Jodi Speaks Her Mind

Faith and Entertainment-Part 2 3/3/2005

There is an interesting discussion taking place on Kristen’s site in response to my post on Faith and Entertainment. I’m writing this “part 2″ because I want to defend myself on a couple of points, concede a couple of points, and then explain for any curious folks out there what it was in this movie (The Matrix) that spoke so profoundly to me.

First, and I mentioned this in the comments section on her response post, I do not disagree with Kristen at all that we are called to be holy and glorify God even in the areas of media and entertainment. I said as much in my original post (or tried to). I didn’t provide specific examples of shows we have deliverately ruled out or movies and music we avoid, though I will give consideration to mentioning them for the sake of those who may need a better understanding of what we’re talking about. We are discerning about what we watch and listen to; however, I do not subscribe to legalistic formulaic approaches to things. It seems to me that Jesus was quite clear about how he felt about zealots and judaizers who insisted on taking every spiritual principle and writing laws deliniating to the nth degree what exactly that law meant and when, how, and to whom it applied. He found this practice abominable because it took away from the purpose of our being on this earth, which is to dwell in fellowship with God and instead made it about performance, behavior, and lists of regulations. It is in reaction to this that I wrote my response. (See Matthew 15:1-20 for an example.)

Now, the concession I need to make is that Kristen is absolutely right that while we are engaged in entertainment that is offensive to God or abominable to Him,, we are temporarily out of intimate fellowship with God. (She did not say this per se but I believe it was the point she was making.) Indeed, this is not good. So, the point is definitely taken that while we choose to make excuses for why we engage in things we know to be worldly or opposing God then we are deceived if we think that is glorifying to Him. She’s right. I’m wrong. At least insofar as I may have implied otherwise. God is right all the time, and she chose to agree with Him. Generally a very good place to stand!!

I think the point where I disagree is with regard to particular pieces of “art” in the entertainment world. She would say (or so I have gathered) that if an artist or movie or song or whatever (we’ll just call it media for the sake of the argument) does not explicitly glorify God or contains language or images which are defaming towards God’s character then that media should be verboten to us as Christians. I’m not sure if I buy into that entirely, though I will acknowledge that maybe I’m still trying to justify my choices when they cannot be justified. Let me talk it out and we’ll see.

First, unless you were to watch nothing but “christian” television, (is there even such a thing?) or throw out your television entirely, refuse to go to any movies, refuse to shop at malls, refuse to explore the internet, etc. (you get the idea) you will be exposed to things that are unpleasant, ungodly, and even evil. It is impossible to isolate oneself from all influences for evil. This is the world and while we are not of it, we do live in it. The key, I believe, is to guard our minds and hearts and take thoughts contradictory to Christ captive. Even still, I do not think that everything that is in it is bad.

Let’s look briefly at television. Well, gosh there is so little of any positive value on television, that I may be wasting valuable bandwidth to even bring it up. Well, let’s see… I guess some might argue that one is better off choosing shows which are moral and uplifting, such as Joan of Arcadia or Touched by an Angel or Seventh Heaven. I have seen at least an episode or two of those shows, and while they do have fairly wholesome plotlines and a God/heavenly/angelic/pastoral element to them, none of them present a very biblical view of things. Are they “better viewing” just because they lack offensive content? What if the writing is just bad? As far as I’m concerned the most positive show out there right now is probably Extreme Makeover: Home Edition simply because it is at its core about helping families in need. It is about giving to those who are in want or lived horrific tragedies. Yet one can find ungodly elements in it as well: materialism, a warped sense of reward (”these families are so deserving…”), the idea that there might be a quick fix right around the corner for incredibly difficult circumstances (when 99% of the time no such quick fix exists), or even just using the guise of giving to make boatloads of money (which is really what the network is doing with this). So since it is obvious that the show does not glorify God 100% should I refuse to watch it?

Psalms often talk about the trees and the rocks praising God, and God spoke once through a donkey (Num. 22:21-38). Something does not have to be intently focused on God in order to be honoring to Him or used by Him. I feel that too many Christians are so busy being “religious” that they miss a lot that God has blessed us with on earth. Everywhere we look are opportunities to see God, reveal Him to others, and bring glory to Him! I don’t think entertainment does that inherently but I do think it happens sometimes even if it is rare.

For me, watching The Matrix was one of those times. I’m going to dedicate a whole post to this portion, so go here to read it.