PK’s Ponderings
Come, Join In The Fun!
(of having
your toes stepped on!)
Read a good book
lately? Maybe you should! Recently, I was reading a pamphlet on the
issue of Postmodernism, a description of the current culture and its way of thinking. Postmodernism, as the pamphlet explains,
promotes feelings over thought, the absence of moral absolutes and the
preference of tolerance over any and all convictions. The author, Erroll Hulse, is an associate
pastor of a Baptist church in
Throughout the pamphlet,
he gives both descriptions of and reasons for the transcontinental shift that
has taken place over the past 20-50 years in the way we think about and react
to issues. In the midst of the pamphlet,
he makes a rather compelling argument for the role of the television as one of
the culprits in getting us away from being a thinking society into one that
reacts according to feelings. Now before
you stop reading this issue of PK’s
Ponderings and throw this sheet into the rubbish, please understand that
neither Erroll Hulse nor I are advocating everyone chucking their TV’s out the
nearest window. There can still be
found, albeit in seemingly ever-decreasing quantities, good and even godly
programming. But perhaps we should think
through what we are watching more thoroughly.
Let me let you hear from Erroll Hulse directly: [Words
in brackets are PK’s]
The
entertainment industry spreads postmodern philosophy into every home through TV,
one of the wonders of the age of technology.
If the apostle Paul returned today, I would want to introduce him to the
Concorde aircraft, the Alpha Romeo sports car, the cell phone, Windows on a PC,
and TV. In the hands of true Christians,
TV could be used on a grand scale for benevolence according to the tenets of Philippians 4:8, “Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is
right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if
anything is excellent or praise worthy – think about such things.”
[However,] new fiber-optic technology
allows hundreds of channels . . . One
can flick from murder, to adultery, to blasphemy, to pornography, to mockery of
Christ. A sensible response to so much
which is offensive and repugnant is to stick only to programs which edify. [And
even then you have to watch out for the commercials!]
The
effect of several hours a day of indulgence in TV for a vast number of people
calls for analysis. [Quoting Neil Postman in “Teaching as a
Conserving Activity”] “Reading a
300-page book demands sequential thinking, active mental processes, sustained
mental engagement, and a long attention span.”
The power of TV over written
material is that it comes in a moving image. It is image-driven, image-saturated, and
image-controlled. When the image
overwhelms and subjugates the written word, the ability to think, write, and
communicate in linear [logical] fashion is undermined.
As
Christians, we love the Lord our God with all our minds; but we are inevitably
hindered in doing so by squandering our time on trivia. By reading of books, we can learn from great
spiritual leaders and thinkers.
Habitual
viewing tends to make people intellectually impatient and lazy. [Keep
that in mind next time you say that you want to “veg out” in front of the TV. You might be doing it more than you are
aware!] They are less able to think
in a straight line and less able to sustain concentration . . . If it fails to
entertain, boredom results. The yawning
watcher will turn to another channel if he is not entertained. He must be entertained incessantly.
[How does this affect the church? I’m glad you asked!] In churches, the TV mentality comes through
when people call for entertainment rather than preaching. When it comes to preaching, they want it to
be entertaining and full of anecdotes, stories and images which they have
become accustomed to on TV. They do not
want preaching which demands concentration and challenges their minds. In postmodern culture, people look for the feel-good
factor. So if the preacher, [or hard seats, dim lighting or music
selection] does not make them feel
good, he [or the church] is regarded
as a failure.
Hulse suggests near the
end of the pamphlet: “If you are addicted to TV, the answer is to
eradicate from your TV menu all trivia and all that is unhealthy”. “ADDICTED?
Come on! It’s TV!” I thought
initially. But consider this, how many
of us would go through the withdrawal symptom of itchy-remote-thumb, if we were
to give up all TV for a week? No Weather
Channel. No Sports. No Fox News. No Soaps or Dr. Phil. OK, hopefully you’re not guilty of the last
two. “But No CSI – a formerly
personal favorite?!” Then I got to thinking about how many dead bodies,
murders, body parts and sexual innuendos absolutely bombard my senses on each
show. Does this pass the Philippians 4:8
test? I humbly, and with a repenting
heart and mind, think not.
As believers, let us be
careful with our viewing habits, and train our minds to be more captive to
Christ. As parents, let us do our best
not to train our children to be intellectually impatient or lazy because we
would prefer to use the TV as a convenient babysitter, rather than engage our
children in activity, dialogue, or join them in reading a book.
It was Augustine who
said “Love God and do whatever you please.” He said this understanding that true love of
God is going to reflect in our actions and thus focus us toward holiness.
Perhaps after this week’s Ponderings
we should apply it thusly: “Love God, and
watch whatever TV you please.”
