My website: www.jordanbcooper.com Patreon: / justandsinner This video discusses the question of entertainment, and what Christians should and should not watch on television or in movies.
I always find it interesting that when we talk about these issues the sex and violence is the full breadth of what we talk about. When it comes to entertainment, there is stuff that is really insidious because it sneaks past out conscience and it is socially acceptable to like it... but they are things that inflame our passions for greed, covetousness, infidelity, gossip, vanity, hard-heartedness, pride, etc. The other thing we miss is that each person is different and what you might be able to watch without sin is too tempting for me so I must abstain. It's interesting that when Christians think of what to avoid we talk about the really obvious answers or someone eventually mentions Harry Potter because of the magic, but no one ever says "I don't watch HGTV because I found that it was keeping me from being content with the gifts that God has given me." or "I stopped watching these golden age films because for me it was almost like I was making an idol out of the state and its romanticized history so that I started to trust in it more than God." I just think that sometimes the "why" is more important than the "what".
Upon reflection, I'll contribute two more points to the conversation: 1. We are not to cause our fellow Christians to stumble or quarrel over opinions (adiaphora). If someone believes a thing is a sin against their conscience we should not flaunt our freedom in their face (Romans 14). 2. All things are permissible but not everything is helpful or uplifting (1 Cor 10;23-24). Often times it is not the content itself but the reason or the amount that is the problem. What am I trying to escape by bingeing all this content? What spiritual discipline or vocational duty am I neglecting so I can follow all these shows/sports teams? What content is my heart celebrating in these shows: the depictions of good or the depictions of evil? Do I look to God for my highest good, peace, and hope... or have I made an idol out of the dopamine reward that my Netflix watch list gives me? So, again, its not so much the 'what' but the 'why'.
My husband and I own 1 TV in our house, but we don't have cable so we aren't tempted to turn on the TV and get sucked into a show. Also, we are very careful with our movie selections bc my spirit is very sensitive towards violence and pornographic scenes. The eyes are a window to your soul.
Being mindful of what we consume, as you suggest makes sense. Any accurate depiction of actual non-fictional behavior, and any realistic fictional behavior necessarily will be depicting sinful behavior. What differs between works is how that behavior is treated. Is it celebrated, or ignored, or pointed out for what it is? It matters.
The question is not how much time one spends consuming media potentially harmful to the soul, but how much time one spends in prayer and meditation on Scripture, and if it's enough.
Laestadian Lutheran here, due to everyone having computers many Laestadians are familiar with TV programs and some even have TVs or netflix/similar service subscriptions nowadays. But certainly it's not a normalized thing to for example, discuss the latest TV shows or movies. Most play it safe and don't watch movies or series without knowing beforehand if they have explicit content or not. Just pointing that out, thank you for your videos, Mr. Cooper! Been enjoying them a lot this year
Doing a video on Christians watching Television with Star Wars action figures on the bookshelf in the background... Love it! Also, I appreciate the info.
Jordan, Thank you for addressing this. I went through a bad season where I swung way too far in the other direction, basically saying nothing matters. Thankfully that has changed. I think you present a very balanced view. There are too many today (Lutherans included) that tend toward the antinomian approach. To many, holiness is unnecessary.
In the church I grew up in...you did not go to movies, dances, mix swimming, play cards, drink alcohol etc. I left that denomination many years ago, but still had much of their unnecessary law in my thinking. I have always been conservative in what I allowed my childern to watch and some of their music they listened too. I know they would probably say today that I was to strick...but that is their choice. Today I for myself I am very picky at what I will watch in movies and on TV. I will as nicely as I can excuse myself when there is sexual scenes, sexual talk, sodomizing scenes and talk. I am careful what I listen to with music and have little tolerance for "Contemporary Christian" music. I am fairly new the LCMS Lutheran Doctrine and am finding this so refreshingly simple. Thankful everyday to God from bringing me to the LCMS doctrine and a wonderful Liturgical Confessional Lutheran Church. I can never go back to that burdensome law, law, law way of life.
Hi Dr. Cooper, I would love to hear your thoughts the related topic of "Christian" movies. Honestly, I find it difficult to watch films where I am just preached at and the world's brokenness is shown in a sanitized way. On the other hand you have a great movie like "The Passion" that embraces difficult content, but that allows it play to the mediums strength of striking an emotional chord. The violence is the point. Should "Christian" movies try to be high art and tell a good story, or should they focus on delivering a sermon and be acceptable for all to consume?
Agree with your assessment. Parents can bring their kids to church, raise them up in a Christian home and then send them to school Monday morning and they get bombarded with sex education, anything goes, how do you fight against that? Homeschooling is not for every one! Big Problem!
And you shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart and from your whole soul and from your whole mind and from your whole strength. God wants us to love Him with our whole being.
Here's a good for thought question. Do you enjoy the story of David and Goliath while reading the bible? I think most would say it was spectacular how God gave such strength to David to fight against evil and to protect his Nation. Even in the manner of how the battle went down seemed to give glory to God. Now, if that story can speak to us which is a story about REAL warfare. Why can't someone wholesomely enjoy a war movie that is not real people dying but only actors? Is the enjoyment of a skilled warrior or good fighting evil or the endurance of the human heart and or faith or hope in the the face of danger and horrors of war sinful? I don't believe so. It's about what is being glorified. If you are sadistic in your enjoyment of violence there's probably a problem. But what say you enjoy the story, strength and skill of a hero? Some glorious and good things only can take place in the midst of the darkness. If sin never existed Jesus would never need to ride to battle on the last day but it's going to be a glorious sight none the less.
There's seems to be some confusion with well meaning christians here. Tv is not bad, and it is often a subjective art form, and is therefore harmless by nature. It is us who twist and contort tv into sinful thoughts, and we must police our heart and watch media responsibly. At least if we are speaking of the average TV show (obviously porn is not the average show). Christ said sin is rooted in what comes out from us, our depraved heart, not art forms like tv shows. To ban or despise TV or any external media is you missing the point, more superficial rules more akin to pharisees than to the gospel.
I'm a new Christian but have been very mindful about what my husband and I watch for many years. After abuse and neglect that resulted in me acquiring and eating disorder, alcoholism and anxiety - I learned to say no to anything that even appeared sketchy very quickly. That being said, I saw really intense series of fantasy movies recently and they were wonderful because they left things to imagination provoked ethical discussions. I love watching something and you take it in the real world and you actually talk about it and you interact and you think and it's just amazing :)
The scriptures themselves are pretty real. My family is converts to Christianity and we still read the weekly Torah portion on the annual schedule with Jews and every year we get to passages like Leviticus chapters 18 and 20 and I try to remind my kids that it was necessary for God to give those commandments because they were things that the nations that were being driven out of the land were actually doing. My kids are teens now, so they just sit there all wide eyed and awkward. Them and me both.
Cool video! Every Christian should know this! I have a question too. I am a German Lutheran and this Lutheran identity that you and a lot of other american or scandinavian lutherans are expressing, is not really present anymore in Germany. Atleast not in the big "Landeskirchen". Do you maybe know, why is that only in Germany the case and what could be done to recreate Lutheranism? (I don't know if you ever studied on that) But that question is literially haunting me.
ASK ESO welcome to the club 👋. I've tried to join baptistic churches but that didn't really work. So home church currently the only option. The whole Christianity in Germany is a sad story.
@@christophjasinski4804 Ye. Well there are still some conservative luterans in the Landeskirchen, but quite a few. Also there is the SELK as option, but that one is not present where I live.
If you study the history of American Lutheranism, you quickly see that many of the first American Lutherans left their homelands so they could KEEP their ethnic identities and REMAIN Lutherans in the way they understood that to be. Speaking as an adult convert to American Lutheranism from an English heritage and a broadly Methodist upbringing, I can say that the confessional Lutherans are distinctly Lutheran and proud of their ancestry. That said, it is not a perfect situation (nothing is) and it is far from universally held by everyone in any given synod, district, or organization.
I can answer that question without even listening to this video! Yes...We who are wholehearted devout Christians should be careful, or wary, of what we watch and/or listen to; whether it's TV or just music. For Satan has many strategies intended to affect the thinking of people in general; whether you've already committed your life to Christ, or whatever. Music can carry subliminal messages intended to cause a person to think along certain lines. You don't have to see something depicted right in front of your eyes in order to be influenced by its intended purpose. The commercials and tv sitcoms that are now blatantly showing same gender people kissing or making out didn't start out that way. They started out with just merely impressing the idea of same sex individuals acting out with each other romantically. Now we too often see couples like that kissing in commercials, or sitcoms; yet another level of impressing that behavior on those who would otherwise not be accepting of it. Before long, it will be nothing to actually see same sex individuals engaged in sexual relations on just about any easily accessible TV programs! And when it comes to the kinds of singers or entertainers we engage in supporting, it's the same way. That song that's being performed by that morally corrupt person may seem innocent to listen to because that person is just oh so talented, but a message is being sent to the unsuspecting listener. And that message is, "Look at me and listen to me. Don't I seem just as normal as anybody else? Aren't I, as well, singing about love and breaking up with a loved one?" But it's not all the same. It's all part of Satan's strategy to corrupt the minds and thoughts of those who are either not aware of what's happening, or they simply don't care. Many Christians are falling by the wayside for their inability to discern what is appropriate entertainment for those who are followers of Jesus Christ. Yes, indeed, we must be careful of what we see, hear, and experience as Christians. Satan never uses unattractive people to do his dirty works! He uses the most well spoken, good looking and captivating people who will succumb to his strategic ways. As Christians, we must practice discernment! If you don't know how, there's no period in time that's more urgent for you to learn than NOW!!!
Irrespective of the fact that secular forms of entertainment often promote immorality, secular novels, movies, television etc are essentially based on the glorification of man and not God. Man as sinner in need of God's salvation isn't the theme, but rather the theme is one of humans being the heroes and saviours, and if God does come into view He's usually denigrated in some way. The desire for fame and being the centre of attention affects us all. We want to be gods who are looked up to and admired by everyone, and the ones who reach the top and have almost universal approval as film stars, sportsmen and entertainers are idolized by worldly people. However as Christians we should be aware of this elevation of man in the place of God and not get sucked into hero worship and idolatry like the rest of the world.
Don't let it be an idol because things other than people can be an idol. Always have the lord in mind and have him be first in your heart and in your daily routines. I watch films and If something has a sex scene in it I will either skip it or look away because you wouldn't look at someone doing that in real life so why would you watch it through a screen. you have to be careful what you watch and don't let it distract you from the lord our heavenly father amen.🙏❤️
I think the issue is what we might call propaganda. The problem with porn is that its programming you to think of sex in a context outside of marriage. Since marriage has always been the foundation for all social circles and hierarchies, the more a person engages with pornography, the more you isolate yourself, and the more isolated you are, the less you are able to deal with catastrophy and deception. Game of Thrones is not propaganda, its Art. It's depicting a society that is broken by politics and war, and sexual immorality would logically be a part of that brokenness. Plus is based on medieval english culture, which we know from history at that time would have had instances of sexual immorality. So my answer is that all Art says more about the viewer than the content. No one says they watch porn for the story, themes, symbols or design, but there are those who watch GOT sex scenes for how it impacts the story, draws out themes, concretises ideas into symbols and fleshes out the design and feel of the setting in an authentic way. If you watch a GOT sex scene for its pornographic value, or on the flip side cant imagine how it could be viewed in a non porographic way, that says more about you being corrupted rather than the media being corrupted. Its not porn.
The "we all draw the line somewhere before pornography" argument only works if you see pornography as being just an extension by degrees of other artistic works. I think pornography is different in kind, as it involves the participation of others in a sexual act. Even if the pornographic actors and actresses were married, which they obviously almost never are, they are still having the audience participate as viewers in their sexual acts, which is a defilement of the marriage bed. I think this case against pornography is much more compelling than the "it inflames the passions of the heart" argument. Not that I don't agree that Christians don't need to be cautious about what media and entertainment they consume. I believe they absolutely do. But I don't think your argument from our common disapproval for pornography works to establish that. Pornography is different in kind from ordinary works of entertainment, not just in degree.
My cousin wasn’t allowed to play with Yu-gi-oh cards when we were kids, because they “bring demons into the house” and I thought his stepmom was completely crazy 😆 but I was also a punk rock, semi anarchist, douche canoe at 15, soooo....
Don’t watch or listen to anything you would be embarrassed to watch or listen to with Christ. This isn’t pharisaical, it’s just living holy. I don’t need to watch a movie with sexual content so that I can critique it, or “glean the good” from the film
I suppose 30 - 50 hours of tv a week is ok if it is good tv, right? Or just turn it off altogether ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xtSti-_JT8A.html Just saying
