Of course, evangelicals are complaining about Stranger Things

“Being gay is not a superpower,” one person wrote on social media. Immediately, my heart sank.

Although I was still catching up on Stranger Things episodes, my gut told me we were on the precipice of yet another conservative panic attack over the existence of gay people in a Netflix series.

“I have exactly zero headspace right now for evangelicals complaining about Stranger Things,” I posted on Facebook.

Rick Pidcock

Then I sat on the couch to catch up and eventually finish the series. Spoiler alert: Stranger Things revelations ahead.

One reader pointed out to me the irony of today’s evangelicals watching a show about kids in the 1980s playing Dungeons and Dragons and portals opening for dark forces, when in the 1980s, evangelicals were swept up in the Satanic Panic fear of kids playing D&D and opening portals for dark forces.

“We love the kid-eating monsters, the teen sex, the lesbian disc jockey, the government hunting kids and evil scientists doing experiments on kids and pregnant women,” the reader joked. “But a group of kids loving their friend and hugging him when he comes out as gay (even though there have been obvious signs of it since season one) … that is TOO far … that is it, that is an evil too great to overlook. This show is clearly out to persecute Christians.”

Coming out

The scene opens with the main characters, a group of friends including children and adults, gathered around on couches and chairs, much like a scene many evangelicals have experienced in small group or Sunday school settings. Sensing the weight of the moment, they all listen attentively with care for their obviously nervous and deeply vulnerable friend.

Continue reading at Baptist News Global.