The Good Place & Christianity

Jason: There’s something messed up with this place. We keep fighting with each other. None of the TVs get the NFL RedZone channel. My soul mate doesn’t even know who Blake Bortles is. I know this sounds crazy, but I think we’re in the Bad Place. Michael: Jason figured it out? Jason? This is a real low point. Yeah, this one hurts. (Season 2, episode 2) Tahani: I’m gonna miss these little perks when I’m down in the Bad Place, being forced to wear a knock-off handbag and drink tap water. Chidi: That’s what you think hell is?? (Season 1, episode 12) According to The Good Place , hell is a place demons torture bad people for eternity – and quite enjoy doing it. Michael’s original motivation for creating a fake Good Place was just to spice things up: Michael: The time has come to innovate. The human afterlife can be more fun. For us, obviously, not for the people we’re torturing. Who cares about those dummies? I present ...

Authentic change is a bit of a theme in The Good Place . In the first episode Chidi rapidly becomes disillusioned with Eleanor and concludes, “You’re a selfish person, and it is pointless to help you.” But in the end he agrees to teach her ethics after all, saying, “I think you’re capable of change.” (Just a reminder: this blog contains spoilers ! You have been warned). Michael’s strategy of bringing a group of faulty humans together to torment each other has an interesting side effect: they are confronted with their own weaknesses and failings in a way they can’t avoid. At first this is just the intended torture, but eventually the pressure builds to the point where they finally face the truth about themselves – which isn’t always easy to see: Eleanor: But wait, why is Chidi here? Chidi: There’s something you don't know about me. I read an article saying that growing almonds was bad for the environment, and ye...