:14 says: “…Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” Couple this with Ezekiel 28:17, “Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor”, and you’ll see that the depiction of Satan as a grotesque figure is far from true.
There are dozens of scriptures about the character of Satan, and therefore the true character of evil, throughout the Bible. There’s not space here to reference all of it. The point is that we humans are easily seduced by the bright, shiny, good looking things of this world.
We are also easily seduced by the lies that come from this bright, shiny world. In regard to Lucifer’s power of seduction, John 8:44 says: “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
Perhaps the greatest of all deceptions is that we can’t recognize evil for what it is when we are confronted with it. We are conditioned to think that evil will act, and even look, a certain way.
Let me give you an example. A good friend of mine from Fort Wayne, Indiana, Shawn Browning, has a Christian rock band called Grave Robber. This is not your standard issue Christian rock act. They dress in ghoulish stage costumes that make the Walking Dead look like GQ models. Think in terms of secular bands like Slipknot and Mushroom Head.
Needless to say, Grave Robber is not everyone’s cup of tea. Shawn told me about one encounter he had with a “church lady” type who gave him grief about the band’s appearance. This was his response:
“As one who shares your biblical worldview, I would like to know where we find in scripture that evil looks ugly and scary?” Shawn said.
As far as I can see, scripture indicates that evil is enticing and attractive. Suppose Fangoria Magazine and Sports Illustrated‘s Swim Suit Issue are side by side on the rack in the checkout lane. Sure, Fangoria many have a gory, scary cover, but it won’t lead my mind to impure thoughts. The Swimsuit Issue, however, could very easily if I allowed it to. Biblically, which is more evil? I believe Hollywood has trained us to see evil completely different than how God says it truly is. I mean, where does more real evil take place? A tavern or a bank?
Shawn could not have responded better. Our society is permeated with lies, deception, excessive false idol worship, and unrelenting ego. (Read Isaiah 14: 12-17 to understand the destructive power of ego.) We are continually battling spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12) that comes not only from our government, but from some of our pulpits as well.
This column could almost be a continuation of last week’s installment and the mention of Matthew 7:15-16 and the reference to recognition of false prophets by their works/fruits.
There is yet hope for America. But we’ve go to wise up. In politics and beyond, deception honors no one, but awareness is more powerful than judgment.
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