How was The Second Coming received by Christian groups?

I recently watched The Second Coming which is a story of Steve, a kind-hearted video store clerk from Manchester who disappears for forty days and forty nights before he is found wandering the Moors claiming to be the second coming of Jesus.

After being locked up he's eventually released and proves his claim by turning day into night before he announces to the media present that he must find the third testament within five days to prevent the apocalypse.

The show ends with:

Judy makes spaghetti laced with rat poison, and tells Steve this before giving it to him. She states that it is Judgement Day, but for Steve and God, and that it has been the existence of God or the argument about it which has led humanity to do so many bad things to one another. Steve is persuaded that he must die, and moreover make it permanent ceasing to exist rather than returning to heaven), so that humanity fights for itself rather than relying on the evils of fundamentalism. This will not only be the death of him, but of God, Satan, Heaven and Hell - the end of all religion which may scare people into living their lives properly.
_{-Paraphrased from Wikipedia}

Wikipedia mentions that the series was well received by critics, however I can't find much information about religious institutions commenting on it. The ending certainly feels like it should be controversial, can anyone find any mention of high ranking members of religious groups (such as the Church of England or Catholic Church) responding to it, positively or otherwise?

reception the-second-coming

Best Answer

There's a very brief mention in this Guardian article. I seem to recall at the time the show was very heavily trailed and even given to clerics and priests to review in advance (presumably in the hopes that one of them would condemn it) but most simply declined to comment:

Those clerics who have seen advance copies of The Second Coming are happy to acknowledge this reverence. 'It is a moving and thoughtful piece,' says Father Shaun Middleton, a London parish priest and press secretary of the National Conference of Priests. 'Though I disagree with its conclusion, I find it interesting that the Christian message retains such a fascination for writers.'