RESPONSES TO THE TELEVISION ARTICLE

RESPONSES TO THE TELEVISION ARTICLE

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November 22, 1997 (David W. Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061-0368, fbns@wayoflife.org) - On November 16 we distributed an article "Television: Christian’s Pet Sin" by Pastor Ronald Williams. We have long been concerned about the worldly influence coming into our Bible-believing homes and churches through the undiscerning use of television, and this is a problem which is increasing with each decade. Why, then, is there less pointed preaching and careful instruction on this matter by fundamental Baptist pastors with each passing year? A chief reason many pastors avoid this subject, except in the vaguest generalities, is that unwholesome videos and television programming are present in their own homes. Dozens of times I have stayed in the homes of pastors and have been shocked by things they or their families were watching on the television after the church services. On many occasions I have tried to carry on a conversation with a pastor in his home while his children were watching some unwholesome video or TV show in the same room. On more than one occasion I have gone home with a pastor after the church services to find that TWO televisions were turned on immediately upon arrival back at the house, so the pastor and his teenage children could watch their favorite shows, such as Star Trek, while at the same time staying on top of their favorite sports teams. If this does not create a worldly atmosphere in the home, I don’t know what worldliness could possibly be.

Wake up, pastor friend. You cannot live for yourself. You are responsible to avoid even the appearance of evil. Whatever you allow in your home will be allowed to an even greater degree by your congregation. If your children are allowed to watch things that are "borderline," do you not understand that the children of your congregation will see this example and will watch things which are even worse? It is tempting for a pastor to argue that it is not fair to judge his children by a higher standard than those of non-pastor families, but that is not what the Bible says. God’s Word forbids a man to hold the office of a pastor or deacon unless his children are properly in subjection to him. "One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)" (1 Timothy 3:4-5). What is the answer to the solemn question posed by the Holy Spirit in 1 Timothy 3:5? The answer is that a man cannot take care proper spiritual oversight of an entire group of people if he cannot take proper oversight of his own little family. A pastor does not have the privilege of allowing his children to set a poor example, of getting away with doing things--of wearing clothes, of dating habits, of going places, of having friends, of listening to music, etc.--which undermine his preaching. The pastor’s children are to be in subjection to their father, and he is to be a spiritual leader of such caliber that he makes certain that his own family is a good example before the congregation and the community.

Please don’t argue that this is an impossible standard. That is nonsense. God would not set up standards for church leaders if those standards were unreasonable. I know hundreds of godly pastors who meet the standards of God’s Word, who have godly homes, who take God’s Word seriously.

I am convinced the unguarded use of television is one of the causes for the moral collapse of many preachers. Some years back I was discussing the matter of immoral pastors with Pastor Clyde Gilman, Bella Vista Baptist Church, Albuquerque, New Mexico. I asked, "Why do you think so many preachers are committing adultery, Brother Gilman?" His reply was very interesting. He said, simply, "Television."

The responses to Pastor William’s article have been enlightening. The following two are representative:

RESPONSE NUMBER ONE: "I appreciate your news service. I read the article on television and the pet sin of Christians. Although the evils of violence, perversion, promiscuity, and the like are often bewailed, something just as important is often missed in such reviews. What is missed is the sin of ‘drivel.’ Just because a show is devoid of the obvious sinful elements, does not mean that it is acceptable for Christians to spend their time on. So many shows that are not blatantly sinful are blatantly mindless. As Paul said, ‘All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not’ (1 Cor 10:23). If any activity is not moving a person toward a closer relationship with Christ, then it is a waste of time. TV certainly does not edify, and it is not expedient, even with the best of shows, and this goes for the majority of ‘Christian’ programming as well. Therefore, we turned off our TV over five years ago. We stopped the cable subscription and did not hook up an antenna, not even rabbit ears. Guess what, in the last five years we as a family have spent more quality time together; have read more quality literary classics; have studied more of the Bible; have engaged in more meaningful arts and crafts; and have undertaken more family projects such as gardening, bird watching, astronomy, hiking than any TV watching family could in twenty years. Jesus said to love God with our hearts, souls, and minds. TV does not help in any of these categories, and hence is not expedient. But, let me be honest, we have slipped an occasional Shirley Temple or Andy Griffith video into our VCR, as well as some creation science videos and Bible teaching videos. Shirley Temple and Andy Griffith, I must admit, do not catapult us closer to God. But, a show that starts with two guys singing ‘There is a fountain’ in the courthouse is okay for the infinitesimal amounts of time we now spend in mindless entertainment."

RESPONSE NUMBER TWO: "I agree with much of what Bro. Williams says in his article on TV. I MUST take exception, however, to what he does NOT say. He fails to mention that there are elements of the Christian life and temperament such as DISCERNMENT, DISCIPLINE, GOOD JUDGMENT and the like. These character traits allow many decent Christians to have a television in their homes without it becoming a source of moral degradation. I watch television several times a week. I watch the news, documentaries, history programs and instructional programs. I have not watched a prime-time sitcom in the 15+ years since becoming a Christian. Bro. Williams would seem to imply that simply by having a television, I am powerless to use any discernment or judgment concerning my viewing habits. While many Christians would no doubt be better off without TV, I don't think it is for Bro. Williams to extend his authority to the homes of others with sweeping rhetoric and decrees. What would people such as you and I think if Bro. Williams' TV logic were applied to the Internet? It would seem to be quite a good fit; the Internet has FAR more perversion, pornography, lewdness, indecency and anti-Christian sentiment than any prime-time programming I have ever heard about. Do we then throw away our computers, disconnect our modems and cut ties with our servers? No, we exercise good judgment, discipline, and apply the same personal holiness to our computer habits as we do in the rest of our lives. I think Bro. Williams is well motivated by a hatred of sin which I admire. I have visited Hephzibah House, have met him and went to school with his son. They are fine men. The Christian world needs much more of their militant views and defense of the faith. Please, however, let's not do an emergency appendectomy on the patient with a dull bayonet when a simple change in diet will do!"

REPLY FROM BROTHER CLOUD: I don’t normally reply to things written in response to another man’s article, but in this case I would like to make a few comments. (Pastor Williams has his own good convictions and is well capable of representing himself.) In response to the previous e-mail, I agree that it is possible to watch some things on television and video which are not unwholesome and which can fall into the category of education and research and lawful entertainment. Our family has enjoyed such things. It is not television or videos which are wrong, it is unwholesome television and videos which are wrong. I believe, though, that Pastor William’s warning about television is right on target and that it needs to be sounded from every pulpit in the land. Pastor Williams, and every other pastor, has every responsibility to preach the Word of God. This is much more than merely reading and explaining the Bible. It means to apply the Bible to the practical life situations of the people. It means to exhort people to obey the Bible in all matters. I did not sense that Pastor Williams was making a "decree." He was sounding a warning. He was lifting the voice against sin and spiritual danger, and it is a message that needs to be sounded. He was also speaking from long personal experience of attempting to deal with the product of carnal and worldly Christian homes. As he noted in the article, the troubled girls he takes in at the Hephzibah house are usually the product of such homes. He knows firsthand how common it is for Christian homes to be worldly and hypocritical.

TELEVISION IS A DIFFICULT MONSTER TO CONTROL. I have found by experience that it is extremely difficult to control the television so that one watches only that which is morally wholesome. The friend who wrote the above e-mail thinks the problem in regard to television can be solved with "a simple change in diet." I believe that is true in some cases, but I don’t believe the overall problem is solved that easily. In our own family, we have gone to great efforts to control our television watching. When we had cable for awhile, we would pre-record anything we wanted to watch and would fast forward through the commercials and any inappropriate material. We were extremely selective in what we watched, and we recorded only a few of the old movies and a few of the old television reruns from the 1950s and early 1960s, plus a few other things such as Rescue 911 and nature and wildlife programs. In regard to videos, we never watch anything beyond a G rating. We quickly learned that PG means the movie contains at least some cussing and offensive material. We don’t want any of that in our home. A movie gets a PG-13 rating because it contains material even more offensive than PG. Thus, regardless of how interesting the movie might appear to be, and regardless of the fact that it might be approved for families, we never watch anything with those ratings. We also have refused to watch a great many of the G-rated movies and programs because they focus on magic or otherwise undermine our biblical values. We have found that a large percentage of the movies which are placed in the "family section" of the video stores are not fit for Christian family consumption.

THE DESENSITIVITY PROBLEM. I have observed that very few Christian families attempt to be extremely careful about the television programs and videos they allow in their homes, and they become less careful over the years. Most are like the proverbial frog in the pot. Placed in a pot of cold water, the frog swims around happily, not knowing that the water is being warmed gradually. He adapts to the changing temperature, and instead of jumping out of the pot before it is too late, he is lulled into a sense of well-being and is boiled. A steady diet of Hollywood desensitizes the Christian to its sinful character. At first he is shocked by the cursing and the indecency and the violence, but gradually he loses his sense of shock and his morally sensitivities are lowered year by year. Whereas he would not watch PG movies a few years ago, today he will watch R-rated ones and think they are fairly wholesome and recommend them to his Christian friends.

HOLLYWOOD HAS NEVER PROMOTED TRUE MORALITY OR MODESTY. The fact is that almost nothing which has been produced by Hollywood is truly wholesome from a biblical perspective. Even the old westerns and many of the old movies, which are extremely tame by today’s standards and which would receive a G rating today, are far from wholesome. Consider the way the women were dressed. The beautiful starlets were commonly clothed in an immodest fashion, in dresses extremely tight-fitting and very low-cut. Hopefully, we do not allow our wives and daughters to dress like that, but we sit there and gawk at such women for hours on end and allow them to have subtle influence in our own hearts and in the hearts and minds of our families and churches. The old movies, though not as openly depraved as the newer ones, frequently portrayed immoral situations, of men falling in love with married women, of single women falling in love with married men, of unmarried men and women going on long trips together, etc. We must be very careful that we not be lulled into thinking that old Hollywood was a friend to biblical Christianity.

HOLLYWOOD HAS ALWAYS PUSHED THE MORAL ENVELOPE. Consider the old television programs. By today’s standards, the shows of the 1950s and early 1960s were very wholesome, but the Christian’s standard is the Bible, not society as it was in the 1950s. Our standard is John the Apostle, not John Wayne. Even the old shows continually pushed the moral envelope. The Dick Van Dyke show, for example, was set around a normal family consisting of a husband, a wife, and a son. It was very wholesome compared to almost any comedy show produced today, but the starlet of that show, Mary Tyler Moore, made a point of pushing the envelope of feminine attire beyond that which was commonly accepted in that day. She purposefully wore tight pants in many of her appearances, though her producers knew and acknowledged that this was beyond what was normally acceptable for society at large and for television in that day. So as not to be overly offensive, she was allowed to wear the tight pants only in one scene in each program. In the other scenes she had to wear dresses. How many women and girls were influenced by Mary Tyler Moore to begin wearing less modest clothing? Hollywood has always promoted such things as liquor and tobacco and divorce and "free love" and non-judgmentalism. It has always made Bible preachers look like fools. It has always promoted whatever anti-biblical theme was popular at the time, such as anti-temperance, women’s rights, communism, etc. I am saying there has been this constant pushing of the moral and philosophical envelope whereby television has exercised a tremendously detrimental influence in society, even at its "best." Today Hollywood is pushing the homosexual agenda by featuring homosexuals in a sympathetic light and by portraying those opposed to homosexuality as raving psychotics. What will it be tomorrow?!

I believe Pastor Williams is deadly accurate in his assessment that "television is the Christian’s pet sin."

"Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 7:1).