The Good Place & Christianity

Jason: I am here to learn about ethnics. Chidi: Wow, that’s great, man. I mean, it's “ethics,” but that’s great. Jason: Pretty sure it’s “ethnics.” - - - Chidi: Let’s move on to this week’s main event, David Hume’s “A Treatise of Human Nature.” You read this, right? Eleanor: I did. Well, I tried to. Well, I tried to want to. (Season 1, episode 4) Continuing from part one , here are some factors Christians might take into account when deciding on an action to take. Loving God. The reason God created humans was to love and be loved by him. His people are called the bride of Christ, and he is deeply in love with us. Jesus said the most important command was to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.” That isn’t something we strive to produce; it is a response to knowing we are loved: “we love because he first loved us.” The motive isn...

Michael: Let’s hear about the tee shirts, please. Eleanor: Eeh, OK. I’ll tell you – but it doesn’t make me look great, so don’t judge me. Michael: That’s literally the purpose of this entire exercise. (Season 1, episode 8) The idea of evaluating a person’s life comes up quite a bit on The Good Place . This is an important theme in Christianity too, but in a different way: not to determine if people are worthy of heaven (which is a free gift and not earned), but as a time of getting everything out in the open. Every person will stand before Jesus individually and answer for the things they did on earth, good and bad. For those who are already forgiven, this isn’t a shameful time of having their nose rubbed in their sins – a terrible lie some people believe – but an opportunity for Jesus to reward his people for even little things they did out of love, and publicly praise them (which will be overwhelming). Those who...