I don't ever feel like it takes over my life. We don't even have time to watch regular TV. On weekends or some nights we will catch up on missed shows via hulu, Netflix or Amazon, but only if we don't have something better to do.
The kids, on the other hand, have to be limited. Not so much TV, but they can get caught up in facebook and other online activities for hours if I don't supervise their usage.
During the holidays, we'll watch several of our favorite movies with the kids. That counts as family time. We pop popcorn, the kids sprawl out on our bed and we watch the movie in our bedroom. We watched Secondhand Lions last night. I love that movie. Love it when they shoot the salesmen, love it when the lion finally becomes a "real" lion, LOVE it when Uncle Hub throws things into the hospital hallway and checks himself out--reminds me of my Dad. (He hated the hospital and would behave VERY badly while thus "imprisoned." ) Princess Bride will be on the Must Watch List, and probably The Grinch.
My opinion: Media, entertainment, and technology should be an asset and a compliment to your life and your family. It shouldn't be allowed to take over, but no one should be scared of it. Keep things balanced. And if you find yourself languishing in front of the TV everyday for hours then you DO need to get your butt up and do something different. That's not good for anyone, especially children.
In regard to the time issue only, watching a television show is no different than reading a book. It's comical how some people will demonize watching a show for an hour, but they can sit around and read a good book for the same amount of time and have no problem with it. Bottom line, if you are shucking your responsibilities for a TV show OR for a good book, you need to man up and take care of your obligations first. The specifics of the time waster are less important. Take care of your responsibilities first (including your responsibilities to God) and then who cares how you spend your recreational time?
__________________
"God, send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. And sever any tie in my heart except the tie that binds my heart to Yours."
--David Livingstone
"To see no being, not God’s or any, but you also go thither,
To see no possession but you may possess it—enjoying all without labor or purchase—
abstracting the feast, yet not abstracting one particle of it;…."
--Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, Song of the Open Road
Last edited by MissBrattified; 12-23-2011 at 10:41 AM.
Ever since I discovered Royal Tailor Band, I've been thinking more about this.
I feel like in some ways, I allowed myself to be brainwashed by a very rigid interpretation of rules: "do's/don'ts: Ex: don't party or you'll go to the extreme and be like those heathens kind of thinking-"
I'll call this self-justification.
but to paraphrase what a Christian brother said,
"We can have entertainment and have traditions, but not allow entertainment and traditions to have us."
I was very interested in the reaction to Royal Tailor Band getting nominated for a grammy, since they are in what many would consider an ultraconservative fellowship, yet they do choreographed dancing, play rock and roll, wear skinny jeans and have women in their videos that don't have the UPCI look.
And yet I watched that Make a Move video and realized that what they were saying, how they were saying it, and the specific points in the video where the dancing occurs and where the lead guy gets up off the floor after talking about just running his mouth about doing something of significance for God, and the point where the women in pants and no sleeves show up, all make a point about evangelism.
So now I pray about my entertainment choices. I used to just default when I I felt that I needed to mentally check out by clicking on old school r and b or adult contemporary pop music (honestly most Christian music is boring to me, musically- the words might be nice or meaningful, but a lot of the musical elements are very mundane and unoriginal or make me feel strange, IMO). But much of the "safe" pop songs that I grew up listening to in from the 70s onward are about people's specific romantic situations that don't really pertain to me and aren't really all that edifying (not saying they can't be edifying to someone at some point, but really, to keep it real, Whitney Houston or whoever it is recorded a lot of those songs to make money- they're not anointed).
As for movies, I dunno, I'm a late 60s baby, so a lot of the films that are being promoted in the media now don't interest me. I could care less about Taylor Lautner or Tyler Perry or whoever.
I grew up watching a ton of TV, and I can enjoy the older, cleaner programs (the ones that aren't based on insult humor, sarcasm and insubordination, don't paint the male characters as idiots, don't show people being promiscuous and children who are more in charge than the adults, professionals who are crackerjack doctors or lawyers but can't maintain a decent interpersonal relationship, etc). Honestly, I've come to more or less side with the UPCish idea of just watching DVDs/videos and leaving the cinema/TV sets alone (when I'm watching these shows, i need to be in control of what I'm seeing, I need to fast forward, rewind, pause, ask myself what I'm watching, etc.)
However, I think it's not a good idea for some church to mandate that their people abstain from movies, TV and scream at them that they're going to hell every week if they partake of these things- I had to come to this realization for myself, and I will still go to the cinema every once in a blue moon, but honestly oftentimes the other patrons don't know how to behave and ruin the experience.
Since I don't have kids and I wasn't born into a pentecostal or conservative home, my question is, how do those posters here who have kids in a pentecostal or apostolic church approach entertainment?
Ever since I discovered Royal Tailor Band, I've been thinking more about this.
I feel like in some ways, I allowed myself to be brainwashed by a very rigid interpretation of rules: "do's/don'ts: Ex: don't party or you'll go to the extreme and be like those heathens kind of thinking-"
I'll call this self-justification.
but to paraphrase what a Christian brother said,
"We can have entertainment and have traditions, but not allow entertainment and traditions to have us."
I was very interested in the reaction to Royal Tailor Band getting nominated for a grammy, since they are in what many would consider an ultraconservative fellowship, yet they do choreographed dancing, play rock and roll, wear skinny jeans and have women in their videos that don't have the UPCI look.
And yet I watched that Make a Move video and realized that what they were saying, how they were saying it, and the specific points in the video where the dancing occurs and where the lead guy gets up off the floor after talking about just running his mouth about doing something of significance for God, and the point where the women in pants and no sleeves show up, all make a point about evangelism.
So now I pray about my entertainment choices. I used to just default when I I felt that I needed to mentally check out by clicking on old school r and b or adult contemporary pop music (honestly most Christian music is boring to me, musically- the words might be nice or meaningful, but a lot of the musical elements are very mundane and unoriginal or make me feel strange, IMO). But much of the "safe" pop songs that I grew up listening to in from the 70s onward are about people's specific romantic situations that don't really pertain to me and aren't really all that edifying (not saying they can't be edifying to someone at some point, but really, to keep it real, Whitney Houston or whoever it is recorded a lot of those songs to make money- they're not anointed).
As for movies, I dunno, I'm a late 60s baby, so a lot of the films that are being promoted in the media now don't interest me. I could care less about Taylor Lautner or Tyler Perry or whoever.
I grew up watching a ton of TV, and I can enjoy the older, cleaner programs (the ones that aren't based on insult humor, sarcasm and insubordination, don't paint the male characters as idiots, don't show people being promiscuous and children who are more in charge than the adults, professionals who are crackerjack doctors or lawyers but can't maintain a decent interpersonal relationship, etc). Honestly, I've come to more or less side with the UPCish idea of just watching DVDs/videos and leaving the cinema/TV sets alone (when I'm watching these shows, i need to be in control of what I'm seeing, I need to fast forward, rewind, pause, ask myself what I'm watching, etc.)
However, I think it's not a good idea for some church to mandate that their people abstain from movies, TV and scream at them that they're going to hell every week if they partake of these things- I had to come to this realization for myself, and I will still go to the cinema every once in a blue moon, but honestly oftentimes the other patrons don't know how to behave and ruin the experience.
Since I don't have kids and I wasn't born into a pentecostal or conservative home, my question is, how do those posters here who have kids in a pentecostal or apostolic church approach entertainment?
"However, I think it's not a good idea for some church to mandate that their people abstain from movies".
I agree on the quote above, however don't have a problem with being reminded of the potentials of too much and what you look at. I know many non-apostolics that avoid "R" rated. They draw the line and stick to it.
Using TV and movies as a measuring stick to qualify someone for leadership or singing in the choir is absurd. The ultra-cons are still spewing about TV while having some of the most professional church websites.
) Princess Bride will be on the Must Watch List, and probably The Grinch.
Linear Mode
