The evils of television

[biblelighthouse]

For several years, I didn't have cable, satellite, or even a T.V. antenna at my house.

Then, about a year ago, I broke down and decided to get a satellite dish.

I think that was a big mistake.

Even though my wife doesn't turn on anything "bad" on the T.V., I am still really wondering whether there is much of anything actually "good" about the T.V.

Even when the T.V. is left on for a few hours to entertain our toddlers with innocuous cartoons on Nick Jr., what *good* is it doing? My girls see hours of "Dora the Explorer" and "Barney", but how do any of these shows point them to Christ? And even if they learn something from these shows, aren't my girls just learning that Christ is totally irrelevant to most most of life, since God is never even mentioned in these shows?


Anyway, that's enough of my rambling. Here is my question:


Can anyone on here point me to a good, solid, preferably Reformed book that specifically addresses the pros and cons of television?

I mean, are there really any significant redeeming qualities of having T.V.? If not (or even if so), I would really like to read a good Bible-based book that addresses this issue. Even if my thinking above is correct, I think it would help my confidence greatly if I could receive some confirmation via reading a good Reformed book on the subject.

I'm seriously thinking about kicking T.V. out of my house again. But I want to make sure I have solid, Biblical reasons to do so, and that I'm not just acting based on my own emotion and prejudice.

Thanks in advance!

In Christ,
Joseph

 

[gwine]

Why do you even need a biblical reason? You won't find the word television mentioned in the Scripture, unless you want to consider:

Deu 3:27 Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes westward and northward and southward and eastward, and look at it with your eyes, for you shall not go over this Jordan.

You know - television = far vision. I know, I know, you someone can come up with a principle. I'll leave it for others.

Anyway, even before I came to a genuine knowledge of Christ, we went without a television from the beginning of year 2 of out marriage until around year 14. Then we only had it with a VCR - no cable or satellite. It was great, and I often regret getting it for even movies. But my wife loves movies and I am known to waste my time, too.

Our 2 boys were about 11 and 12 before we got the TV setup. It's not that they never saw any TV, it just was not at our house. And no, they didn't sneak over to other houses to watch something.

I vote to dump everything, at least until they are in high school. For the sake of your 3 little ones you will be better off.

 

[C. Matthew McMahon]

J-

Get the book, "Amusing Ourselves to Death" by Neil Postman. He is not Reformed, and is not a christian. However, it may have been wirtten by one anyway. He is on target and it is excellent treatment of the abusiveness of the media and its consequences to our culture. VERY GOOD.

 

[Richard King]

There seem to be two ways to go.

1. Completely do without TV.
My son does this and his children are remarkably creative and interesting BUT if they go somewhere with a TV it can tend to transfix them for a while.

OR

2. Go really high tech and get TIVO... that way you can tape wonderful things from the History Channel etc. and basically program your own television on your own time terms plus skip all the commercials which are some of the most materialistic and sexually seductive things on TV.


Recently I have noticed an interesting and very subtle way that TV steals time. I get one hour off for lunch. I come home. If I turn on the TV and have mid day drivel or even an all news channel. It seems that my lunch time is gone in about ten minutes. It just flies. But if I don't turn on the TV I eat, take a fifteen minute nap and lunch seems much longer.

 

[bond-servant]

For what it's worth: Our family doesn't have cable. We got rid of it soon after our oldest was born. We get two or three local channels that come in well. dh and I have about 2 shows a week we watch. The kids watch dvd's of our choosing on Saturday morning. Otherwise, unless its a homeschool dvd, there is no tv during the week. Many educational videos and dvd's can be check out free from the library.

Biblically, two Scriptures we can base our desicions off of is
1) Being good stewards of our time

Psa 90:12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

and

2) To meditate on the Lord, fixing our eyes on Him
Psa 119:15 I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.

3) lastly, tv for the most part makes on lazy. Instead of watching tv, that time can be spent on devotions, family conversations or reading:

Pro 19:15 Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.

4) TV promotes eating...
Pro 26:15 The lazy man buries his hand in the bowl; It wearies him to bring it back to his mouth.

 

[VictorBravo]

I quit watching TV around 1975 when I was coming into the house one night and saw my family looking like zombies staring at the TV. This was back in the time when there was only one station. It actually scared me to think that my whole family could be possessed by some glowing box.

For me it had nothing to do with faith or the Bible because I wasn't a believer back then. Rather, simple observation led me to conclude that it is a time-waster and a mind-waster.

God must have given me the gift of TV-phobia. Even now I cannot enter a room with a running TV without feeling assaulted by a visual jack-hammer.

In any event, I think Ps. 90 gives as good a reason to not waste time as any. Life is too short to spend much of it before a TV.

Vic

 

[Gregg]

[Edited on 11-25-2005 by Gregg]

 

[Pergamum]

Just a thought:

I find it strange that a bunch of folks are on the internet...speaking of the evils of television. The internet is 100% wholesome I assume (sorry, sarcasm drips here)....

I for one love the nightly news, the history channel and the National Geographic Channel. My regret is not that I have television, but that I rarely get to watch it.


If we want to throw out a good thing because of abuses inherent in it, let us add wine, cigars and chocolate and junk food to this thread as well. What person cannot see the evils inherent in these things in our American culture?

Trevor

 

[gwine]

Originally posted by trevorjohnson
Just a thought:

I find it strange that a bunch of folks are on the internet...speaking of the evils of television. The internet is 100% wholesome I assume (sorry, sarcasm drips here)....

I for one love the nightly news, the history channel and the National Geographic Channel. My regret is not that I have television, but that I rarely get to watch it.


If we want to throw out a good thing because of abuses inherent in it, let us add wine, cigars and chocolate and junk food to this thread as well. What person cannot see the evils inherent in these things in our American culture?

Trevor

To be honest with you I am more in line with victorbravo and the zombie problem than I am the "evils of TV" problem. After all, you can always not watch the shows you don't like just like you can avoid the internet sites that are worthless.

And perhaps the history channel and National Geographic are good, but give me a book to read any day. I have always enjoyed reading and prefer the book over any movie that I have watched based on same.

Can't say much about the news. The internet (cnn or fox and the like) provide the same content without listening to the talking heads. Just call me people-phobic.

I still think there is a lot to be said for not letting little ones watch TV until they are in high school. Reading and playing outside (not video games) gets more emphasis that way and they get to use their imagination, something TV does not encourage.

And with that, I'm going to watch Madagascar. :bigsmile:

 

[Henry from Canada]

My television died in 2002, and I have yet to buy another one.

I will get a TV again probably in the next few months so that I can watch the 2006 World Cup (of soccer).

In my humble opinion, television is very dangerous in today's society.

Please don't laugh when I say this, but I think television can be addictive.

When I was in university, I had a roommate that must have watched 6 hours of TV a day. He ended up failing every course. I think TV causes avoidable poverty because it drains a person's time and energy needlessly.

I also think TV promotes obesity because it encourages slothful behavior and gluttony. Many people just sit there and eat. Studies have shown that fat kids have a tendency to watch more TV than normal weigh kids.

I can't quote chapter and verse, but I believe the Bible says something about not placing any evil thing before you. Even if the TV program is wholesome, just watch the commercials. The commercials are amazing - just watch them with a critical eye. Try explaining these commercials to a 8 year old.

On the other hand, I find television fascinating.

If you want a different perspective of television, watch TV without sound. Notice the bright pictures and very fast shifts from scene to scene. Is this done to 'hypnotize' the viewer?

Watch people watching TV. Note their dazed look and slight smile. Are people watching TV in a semi-sleep state? Is this good?

When I was in university, I took a communications course. The professor showed some ordinary commercials, and the students laughed. I thought to myself: No doubt, if these students saw these very same commercials at home, they wouldn't laugh. Why are they laughing now in a critical forum like a university class? Is it because normally when people watch TV commercials, they are in a dazed state?

Once I was watching television with someone, and he noticed that every 10 minutes the exact same television ad was shown. He thought this was very unusual. In reality, it's not. To hammer home a message, advertisers often replay the same commercials 4 times during a single television program. Are many television viewers (myself included) so dazed that we don't even take note of this repetition?

Try going totally without TV for one year. If you are like me, you will find the TV programs and ads shocking. I believe that consistent TV exposure hardens a person. You get used to seeing people being murdered, etc. Is this good?

In the past 25 years, I have gone totally without TV for about 10 years. When I tell people this, they sometimes think I'm nuts. At the same time, almost everyone says they watch very little TV themselves. Is TV that close friend that we are afraid to acknowledge?

TV is not outright banned in the Bible, and I will buy a TV at some point. Nevertheless, TV
- can inhibit a Christian from being a good steward of time and talent
- encourages sloth and gluttony
- seems to have a strange hypnotizing effect on viewers, that I can't really understand
- often needlessly exposes Christians to vile, disturbing images

But to paraphrase Homer J. Simpson, televison gives so much while asking so little.

 

[BrianBowman]

... we have cable and watch the news + History/Discovery Channels + local weather < 2 hours per week average. It's does not seem like real good stewardship for the cost of Cable per month. Yes, the Internet (we have high speed Cable and this a must given my employment) can waste even more time than TV and be perpaps equally as injurious to the soul if we are not very careful.

 

[Robin]

A tome that is serious and substantial: "Television and the Quality of Life - How viewing shapes everyday experience" by Robert Kubey and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

A scholarly study beyond the moral complaints, revealing many other consequences of imbibing visual/screen media.



Robin

 

[Pilgrim]

I recently had cable put in after about a year and a half without it and am wondering whether it was a mistake in that it creates another bill as well as being a very easy way to waste time watching sports, etc.

 

[WrittenFromUtopia]

Let us all become monastic and asceticistic!

 

[Pilgrim]

Originally posted by WrittenFromUtopia
Let us all become monastic and asceticistic!

That's not at all what I suggested (nor anyone else I believe) but asceticism would might be preferable to vegging out on several hours of TV per day!

 

[WrittenFromUtopia]

Originally posted by Pilgrim

Originally posted by WrittenFromUtopia
Let us all become monastic and asceticistic!

That's not at all what I suggested (nor anyone else I believe) but asceticism would might be preferable to vegging out on several hours of TV per day!

According to who? Not God, if Paul is inspired.

 

[Jie-Huli]

Originally posted by Pilgrim

Originally posted by WrittenFromUtopia
Let us all become monastic and asceticistic!

That's not at all what I suggested (nor anyone else I believe) but asceticism would might be preferable to vegging out on several hours of TV per day!

Originally posted by WrittenFromUtopia
According to who? Not God, if Paul is inspired.

Please show us the chapter and verse where Paul intimates that God would prefers us "vegging out on several hours of TV per day" rather than forsaking worldly entertainments (or practising "ascetism" as you call it).

 

[satz]

It seems to me that discussions like this have a tendency to degenerate into misunderstandings and 'people talking pass one another' because people insist using extreme examples to prove their points.

That's not at all what I suggested (nor anyone else I believe) but asceticism would might be preferable to vegging out on several hours of TV per day!

regaring this line, i don't think that Chris was suggesting that christians must resort to a life of asceticism. Nor was Gabriel saying it would be good to 'veg out' several hours a day in front of the TV.

I just used that as an example. I just find a trend that discussions like this sooner or later just become tearing apart strawmen and arguing from extreme cases.

 

[WrittenFromUtopia]

Yep.

 

[Jie-Huli]

No, Gabriel did not suggest it would be "good" to veg out in front of the television, and I did not mean to imply that he did . . . but I believe he did imply that the Scriptures would not support the idea that total "ascetism" (which I take to mean complete abstinence from television) is much preferable to the opposite.

With this I disagree.

I am not sure why it is that whenever it is proposed to abstain completely from something like television, some people immediately associate this with legalism or ascetism, and almost seem to imply the people wanting to abstain are gnostically trying to escape from the world.

Whatever the case, I believe the idea of getting rid of the television can find great support in Biblical principles. The Bible does tell us to live as strangers in this world, does it not? Taking drastic steps to avoid letting the entertainments of this godless age influence and harden us does not seem like a bad idea to me at all.

Spurgeon, for one, spoke out very strongly against attending stage plays in his day, as did most of the Puritans if I am not mistaken. Were they "ascetic"? Obviously it all depends on how you define "ascetic", but if that is what "ascetic" is, then I would like to be more of one.

Blessings,

Jie-Huli

 

[Swampguy]

TV good or bad is simply a tool for information and entertainment. You control what you get from it not the TV. Some people let the boob tube control their lives but some let books control their lives.

Remember that it comes with switches and you are the master/lord over TV. Take dominion and get the best out of it or get rid of it but remember it is only TV not some malevolent evil.

[Edited on 11-25-2005 by Swampguy]

 

[Pilgrim]

Originally posted by WrittenFromUtopia

Originally posted by Pilgrim

Originally posted by WrittenFromUtopia
Let us all become monastic and asceticistic!

That's not at all what I suggested (nor anyone else I believe) but asceticism would might be preferable to vegging out on several hours of TV per day!

According to who? Not God, if Paul is inspired.

This by Paul is inspired as well: "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil." Eph 5:15-16

Spending hours every day watching TV or playing XBox is not redeeming the time, in my opinion and I somehow doubt that Paul would spend his time that way were he here today. The FCC chairman in the 1950's described TV as a "vast wasteland" and it's no different today. But I certainly didn't call for "total abstinence" from TV any more than I do for alcohol. But just because a particular activity may not be sinful doesn't make it the best use of my time.

Here are some more inspired passages:

"All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." 1 Cor 6:12

"If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell." Matt 5:29-30

 

[Pergamum]

Again.....

Anyone who makes an argument for unplugging the TV for good must also give up the internet for good.

If you reply that, "no - we can choose what we look at on the net", then I would answer, "the same applies to tv". Plus, tv has swear-word blockers and filtering capability (just as the net does).


Being a stranger in the world can be taken too far. Why not live like the Amish and party like its 1699!

We have a Godly duty to take advantage of all available (legitimate) means to take dominion over the world.


Trevor

 

[Pilgrim]

Originally posted by trevorjohnson
Again.....

Anyone who makes an argument for unplugging the TV for good must also give up the internet for good.

If you reply that, "no - we can choose what we look at on the net", then I would answer, "the same applies to tv". Plus, tv has swear-word blockers and filtering capability (just as the net does).


Being a stranger in the world can be taken too far. Why not live like the Amish and party like its 1699!

I think this goes a bit far, but there is some truth to the analogy in that they are both things that can be used for good or bad. I've never argued for getting rid of TV entirely, but for a good while I hardly turned it on at all and am not the worse for it.

The internet is much different in the sense that there is far more content there, both good and bad, of course. The internet gives us the freedom to be our own broadcasters, if you will. All you need is a computer w/ a modem, an ISP and a phone line. Besides, what's TV's equivalent to the PB, monergism, CRTA, etc. Where on TV can I get information about the Reformed faith and fellowship with fellow believers? They really are two quite different mediums, and the usefulness of the internet is far greater, in my opinion, both as a means of disseminating and gathering information and as a means of communication. Although the technology is far less advanced, talk radio has more in common in some ways with the internet than does TV since you can also participate in talk radio to a much greater degree than you can on TV.

We have a Godly duty to take advantage of all available (legitimate) means to take dominion over the world.

Indeed. It's much easier to do this with internet than TV at this point.

 

[biblelighthouse]

, Chris! TV and the internet are two very distinct mediums. They can hardly even be compared with one another.

On the internet, I can restrict myself to my email, and to the puritanboard (just for example). And in doing this, my experience is virtually commercialism-free. Also, I am spending the predominant amount of my time engaged in Biblical discussions with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. This is using the internet to BUILD godly relationships, based on biblical content, in the absence of commercialism.

But it is virtually impossible to find the same solid biblical content on TV. Most shows we say are "good", are really just shows that lack the "bad" stuff, but they still don't focus on God or the Scriptures. Furthermore, almost all TV is inundated with commercials. Even if the show I watch is "good", what about the commercialism and greed I'm bombarded with during all the commercials? And finally, during TV-watching, I am not building relationships with anyone. TVs are famous for letting families be together in the same room, without having anything to do with each other. They all just sit transfixed by the glow of the TV. This is the TV as a ROADBLOCK to godly relationships, hardly ever based on biblical content, in the blatant inundation of commercialism.

BIG difference!

 

[Pilgrim]

Although the internet is hardly free from commercialism, it hasn't come close to reaching the point that television has. Regardless, the end user has far more control over the content of his internet surfing than he does over his television viewing.

 

[biblelighthouse]

Originally posted by Pilgrim
Although the internet is hardly free from commercialism, it hasn't come close to reaching the point that television has. Regardless, the end user has far more control over the content of his internet surfing than he does over his television viewing.

I agree.

And it's pretty neat that the BEST Christian resources on the internet also happen to be the MOST free from commercialism. And even then, the tiny bit of "commercial" aspect you can find on the puritanboard and monergism.com are actually quite welcome . . . I LOVE finding out that there is a good new Reformed book in print, or a new sermon series from Dr. McMahon. . . . If only the commercials on TV were only selling Calvin's commentaries, Spurgeon sermons, and stuff like that!

 

[Gregg]

My TV's are so old, most people wouldn't want to spend too much time watching them anyway.

 

[gwine]

Joseph,

As I have said, even though I am not opposed to people watching TV, I still see no benefit to allowing 3 little girls to watch hours of Barney or Dora the Explorer. This is true especially when you make reference to the zombies staring open-mouthed at the set (I hope you weren't referring to them). When they are older then you can watch with them and discuss what's going on.

 

[ReformedWretch]

If thy right eye offend thee.

THat's my approach. It's time to get rid of anything in your life that is causing you to sin, or your children to. If that is the case Joseph by all means get rid of it.