Don't Mix the Messages

Nazarenes don't go to movies; we rent them.
 
Many Nazarenes I know these days have ignored the admonition of the
church to avoid the movie theater.  They reason that all forms of
entertainment media are airing some shows that are good and some that
are bad, and we should be selective in what we watch.  Indeed, there
is some truth to it, but too often this reasoning is ignored by the
ones who use it.  Few people have made the effort to look at the
church's reasons for such a stand, preferring to dismiss the idea as
archaic prudishness.
 
We live today in a culture of merging ideals and many entertaining
shows have an agenda of social reengineering.  They preach a message
of human harmony brought about by the evolution and indominance of the
human spirit. The alternative gospel says that humankind is entering a
new enlightened period in history where the superstitious concept of
God is no longer needed.  Religious beliefs are ridiculed and
Christians especially are portrayed as "unenlightened or stupid,
hypocritical, and intolerant."
 
The desire for harmony makes the new gospel appealing to many in the
church such that the rush to embrace it has many ignoring the
realities of today's society, which is presently disintegrating to
moral chaos.  The new gospel says all belief systems are created
equal, rendering none of them absolute.  But Christainity is less then
equal in the new society because of its intolerance of other views.
If Christianity will agree to keep its values but drop the idea of its
unique God as the absolute authority, it can be welcomed into the new
world order.
 
Perhaps some of you think that I am being too much of an alarmist
about issues of "entertainment."  What real effect do these
"amusements" have on the purity and holiness of the Christian life?
Contrast the portrayals of Christian figures in the entertainment
industry with the portrayals of godless people or people of other
faiths.
 
Our gluttony for entertainment is starving our souls. We *should* be
concerned about the desensitizing forms of "entertainment" that
pollute our minds with gratuitous foul language, violence, and illicit
sex. But there is *a greater danger* that "crouches at our door,"
subtly seeding our faith with an empty promise of a human-engineered
heaven-on-earth.  Its message seeps into the pews of our churches and
attempts to merge itself with our Christian experience. Be careful!
The humanist message of the power within ourselves cannot be
integrated with the Christian message of human depravity and the need
of salvation.
 
We need the grace of God to be resensitized to whatsoever things are
true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report, instead of
eagerly consuming the tabloid gossip columns, adulterous soap opera
sagas, and lustful violence. "Whatever is admirable - if anything is
excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things" so that you are
feeding your mind a healthy, wholesome, and holy diet.