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 - Endorsed - Indifferent - Contested
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| The Nashville Statement
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Name:Daniel
Home: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
About Me: I used to believe that evolution was reasonable, that homosexuality was genetic, and that people became Christians because they couldn't deal with the 'reality' that this life was all there was. I used to believe, that if there was a heaven - I could get there by being good - and I used to think I was more or less a good person. I was wrong on all counts. One day I finally had my eyes opened and I saw that I was not going to go to heaven, but that I was certainly going to suffer the wrath of God for all my sin. I saw myself as a treasonous rebel at heart - I hated God for creating me just to send me to Hell - and I was wretched beyond my own comprehension. Into this spiritual vacuum Jesus Christ came and he opened my understanding - delivering me from God's wrath into God's grace. I was "saved" as an adult, and now my life is hid in Christ. I am by no means sinless, but by God's grace I am a repenting believer - a born again Christian.
My complete profile...
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Daniel's posts are almost always pastoral and God centered. I appreciate and am challenged by them frequently. He has a great sense of humor as well.
- Marc Heinrich
His posts are either funny or challenging. He is very friendly and nice.
- Rose Cole
[He has] good posts, both the serious like this one, and the humorous like yesterday. [He is] the reason that I have restrained myself from making Canadian jokes in my posts.
- C-Train
This post contains nothing that is of any use to me. What were you thinking? Anyway, it's probably the best I've read all day.
- David Kjos
Daniel, nicely done and much more original than Frank the Turk.
- Jonathan Moorhead
There are some people who are smart, deep, or funny. There are not very many people that are all 3. Daniel is one of those people. His opinion, insight and humor have kept me coming back to his blog since I first visited earlier this year.
- Carla Rolfe
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| Do Not Love The World |
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world the love of the Father is not in Him. For all that is in the world - the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride in posses ions - is not from the father but is from the world, and the world is passing away along with it's desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. - 1 John 2:15-17 [ESV]
Is network television supportive of, neutral to, or decidedly against Christianity?
Before you answer that, ask yourself if you have ever heard anyone on network television ever invoke the names of a non-Christian god or prophets as a cuss word? No Allah, no Mohamed, no Buddha, no Vishnu... The only God who is ever blasphemed on network television, and might I add, blasphemed regularly, is the Christian God.
Before you answer that, ask yourself if you haven't seen the name of Christ surgically removed from all religion on television? We see shows about angels working for God, shows about God, shows about demons and hell - but in the past twenty years or perhaps longer, all things divine have been systematically and decisively made generic. Where God isn't being outright ridiculed, he is certainly being watered down to a nice old bearded fellow, albeit with his own problems.
How many movies have come out in the past ten years where God has been one of the characters? Always he is played as a morally indifferent, albeit benign, super human. A God in power, but no more moral or holy than anyone else - certainly not a Judge, but a man of benevolence, tolerance - who just happens to be very, very, powerful.
I was struck an offhand remark made by one of the fellows in my church as we had his family over for lunch on Sunday. He remarked that network television continues to use the God of Christianity as a cuss word, and only as a cuss word. Unless a program is specifically designated as Sunday, Easter, or Christmas "Christian" broadcast, you will not hear anything positive about Christianity.
The standard therefore is, it is okay to broadcast people who blaspheme the Christian God to entertain people, but it is -not- okay to broadcast as entertainment people who worship the Christian God. Yes, we can have "special" worship programs etc. But the Christian God's mention during prime time is reserved for blasphemy and cussing - or for ridicule and dismissal - one can entertain the masses thus, but I haven't seen the name of Christ exalted in prime time in twenty years.
We might remember shows like "touched by an angel" or "highway to heaven" or even "7th heaven" and never have noted the mysterious absence of the name of Christ. I mean, seriously - it's okay to be an angel, it's okay to be a pastor, but it is not okay to speak about Jesus in any context except as a cuss word.
It is a straight forward observation when we bother to examine it - network television is not merely neutral towards Christianity.
Now, we would be foolish indeed to expect a secular thing like network television to be supportive of Christianity. We have been instructed by the media that presenting any religion as valid would be offensive to other religions, and in the name of tolerance we accept that. But this isn't a level playing field is it? We cannot portray any specific religion as valid - but we can isolate Christianity as so entirely invalid that one can openly, repeatedly, and consistently blaspheme the "Christian" name of God during prime time.
Neutral? Uh-uh. Supportive of Christianity? Pffft. Decidedly biased against? That's putting it mildly.
Network television is, by and large, an entertaining form of moral and social programming. It doesn't have that as it's stated agenda, but is driven to air whatever is most wanted by its increasingly carnal audience. It doesn't matter that I am offended by blasphemy - so long as I am a statistical insignificant minority. If by offending 2% they please 28% - then the 2% can go fly a kite for all they care. It doesn't consider itself therefore to be anti-Christian, it is just 'pro world' - and that is why you as a Christian ought to think hard about how much television you watch.
I like to think of it as spiritual adultery - it isn't a question of "how" adulterous I am, if only a little bit, or a lot - it is a question of whether or not I am adulterous at all. If we suddenly see that we are in bed with the world, we know that the love of the Father is not what has put us there, but rather it is the love of the Father that has opened our eyes to show us where we truly are.
Why do I feel so far away from God? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you put off reading the bible regularly, but having missed an episode of the Simpson's in years? Who are you loving Christian?Labels: Television |
posted by Daniel @
5:51 AM
 
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| 14 Comments: |
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It is especially sad to see some "professing" Christian pastors go into the world at public events and conform to the world's desires of not mentioning Jesus Christ in their prayers. In many cases they are instructed not to use His name in their prayer and they are certainly aware that it is politically incorrect if they do. Praying to a generic god is alright, but don't bring up Christ.
I think it is a almost sure sign of a false prophet when you see a Christian pastor delete Christ in a public prayer.
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It's only going to get worse.
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Mark, that almost sounds like a dispensational talking. :)
Daniel:
You surely are not going to get many positive comments with a post like this. You should be careful not to offend the sensitivities of your readers who like to indulge in a little "harmless entertainment". Then again, speaking the truth as you do is truly a blessing bro.
Speaking of praying, a friend of mine who just moved to the US found out that his fundie baptist preacher is a freemason. I asked him whether this fellow does much praying and the obvious answer was not surprising. In fact they have no regular prayer meeting or the likes.
Our prayer life is a good barometer of how much we are loving the world, and that is a sobering thought.
Blessings in Christ,
Jim
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James, shouldn't that be a dispensationalist rather than "dispensational"??? :-)
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Mark, I guess so. You should go into politics...you are good at skirting direct questions. ;)~
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Where have I skirted direct questions?
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Jim,
Why does thinking things are going to get worse dispensational? I believe CT also holds that view.
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Mark, my point is that you have a knack for finding loopholes in my questions. :)
Jazzy,
I am not totally familiar with what CT is and what its adherents believe. I also don't really know what exactly you think a dispensationalist is so I can't honestly say whether or not I would fit that category.
I don't necessarily believe a society must get worse or better simply because of a certain theological system. Rather as God's people we are to be the salt and light that repels darkness and decay. To the degree we are effective in this there will be a preserving effect in the culture.
I believe this is what Daniel is getting at in his post; our infatuation with the worldly entertainment of modern America is dulling the spiritual impact of our witness and intercession.
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When dispensationalism was invent a couple of hundred years ago, one of the big things it aped from the culture was the idea that humanity was inching towards an earthly utopia.
The liberal secularists concluded that the profound technological and medical advances that were coming with greater rapidity were ushering in a time of great prosperity, and thereby world peace. Surely man was evolving to the point where crime and war were diminishing; since it was reasoned that the only reason a man steals is to feed himself. etc.
Like every other world philosophy, that idea eventually was parroted in the church dressed up as the notion that we would eventually evangelize the whole world and then, when "all was ready" Jesus would return.
I have heard this mad notion many times - that Christ will return only after the "bride" is ready (ie the world is evangelized). It is, in my opinion, very poor theology (at best).
I think the picture scripture paints is not that things will wax worse and worse, not get better and better, yet however bad it gets, God has reserved for Himself a remnant - the church.
My post wasnt intended to have any eschatological significance, rather it was merely a call for discernment in the flock as we look at 1 John 2:15-17 and ask ourselves how that applies to watching TV.
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Daniel, if that is how you view dispensationalism than I can understand why you would not favour it.
It seems the view you are describing to me would be defined as post-millenialism, and I think there were many proponents of that view in the late 1800's because of the reasons you mentioned.
The Bible does say that the end shall come once the gospel of the Kingdom has been preached to the entire world. Exactly what this means and entails is of course open to speculation.
But Christ is returning for His bride, the Church, and hence the reason we should prepare ourselves to be without spot and wrinkle. This is the reason we(corporately) as the temple of God ought to be a holy people.
I am sorry that the reformers write off so many godly christian men simply because they have applied a label to them, one which I think is highly inaccurate and misleading.
Anyways I wasn't attempting to put words in your mouth regarding your intentions.
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"I am sorry that the reformers write off so many godly christian men"
The reformers lived at least 3 centuries before the dispy's came on the scene, so they couldn't have written any such men off.
Blaising, Bock, Saucey, MacArthur - Dispy's one and all... Good, good men.
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Mark, why the knock on dispy's if you esteem all these men as good?
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"why the knock on dispy's"
Repentance-less gospel presentaions, Unwarranted, deep, manmade divides into the word...
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It is especially sad to see some "professing" Christian pastors go into the world at public events and conform to the world's desires of not mentioning Jesus Christ in their prayers. In many cases they are instructed not to use His name in their prayer and they are certainly aware that it is politically incorrect if they do. Praying to a generic god is alright, but don't bring up Christ.
I think it is a almost sure sign of a false prophet when you see a Christian pastor delete Christ in a public prayer.