Firing Line
The Decline of Christianity
TV Flash files “The Decline of Christianity” as hour 69 of 326 in the TV Flash guide — Firing Line (1966–1999) on Syndicated/PBS, season 4, episode 23, aired 1969-06-12, 120 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S04E23: listed hour 69 of 326 in the Firing Line guide, hour 7 of 10 in season 4. It aired 1969-06-12 (120 min). The listed hour before it is “The Trouble with Enoch” (S04E20). Next is “Labor Unions and American Freedom” (S04E24).
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Decline of Christianity sit in the Firing Line guide?
S04E23 is listed hour 69 of 326 — hour 7 of 10 in season 4, season 4 episode 23.
When did Firing Line S04E23 air?
The Decline of Christianity aired 1969-06-12 and is listed at 120 minutes.
Where should I start?
A Buckley hour with a guest from across the aisle and room for full sentences is the contract. Clipboard, drawl, no countdown clock. Sample debates, not a serialized doctrine.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Firing Line is William F. Buckley Jr. turning argument into spectator sport: clipboard, drawl, and guests from across the aisle in conversations that refused the sound bite. Syndicated, then PBS, it ran for decades on polysyllables. Political talk before the countdown clock — intellectual blood sport with manners, and sentences allowed to finish on national television.
Clipboard, drawl, and a guest from across the aisle — argument as spectator sport before the countdown clock. Firing Line is William F. Buckley Jr. turning political talk into ballet and blood sport at once. Premiered 1966, then ran through syndication and PBS into 1999. Sesquipedalian flair, pointed civility, ideas as combat. Public-affairs TV with a maestro's ego. Sentences allowed to finish on national television. **It set a gold standard for intellectual TV debate across ideological lines.**
Filed against
- William F. Buckley Jr. as Host
William F. Buckley Jr. hosted Firing Line as argument-as-spectator-sport — clipboard, drawl, guests from across the aisle in conversations that refused the sound bite. Syndicated, then PBS, decades on polysyllables. TV Flash files him as…