In the era of Netflix and chill, one thing has become apparent: we heathens love us some entertainment. And there’s a lot to love out there. Maybe we could have done without that whole 50 Shades fad, but we’re living in a new golden age of television and basking in the brilliance of folks like Tatiana Maslany and Joss Whedon while wondering why Leonardo DiCaprio still doesn’t have an Oscar and hoping against hope that Disney won’t mess up the next Star Wars film and…
And I’m rambling. The point is that we’re a culture that celebrates entertainment as both art and a balm for the soul/escape from boredom, and shamelessly so.
Apparently that’s been very upsetting for founder and lead pastor of Westside Christian Fellowship Shane Idleson. Writing for the Christian Post he whines:
[W]e’ve become comfortable with ungodly entertainment, and what once alarmed us now amuses us.
We continue to hear: “Come on in, it’s not that bad, everyone’s doing it!” And we step right in.
There is no such thing as “good magic” or “good witches” or “nice vampires.” These things, by their very nature, are evil. Scripture makes it clear that fascination with the powers of darkness and the occult have no place in the heart or the mind of a Christian. Even more discouraging than the time and money spent on the occult and vampire craze, is the young age at which children are exposed to these spiritual perversions.
We must once again seek God’s standards of purity and holiness.
My first reaction was one of concern for an adult who apparently thinks vampires and magic are real… but then I remembered this guy also has an imaginary friend that lives in the sky, so perhaps this is to be expected.
He and I agree that Twilight is a pox on humanity, but beyond that, it’s nonsense like this that highlights the actual reasons for the culture wars. Fantastical stories about mythical creatures do not make them any more real, but their obvious fictional roots make them recognizable as myths. Could it be that Bible enthusiasts are concerned about young people reading such tales because they might start to see the parallels between those far-fetched plots and the Bible’s contents? Or are they just worried that the allure of modern fiction will overwhelm the ancient fiction they praise?
And let’s drop the act about whether or not entertainment is “godly.” The standards of “purity and holiness” exhibited by God’s Chosen Ones include rape, slavery, and more. We’ve generally decided those are some perverse notions. The issue is not that people have become desensitized to ungodly media. They’ve just realized that whether or not something is “godly” in Biblical terms is probably a poor measuring stick.
And really, if being a Christian means sacrificing Breaking Bad and Trainwreck, that’s just one more reason to be grateful for atheism.
(Image via Shutterstock)
It’s Moving Day for the Friendly ..."
It’s Moving Day for the Friendly ..."
It’s Moving Day for the Friendly ..."
It’s Moving Day for the Friendly ..."