Ooops! I didn’t post a Simpsons article last week because of Work Camp so I’m making up for it today by bringing you the forth and fifth installment on Why I Love The Simpsons.

Part 4: The Flandereses Aren’t Geeks

Ok Rod and Todd are and Maude has a thing for Homer which she hides behind a low… but there isn’t a better neighbor in the world then Ned Flanders.

Born to a couple of freaky beatniks, Ned Flanders is the patron saint of Springfield. In Mark Pinsky’s wonderful book, The Gospel According to The Simpsons, he writes about Flanders saying,

Religion and morality inform nearly every aspect of Flanders’ life, from the door bell that alternates chimes of “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” and “Bringing in the Sheaves,” to his air horn that blares the “Hallelujah” chorus at football games. Together with his family, he prays at meals and before bed. He attends his church three times a week and tithes, contributing to seven other congregations just to be on the safe side. He belongs to a Bible study group and keeps his notes stuck on the refrigerator with a fish magnet, and he turns his basement into a Christian youth hostel from time to time. Like many believers, he thanks God often for his blessings, for things as small as a beautiful day. He calls on the Almighty for everything from a better performance of Guys and Dolls at the local dinner theater to the backstage players-those who work behind the scenes to make the production work. The family carves Bible dioramas out of pumpkins at Halloween and gives out hugs instead of candy to trick-or-treaters.

What I love about Flanders is that he is no a one-dimensional evangelical stereotype. He is multi-layered and the writers allow us to see him get angry and flustered and act like a human being. We see Ned struggling with the death of his wife and raising two sons on his own. We see him losing his temper from time to time and we see Homer push every one of his buttons. Yet every-time Ned’s faith stands strong.

To see Ned’s Greatest Hits check out the following episodes:
Homer Loves Flanders
In Marge We Trust
Hurricane Neddy

Part 5: Maybe You’d Like Some Unitarian Ice Cream?
Religion plays a huge part in the Simpsons. More than any other show on television the Simpsons openly discuss religion of all shapes and sizes. Apu is a Hindu. Lisa has become a Buddhist. Krusty “Herschel Pinkus Yerucham” Krustofski is a Jew. Stange cult leaders have even made appearances from time to time.

However, most everyone else in town attends The First Church of Springfield which is a off shoot of “the western branch of American Reformed Presbylutheranism.”

Name me another show on TV where the main characters regularly attend church. You can’t. 7th Heaven is off the air and Edith Bunker is in reruns. Name me another show where religion is examined, talked about, and often placed at the center of the episode. Again, you can’t do it.

The next couple of installments in this series will deal directly with the religion found in the Simpsons. That should make for some interesting discussions.

Next Week: BMIN 4F18 – The Simpsons Episode Every Minister Must See