Discussing
Forcing faith on 'Dexter'

interesting, i'll have to check that out.  thanks for the review.

Maybe the show's writers don't know any Christians but maybe the only Christians they know are the awkward vocal Christians they write about. I've done enough damage control due to conversations of this sort to find Sam cringe-worthy but believable.

I have never watched the program but it is interesting that they are trying to bring some form of Christianity into the series at a late date. I think writers sometimes "fly by the seat of their pants" in trying to figure out where a series should go. Maybe this is the case here?

You're right that as Christians we sometimes try to force "Christian" conversations without the groundwork of friendship being laid first, ie putting the cart before the horse. 

Finding commonality is important. People will know if you really care and can tell if you're faking it. Indeed "getting to know people at their level" ...

Thanks for posting!

I would like to respectfully disagree. I've been blogging through the show episode-by-episode, and I really enjoyed this season's presentation of religion. I LOVED Brother Sam. I thought they presented the Baptisms and prayer vigils respectfully. I was actually thrilled for once with the portrayal of Evangelicals.

I did feel that they could've handled Dexter's interactions with God and religion better, but overall, I thought the story made some pretty interesting comments on religion, redemption and hope.

A very clever article, thank you for this. It's curious that we both of us, an atheist and (I assume) a believer, reached very similar conclusions. 
Mind you, I'm not impervious to subtle, well managed religious argument, I won't believe it but I'll appreciate it's poetical beauty. Season 6, however, is anything but subtle. It's very basic born-again,  pseudo-theological, low quality religious preaching.
Honestly, I find it incredible how in America not even fictional serial-killers are allowed to be atheists. 
If Dexter Morgan has seen the light, how long until the conversion of Brian Griffin and Cleveland Brown Junior?

That's a really good observation, Alberto - even with the Trinity Killer two seasons ago, he had all the trappings of being a churchgoing family man. As I recall, Trinity was even a deacon at his church (something mentioned in one episode that I didn't remember until this morning). That instance, I feel, is the only time the writers have been subtle about religion.

Thanks for the pushback, JR! I, obviously, have not been going episode by episode, so it's understandable that I wouldn't have looked at Sam as closely in those first few episodes. I do think they did better than many other series with similar characters - at least he wasn't all rainbows and sunshine - but I still felt like his character was only there as a device for Dexter's growth, and in that way, I believe they mishandled him. But I can see why people liked him, definitely.

I'm curious: Now that the finale has aired, what commentary do you think they got at with that ending?

I'm getting ready to write my post on exactly that. Short answer: what Dexter found wasn't even close to God. I'm disappointed, but not surprised. I don't think even Showtime is ready for an Evangelical serial killer :D