Leave it to Beaver

One problem with the family depicted by the Cleavers and those other shows, my three sons, Father knows best,etc....was they tried to depict a morality that did not seem to use a scriptural base.
I do not see a bible or any commentaries on Wards bookshelf.
I have watched reruns as an adult and do not see much evidence of a godly confession of faith.
The overall message seemed to say you can life a nice life as a secular humanist and just be enough of a religious person to get by
Ward seemed to live on his own self righteousness rather than the righteousness of Christ.

 

The show models a level of affluence that many families cannot use as a model.

The show models a narrow white culture that is not superior to other cultures.

 

Leave it to Beaver, Father Knows Best, and similar shows from the 50s and 60s provide good models in many ways. The father is respected as the authority; there is respect between the family members, their friends, etc. As @Iconoclast mentioned, these shows lacked Scriptural support, other than an occasional episode where we see the family in church or interacting with a pastor. The Cosby Show was a good attempt at bringing these shows back.

Do the parents on those shows represent a good model for today? Yes, especially compared to the shows of the past couple of decades where the dad is an idiot, there is little or no respect in the family, and the kids get away with murder. Are the Cleavers a realistic family? Maybe they were in the 50s, but I suspect not.

TV families notwithstanding, it is up to us to set the example in our own families to be the Godly examples that the world so desperately needs. If someone accuses us of trying to be as squeaky clean as the Cleavers, take it as a compliment.

 

Our kids (now 50 & 52) friends used to kid them calling us the "Beaver Cleaver family"! We DID take that as a compliment!!

 

I just said it was a narrow model, not that nothing in it is applicable to families that exist in a wider society.

There are parts of the Cosby show that should not be used as a model for families with less money and in a variety of situations.

 

Hello Salty,
I understand the show was only designed to be entertainment and to generate laughter, which it did.
I never tuned in expecting Ward to exegete the Kenosis.
That being said they avoided clear references to a biblical worldview.
Perhaps the censors were afraid of offending potential viewers.
The writers of the scripts for the show would have had to be Spirit filled believers to supply such a worldview. Looks like it might have been beyond their grasp.
One time I attended a Methodist church up in Norwich ny
The sermonette was about the leaves changing colors in the fall and we can look forward to changing times???
Jesus was not mentioned and I could not wait to get out of that place.
Is that every Methodist? No....but I can see when truth is neglected the results are dead religion.
Never saw the Cleavers mention Beaver or Wally needing to be spanked.
Do not recall the mention of Sunday school..but I will look next time I see an episode.
I will keep track of any implied scriptural instruction compared to worldly wisdom.