There’s nothing wrong with recognizing people as Christian-exemplars (even if, as in Ted Lasso) they don’t seem to actually know who Christ is. I see that as a major failure of the writers… that they don’t recognize the Christian root of what they’re portraying. From his accent and attitudes, Ted was obviously raised Christian. Editing this out of his story is, as some others have observed, just the creators showing bias or fear of having him just glibly saying, “… Jesus’ birthday.” It would have been that simple, with no further need of more comment.
Anyway, I also see Captain America as a Christian exemplar. His faith is barely mentioned in the comics, but it’s taken for granted that he was raised an Irish-American Christian (most readers assume he’s Catholic).
The WWJD movement, while completely worthwhile, cannot always apply to directly. Take Cap, for instance. He will do his best not to kill his opponents (and on the occasion that he did, he struggled with guilt). Other Marvel heroes aren’t quite as concerned. To ask, in the situation of fighting the Red Skull, “What would Jesus do?” is disingenuous. He wouldn’t be in that fight. “What would Jesus HAVE ME do?” is a better question… and on that count, I can look at Christian exemplars. Otherwise I might be tempted to think, “Well, Jesus wouldn’t join the military. Jesus wouldn’t be a law officer. Jesus wouldn’t teach a literature class.”
Sometimes my Christian exemplar is fictional, an amalgam of ideas and aspects of real individuals. Sometimes it’s someone who was very real, like my grandfather, the Alabama preacher in the 60s who invited the black families standing in the back of his church to come sit in the half empty pews, next to the white congregants. And when some of the white people objected, he invited them to find a different church.
But yes, you can not have Christianity without Christ, you are absolutely correct. But I can recognize that the writers were just being disingenuous about the southerner with the kind and gentle outlook. In the real world, he got that by being raised in church. Otherwise he’d be more like the “Led Tasso” scene much more of the time.
Even with the references to Christ nearly excised I can recognize this man as a real Christian (not the alt-right, MAGA type, the real ones). And having done so, I can view him as an exemplar.

It’s actually pretty amazing how much of what you said reminds me of comments from the writing of CS Lewis.
In “The Great Divorce” it’s the adored lady’s drive to help others that drove a wedge into her marriage. Both there and in “Till We Have Faces” is the comment about how, in our weak, human condition we often say, “I love you,” but mean, “I want you to love me.”
Your reply is actually very insightful!

I concur. ❤️

If that’s the only view you have of Christians, then maybe you should find new news outlets to read/watch. That’s like saying every liberal is Antifa.

The Christian’s had their own Ted Lasso. His name is Jimmy Carter. You will not find a person who lives his life as close to Christ’s example than Jimmy Carter. And how did the Christian’s reward him? Showed him the door and regularly mock him. No…I have zero use for the Christian’s of today.

I find Ted Lasso to be everything you say, and more. But I do not see any resemblance between Ted Lasso and modern day Christian’s. Ted embodies what Christ taught. The new age MAGA type of Christian represents everything Christ warned against. They really need to read the New Testament in their own book.

For the record, I completely agree that this is Christ-less world, but the “salvation” is not spiritual. It is, for the series, psychological. The true Christ figure in Ted Lasso is not Ted, but Dr. Sharon Fieldstone, who is able to get Ted to be “healed.” This is a world in which healing comes not through the death and resurrection of Christ, but through the work of the therapist who uncovers the “sins” passed, not from Adam, but our parents. The therapeutic self and a world healed through psychology isn’t unique to Lasso’s world, but I don’t think even the show itself is holding up Ted as our exemplar. Nice-ness without soul is empty. While I don’t think psychology is the true answer, denying the cult of niceness is a good place to start when seeking the real answers in Christ.