War On ‘Lucifer': One Million Moms Lacks Sympathy for the Devil, Surprising Many

Did you know that many Christians object to the Devil? It's strange but true. Since he's a character who originated in their own favorite book, you'd think they'd be even more invested in him than the rest of us. But apparently, like so many over-invested nerds, Evangelical Christians are only interested in a version of the Devil that lines up with their reading of the source material, which in this case means not only a bad guy, but the worst guy of all time, who's also responsible for all other bad things that have ever happened in the world.

Noted anti-everything trolls One Millions Moms, a group whose membership is not limited to actual moms and whose actual numbers remain vague, have chosen Fox's Lucifer, a show based on a comic written by Mike Carey that was based on a comic written by Neil Gaiman, as their latest target for one of their "let's give this thing we hate as much free publicity as possible" campaigns.

Previous targets of the group's ire/promotion include Archie Comics, for having a gay character and letting him get married, American Girl Magazine, for pointing out that sometimes the heroes who adopt multiple foster children are gay, and Doritos, for making rainbow-colored chips that will turn your kids gay if they eat them.

This boycott is really taking things to a higher level. Instead of just portraying gay people in a sympathetic light, Lucifer directs its sympathy at the guy who, as far as the One Million Moms are concerned, invented homosexuality in the first place: Lucifer Morningstar, the Devil himself. Here's what the group has to say about it:

The series focuses on Lucifer portrayed as a good guy "who is bored and unhappy as the Lord of Hell." He resigns his throne, abandons his kingdom, and retires to Los Angeles, where he gets his kicks helping the LAPD punish criminals.

At the same time, God's emissary, the angel Amenadiel, has been sent to Los Angeles to convince Lucifer to return to the underworld. Lucifer questions Amenadiel, "Do you think I'm the devil because I'm inherently evil or just because dear old Dad decided I was?" The question is meant to make people rethink assumptions about good and evil, including about God and Satan.

Obviously rethinking assumptions about morality and religion is viewed as dangerous by the Moms, even though that's something Christian scholars have been deeply engaged in for millennia (but to be fair, the Moms probably object to that too).

Fox TV is surely thrilled by this development, bringing attention to a show that was otherwise getting lost in the vast sea of comics adaptations currently filling the airwaves. Angry religious types calling up their sponsors isn't ideal, but the buzz that One Million Moms are bringing to the show will make it easy to find more, if anyone even cares to back out. It's almost enough to make you wonder about the organization's true motivations. The serpent is subtle, after all.