(Newly Updated 5/8/09)
ABC’s Nightline did a piece tonight on Christopher West and Theology of the Body tonight, and I tuned in to see how badly the media would mess it up.
But guess what? It was brilliant. Zero trace of anti-Catholicism, and several money moments for telling the Good News of Sex and Marriage, complete with married couples’ testimonies, the bulimia-contraception analogy, and the mutual climax quote from John Paul II (You’ve got to see the clip or read the books to know what I’m talking about).
A downside in trying to pack in so much in ten minutes is that you leave out all of the dimensions of the Theology of the Body, like the beauty of vocation, celibacy and consecrated life, its implications for art, liturgy and beyond. As I said recently to a friend, sometimes people get the idea (as it would be easy to) that TOB is “Theology of the Genitals,” when, in fact, it’s Theology of the Body, Soul and entire person.
Another critique I have, which is probably a critique that many have of Christopher West, is that if you didn’t know Christopher West, Theology of the Body, and the context, he might come off a little like a sex maniac. However, if you know how far he’s come in his personal and professional development, you get it. West is really good at what he does–communicating and getting one’s attention so that he can share Theology of the Body. This is a message people need to hear, and one that has affected the lives of so many already.
Did you see it? What did you think?
Things you can do:
- Read Theology of the Body for Beginners, or buy it for someone who’s not read it
- Pray for hearts and minds of those who saw this tonight to be opened
- Thank ABC (see link above) for doing a piece on TOB
Update: Read CNA’s Interview with West regarding the “sensationalism” of the interview content.
Update 2: CNA’s Interview with Dr. Alice Von Hildebrand, Mary Shivanandan, and Fr. Jose Granados.
Update 3: Facebook conversation on Natural Family Planning discussion board.
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Glad you got to see it! I read the article on abc.com and was pleasantly surprised!
The video clip is available as the feature video at the Nightline website right now!! It is almost the entire clip that was on last night.
And, it was excellent, in my opinion, as well!! A real triumph in this spiritual battle!
i love it. i really couldn’t believe how the reporters just did a piece on this and no spin! amazing.
I was very dismayed by it. The comparison of Hugh Hefner with Pope John Paul was absolutely appalling. I am very familiar with TOB and I have also heard and spoken with West. If I didn’t know who he was, I would have thought he was a sex-obsessed kook. West said, “I really love Hugh Hefner.” What was his point? It wasn’t clear. And most in the audience would never have heard of TOB, so what message would that give to them? That it’s just fine to go out and read Playboy and similar garbage. A soundbite like that can do an awful lot of damage. West should have known better. My impression is that he is extremely naive in dealing with the mainstream media on a subject like this.
I saw Christopher West at world youth day. He was great. My kids loved his talk too.
I thought the Hugh Hefner analogy was a great move, actually. At first I was like “woah, where is going with this one??” but after hearing the bit I thought it was a really good way to relate to the public who HADN’T heard of TOB so that they could understand how our infatuation with sex has a root in a good place, we just need to bring it to completion. He has a great way of relating complicated ideas to the regular guy in a positive light, not just “NO”.
Mary, consider Christopher West’s defense in the interview him about the Nightline piece. It turns out he never called Hefner a hero, and said much in the interview to counteract what was portrayed, and that got cut. We need to be discerning about how we take in Theology of the Body, and prudent (rather than infatuous as some are), but I think West makes a good explanation here. I still think the Lord will bless the Nightline success thought it had very obvious flaws:
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=15928
In his defense, over eight hours of taped interviews were edited down to seven minutes. ABC might have picked what they liked and pieced it together. This is out of West’s control. I’ve read West’s works and have been to his seminars as well and though I wasn’t too crazy about the ABC spotlight myself I am grateful for the kind news reporter and the attention brought to the Theology of the Body. For West, who is well aware of the mainstream media and its effects on culture (as I’m sure you’ve gathered from his books), he did his best to explain to the best of his ability (which I’m sure we can both agree is always above and beyond) in the eight hours of taping. West put his trust that it would best portrayal of JPII’s teachings so much that the TOB institute sent a message asking us to pray for those reached my the ABC spotlight. That being said, let’s pray that good came to the 4 million viewers who could have witnessed the testimony. Let us pray to JPII and ask for his intercession so that the message of the Theology of the Body is shared with many.
I hear you Roxanna. Clearly the interview as aired had its weaknesses, but the fact that they even remotely got it right without smacking of anti-Catholic bias seemed like a miracle to me.
Mary, Christopher meant he loved Hugh Hefner in reference to that he loves him as a person made in the image and likeness of God. He loves Hefner in a merciful way. He loves him in way that recognizes Hefner as a person who needs to be loved, needs to feel God’s love, and shown God’s love. Love and Mercy, Mary. That’s all it is that Christopher has for this man. Love and Mercy. Christopher hopes and wants Hefner to be truly saved. He has a zeal for souls. THIS is the love that he has for Hefner.
I can say this, b/c I personally know Christopher. He did know better. ABC did not.
Having agreed that a lot of people have unfairly judged West from a highly edited 10 minute interview, I think this conflict/ criticism of West and his portrayal of TOB is a good opportunity for dialogue on interpretation of TOB from the original documents and intentions behind JP2′s work. I think while West has come a long way in the last ten years of his work, people like Alice von Hildebrand, Mary Shivanandan, and Fr. Jose Granadas (and others) have some very valid criticisms. What I’d like to see come out of this whole thing is a face to face dialogue between West and his critics. This back and forth in the media, serves a good purpose, but also can lead to a lack of charity.