Gangster draws Taiwanese to TV sets, not church

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A popular Taiwanese television series about a gangster and his associates is luring people away from Sunday and weeknight church gatherings, the Taiwan news reported. Pastors and campus ministries noticed a drop in church attendance even before the SARS outbreak spread to Taiwan last April. Phone calls to the missing revealed that many people were watching “Taiwan Pill Fire,” the dramatic serial centered on gangster Liu Wen-tsung.

Despite the program’s frequent depictions of violence and vulgarity, some argue that it is possible to extract a Christian message from the show. Chen Nan-chou, who teaches ethics at Yu-Shan Theological College, urges theologians to take its popularity seriously. “Popular culture and media reflect the lives of modern people,” he told Taiwan Church News. “Theologians must be aware of and understand these cultural events. This enables reflection on society from a theological angle. We must not ignore ‘Taiwan Pill Fire.’”