Following up on my previous entry, I want to analyze me viewing habits and what they say about me and my walk with the Lord. What I was intending to write three days ago has evolved as I’ve given it more thought, and this entry is different from what I had been intending to write.
Looking superficially at my choice of TV shows, it appears that I favor science fiction, crime dramas, and programs with a leaning towards God. Star Trek and its children have always been judged as popular because they offer a future of hope for the human race. (On earth, war, disease, and poverty have been eliminated, and mankind is reaching out to citizens of other planets to spread the benefits of “federation” – the Pax Terra as it were). Crime dramas are a depiction of good triumphing over evil. Even the modern-day Puritan theologian J. I. Packer has expressed his preference for murder mysteries because of their mental stimulation and their satisfying way of bringing justice to bear on human evil. (I apologize for having no reference for that – I read it in one of his many books a long time ago.) And I do find it interesting to see what Hollywood makes of God and Christianity. I found that Little House on the Prairie (the first few years), Touched by an Angel, and even Joan of Arcadia (on occasion) had real merit in a medium that flaunts sin and secular humanism. At the very least, they made faith in God relevant in an age when He is denied and ignored. [Although, in true Hollywood fashion, this God either (1) exists in our past, (2) sends angels to deliver us from our messes, or (3) appears Himself in various tangible guises and sends us on improbable assignments.]
I can justify my TV viewing easily enough. A good friend of mine once told me that entertainment is acceptable if (a) there is no profanity used or overt sexuality portrayed and (b) the depiction of good and evil is accurate (in other words, there is no Macbeth situation where “fair is foul and foul is fair”). This is a more liberal approach that would allow the watching of all manner of Hollywood product, and the man who shared this is a Bible translator and a person whom I have great respect for. I sense that many Christians would agree with him. It certainly allows us a broad range of shows to watch. Also, by watching some TV and select movies, we keep an ear to the culture around us so that our words will be relevant. In one of his essays, Charles Colson related how he used his knowledge of the Woody Allen movie Crimes and Misdemeanors to launch a discussion on sin and salvation with an unsaved friend. Someone once wrote an article for the Christianity Today publication Books and Culture that was entitled “Two Cheers for TV” where the author argued that TV can provide the glue to hold a culture together, like when we all participate in national tragedy (the Kennedy assassination, the Challenger explosion, September 11) or national triumph (Neil Armstrong’s setting foot on the moon; the inauguration of a president). TV helps to give us a sense of national identity.
And then there is the Bible. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:2a); “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 15). These verses, and others similar, were not written with television in mind, but they certainly can be applied to how we spend our leisure time. I know that, when I was hooked on China Beach, I loved that show. I went out of my way to make sure I didn’t miss a single episode, and I was often saddened when an episode reached its conclusion.
We are not neutral observers in this world; what we gaze upon with our eyes affects us.
To be continued...
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