As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“If ‘information derives its importance from the possibilities of action,’ as Postman writes, any context-free information that can not lead to action is entertainment.” Patrol Magazine
Republished, with permission, from Voice magazine, Jan./Feb. 2013.
“Why do people in churches seem like cheerful, brainless tourists on a packaged tour of the Absolute?” That profound question was posed by one author thirty years ago.1 Do you think such an assessment could still be made three decades later?
We live in an entertainment saturated society. And the danger of living in such a society is to prefer a more fun-filled deity, trivializing the one true God and minimizing His holy standards, happily entertaining ourselves with illusions of Christianity. No sense of awe, little reverence, lots of laughs. The problem is that all of this is so corrupt and unbiblical, soon (and quite predictably) the punch lines start to grow old, smiles are replaced by yawns, and yawns lead to carelessness, heresy and moral defection.
The New Testament warns us to “offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire” (ESV, Hebrews 12:28-29). It seems all too often that talk of the consuming fire of the Lord God Almighty gets extinguished by entertaining, happy god-talk.
Gimmicks, fads, and feel-good faith is replacing the real thing in the lives of all too many Christians. Knowing Christ and His Word has been replaced by the notion that ministries must be based on philosophies that are entertaining or therapeutic. The solid foundation of truth has been obscured by the bright lights of the stage and overlooked for style, image and hype. The end result is that we have fallen prey to the insights and mindset of the world of entertainment, swallowing powerful myths such as the desperate need for fun and relevance-at-any-cost.
We need a clear understanding of who we are and where we live and where we’re headed.
“As we approach the 15-year anniversary of the ratings system, it is apparent that the system itself is in need of dramatic reform.”
“DreamWorks Animation has purchased Classic Media, the parent company of Big Idea and the VeggieTales brand.”
There is no simple, easy way to discern what is entertainment, and what is not; or what is edifying, and what is not, with modern technology. Which means that before we can begin to cut out our “entertainment” or break our addiction, we need to do the hard work of figuring out what those actions even mean. …The Market would lead us to believe that our purpose is to be happy and to experience wonderful things (read: products, or experiences facilitated by products).
The boredom problemAmerican Christians and Americans in general are suffering from a plague of boredom. This boredom epidemic is a factor in our moral, social, and spiritual downturn. It contributes toward wasted lives, fractured families, and what seems to me to be a rise in depressed persons.
Discussion