TRENT WRITES: Recently, I have discovered some disturbing things about the certain songs like the “Harlem Shake.” Apparently the foreign words in in the beginning of this song mean “With the terrorists.”
And it got me thinking, “Where should I draw the line in entertainment?”
- When there are graphic bloody scenes in a movie?
- When there is immoral romance scenes?
- What about language? What if there’s only one cuss word in the entire two and a half hour movie? What about two? Five? Ten? Twenty? Where do we draw the line?
And what about in music? Where should we draw the line there? If someone starts playing new music, should we Google the origins of it right then and there to make sure it didn’t come from something bad like the Harlem Shake did?
This is a huge moral dilemma for me, because if it is wrong to watch a movie that has only a small amount of language, like Marvel’s The Avengers, then I would be stuck watching only documentaries, classics, and the tiny amount of Christian movies that come out each year. And if it is okay, then where is the line drawn?!
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Don’t you hate my tough questions? 🙂
Grrr!
Yeah, lol.
Ehh, it makes me think hard, so that’s a good thing 🙂
Wow….big question. Well, the ultimate deciding factor should be “does it honor God.” That being said, we all know what God has to say about murder and adultery in the 10 commandments. About the language, I distinctly remember coming across a verse in the New Testament that said to avoid using “foul or abusive language” but for the life of me I can’t even remember the book its in and I’m short on time so….
Ultimately, the decision will be up to you (and for now, probably your parents as well 🙂 ) I would (and this is to myself as much as anyone I promise) draw the line at “does it honor God.”
Hope this helps and I’m definitely looking forward to hear what others have to say….
That also goes with the “Speak Life” principal. 🙂
Yeahhhh the version I have says “Don’t use foul or abusive language…thanks! 🙂
I’ll just say that it depends on if it’s God-honoring, and if it’s appropriate. Sometimes in war movies, the violence and language can be very intense. However, if the purpose of the movie to accurately depict the lives and struggles of real soldiers, then I would say the violence and cussing are appropriate (although hard to watch and listen to). Then there are sometimes where the violence and language is just gratuitous, and I don’t watch those kinds of movies. Usually, romances scenes are never okay. I believe that opinions will vary with different personalities and such, just make sure that you don’t compromise yourself. You’ll have to make your own decisions based on your convictions and the Bible as to what you will and will not watch, because people are bound to disagree with you on what you choose to watch and listen to.
Hope this helps. (Did this answer your question Trent?)
Kinda like the Passion 🙂
Exactly. There is an insane amount of blood and gore in that movie, but we as Christians see that as totally appropriate for that event. So yes Sam, that is exactly my point.
Thanks for the well thought out response. You’re awesome, bro! Don’t let Satan convince you otherwise!
Hey no problem, and thanks for the compliment! I don’t usually get called awesome, so thanks.
Hey, so I heard about this video you were in that was made by an amateur filmmaker. Is that filmmaker you, and where can I find the video? I think it was on your site and you were in a camo getup?
Hi, Martial Artist,
I am not the filmmaker. My brother is a major in Film Studies and came over last Christmas Break and filmed it for me. And yes, I am wearing a marines’ combat uniform.
Here is the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tWAUwBkRcRo
Cool stuff man! If I had woods like that near me, I’d be out there in my camo all the time just sneaking around! Plus, the voice over was cool too as well as the Rambo soundtrack. What state do you live in?
I live in Florida. 🙂
This is a touchy issue, and I could get in trouble with this one, I’ll try to be neutral.
The bible says, (sorry I don’t have time to find the verses) that when we are saved that the Lord sends the Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts. And the bible also says that the law of the Lord is written on our hearts.
Therefore, I think that different people stumble over different things, and that the Holy Spirit convicts people about different things in their life. It’s not our job to convince other Christians what they should or shouldn’t listen to, it’s not our job to tell christians how to live.
So, for different people, different things are okay, everyone is different. But, then the bible talks about not causing a brother to stumble. That means it is possible for something to be ok for you, but it causes your brother to stumble, you shouldn’t do it around that brother, for his own sake. Got it?
By yourself = okay,
by others who are not convicted about it = ok,
by someone who feels convicted about it = not ok around him.
Thanks, bro!
I hope it was intelligible… I had just woken up when I wrote it, and we all know it takes me a while to think clearly in the morn…
haha
This is indeed a tough question; probably one of the toughest in all of Christianity: “Where do I draw the line?” It was actually the next idea I had for an article to write. Honestly, I have no idea. I don’t think there is a line.
Firstly, hearing a cuss word is not a sin. Seeing immoral content is not a sin. Likewise, being tempted is not a sin. It’s when we dwell on those things, and allow them to become more than temptations, that they become sins.
So back to the question. If we were to avoid being in the presence of all immorality, how would we reach the lost? I realize that this doesn’t exactly apply to when you’re home alone watching a movie, but it’s still a principle to keep in mind. We don’t want to reject people on account of our desire for holiness.
I do not believe that some people are unaffected by language, violence, etc. I do believe, however, that some are affected less by some things. Prior to being saved (and early in my Christian walk), foul language and immorality would have affected me in hugely negative ways. Nowadays, those things are much easier to ignore and are not as apt to shake/dominate my mind. This is not to say that I’m desensitized, but rather more secure.
Does this mean I can watch/listen to whatever? Of course not! Movies, memes, secular songs, etc. are merely entertainment. I shouldn’t put myself in jeopardy simply for the sake of entertainment. And the more I fill my mind with sinful things, that’s when I get desensitized and those things find their way back out (Luke 6:45, Proverbs 4:23).
But as I’ve said, I really don’t know where the line should be drawn. Ultimately, I think it’s up to the individual, knowing their own weaknesses. Some scriptures I would keep in mind and study, though, are 1 Corinthians 8 and 9, Psalm 1, the aforementioned, and a number of others. I look forward to what input others have!
Thank you for giving this perspective. I really appreciated how you said it. Humility was very evident here. You’re awesome, bro! Talk to you later!
You are the awesome one, my friend!
Very good point Nathan. My dream is to serve in the military someday. In my current situation I’m not exposed to that much foul language. But I’m learning to have a sound faith so that when I’m in the military and exposed to a ton of foul language, I’ll have the courage to keep from giving into the temptation of using foul language.
I think it’s the same way with what we watch and listen. As long as we don’t give into the temptation of using the foul language we hear, we’re okay. But that’s just me.
“I shouldn’t put myself in jeopardy simply for the sake of entertainment.” Great points!
This reminds me of a ‘mini-sermon’ I heard.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SyzHBq41j6I
I think we need to be devoted to honoring God in all we do and pursue godliness, especially in entertainment. Some things will not cause you to stumble, and it’s not such a big deal in those cases. But we need to be careful not to morph our pursuit of godliness into legalism. Things with violence and language can bring us closer to God, but it’s important to make sure we aren’t stumbling in the process.
Why do you want to know? What is the purpose in having a “line”? What’s the motive behind what you do? What will honor the Lord?
God has delivered us from both the penalty and the power of sin but He has not yet delivered us from the presence of sin. We live in this world. As Nathan said, hearing profanity or seeing immoral content is not a sin. It is going to happen. If you are walking around in the mall and you happen to see a poster, say, of an immodestly dressed woman, that is not your fault (unless you intended to). What you choose to do when you do see it IS in your control. We are surrounded by evil and things that dishonor God. However, I don’t think you should be putting more garbage in, intentionally. Does it honor God? If a movie or a song has content that does NOT honor God, should you listen to it? If you had your earbuds in, would you mind if Jesus came up and asked to share one?
Disclaimer: this paragraph will be my personal opinion. I avoid movies that have profanity, crude humor, and violence for the sake of violence entirely. My whole family does. If it has a swear word in it, we usually don’t watch it. Yes, you might attend a public school where kids swear in the halls. But does that justify watching/listening to content at home that has swear words in it? In the matter of entertainment, you have a choice. No one is making you watch or listen to anything. What are you choosing to put in?
In general, I avoid secular music (you know what I mean, not stuff like “Barney is a dinosaur from our imagination…” but “I knew you were trouble when you walked in…”). Why? Because everything in this world has a message. Please do not think I am bashing any particular artist or style; I use this as example. When you trust Christ as Savior, He begins renewing your mind. Over time, you should grow more sensitive to what does not line up with Him. A song like “Baby, you light up my world like nobody else/The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed/The way you smile at the ground it ain’t hard to tell/You don’t know-oh-oh/You don’t know you’re beautiful” is sending messages.
-You are beautiful because other people tell you you are. You are beautiful–just look in the mirror vs.
-God: You are beautiful because I made you
-You are valuable because other people tell you you are. If even one person thinks you are, you can be secure in that. vs
-God: You are valuable because I place value on you. Your identity is not in what people think of you, but in what I think of you.
-Focus on yourself vs.
-God: Your focus should be on ME.
&c.
Philippians 4:8 is the standard verse on this, but I think you will find that the New Testament has a lot more to say. cf Ephesians 4:29-30 &c. But don’t just take my word, or anyone else’s word, for it. When Paul went to Berea, those who heard his message received the gospel readily, but first searched the Scriptures to see “whether those things were so.” Search the Scriptures for yourself and ask the Holy Spirit in you to teach you.
I think that it is different for each family…. I think this is an issue that we trust our parents in. Lets say that you really want to see a movie, but your parents don’t think it is good to watch that particular movie. I would trust them and obey thier counsel. We know one family that wouldn’t let thier kids watch anything with magic in it until they turn 18 (not even Disney) However, they let thier kids watch other things that our parents would not want us watching. Just remember, that we are to be IN the world, but not OF the world. We are a new creation because of Christ and we no longer are identified by worldly things. So like other people have said, it is not wrong to watch certain movies but your identity is in Jesus, not the world, so don’t identify yourself with entertainment. Also, remember that we are to think of things that are good, honorable, and upright. I think this is a personal issue, Jesus did not give us a list of movies we couldn’t watch and if we did we would get kicked out or anything like that. However, he tells us to honor Him and live for Him. After all, our lives are no longer our own but His. Hope that helps!
Note: I did not comment on music because I am unfamiliar with secular songs and can not speak of their content. (I listen to instrumental…LOL)
Great question Trent!
Priscila
Same here. I hate to describe the limit as ‘relative’ because moral relativism is such a huge issue in today’s culture, but I think that’s the best way to describe it. Paul talked about how if eating meat causes my brother to sin, I should abstain (I Cor 8:13). I think part of his point is that some issues differ from person to person.
Woah, lightbulb! Morals are not relative, but ethics (applied morals) are relative to some situations. So morals are not subjective, but how they’re applied depends on various factors. I’d never thought of it that way ’till just now, so I could be wrong. Either way, thanks for the lightbulb moment, even if it’s completely off. 🙂
Yep I think that’s what I was trying to say, only you have a cool term for it. I totally agree with what you’re saying, (absolute morals exist but they can be applied differently), but I don’t understand the concept very well. Say murder obviously is immoral (a nonrelative moral), but an abortionist would say that an unplanned pregnancy is a circumstance in which murder is acceptable (an applied moral). At what point is an applied moral no longer relative? Im not sure how to draw that line. Deep thoughts:)
I would jump in here, but this is waaaay over my head!
The problem really comes down to definition. If abortion is defined as murder, then it is clearly wrong, logically. Same with, say, secular songs (a previous discussion). If you defined “secular” as “dishonoring God,” then obviously it’s wrong. But if you define it as “without explicit reference to God,” then it’s not necessarily wrong. So I think that the issue isn’t as much determining if a moral “fits” in a situation, but rather whether the situation matches a certain moral. …If that makes any sense. My brain’s not exactly top-notch at the moment. 😛 But I agree, once you get in the topic of relativism and such, things get quite deep… 🙂
I think I get it, if something doesnt fit exactly into an immoral catagory than it can be applied differently. Like immodestly is immoral, but in some tribe somewhere a complete lack-of-clothing it is not considered immodest, so definitions of immodesty differ. The moral is not relative, but how it is applied is relative. Some things (such as murder) fit exactly and without exception into an immoral catagory and are immoral cross-culturally.
Exactly. Even the applications, though, aren’t very relative. For instance, complete lack of clothing is wrong, no matter what culture you’re in. Most things do not depend on the culture, and those that do are only very small applications (such as cultural style of clothing). We have to be careful, because there are many things that we may think are “undefined,” but are in fact defined in scripture, if we study it in context. So even the “ethics are relative” idea can only go so far (and it’s not very far).
I really appreciate the idea of absolute morals with relative situations. That really does make sense, and I had not thought of the subject from that view before.
One thing I’d like to point out is that just because it may be culturally acceptable to very few clothes, that doesn’t mean that there’s a different code of modesty there. I would assume that people there have the same issues with lust, and it’s possible that everyone is being immodest in those societies.
I wholeheartedly agree. I didn’t really want to go too deep into the whole clothing-modesty thing, so I just left it at that. Good point. (And I’m not holding to my lightbulb-idea as a philisophic law, but I appreciate your appreciation.) 😉
Dude, that makes so much sense!! *high five* I think I’m sharing your lightbulb moment! 🙂
I think it is ok to watch movies with profanity, violence, and war only if, such things do not cause us to stumble. If something in a movie would cause you to stumble, then I would not watch it. I was reading Matthew and in Matthew 18 Jesus talked about plucking out your eye if it causes you to stumble. Of course he didn’t mean your actual eye, Jesus meant whatever causes you to stumble remove it. So the same would apply to media of any sort.
If secular media causes you to stumble then I would say leave it, but it’s too extreme to disperse yourself away from it just because there is some bad content.
That’s just my opinion though.
Matthew 18 is a great one!
I agree. I’m interested in joining the Navy so dad let me watch Crimson Tide, a movie about a US Nuclear Submarine, even though it has quite a bit foul language. I knew not to say the foul words, so it was ok. I personally don’t like watching movies with too much gore or foul language cause I found that it usually influences how I think. But that’s just me.
Yes. That’s why in your situation you should stay away from secular media because it causes you too stumble. But in my case those words really don’t affect me, though it’s not like I am watching a swearing film everyday. 😛
This question reminds me of another, http://therebelution.com/blog/2015/01/should-christians-listen-to-secular-music/. While some of the comments made there won’t apply, many will, I think.
Anyway, I don’t think that consuming media which portrays violence is necessarily wrong. Violence is a part of the sinful world we live in, and it’s really impossible to avoid it and make a difference here for God. Yet glorifying violence isn’t a good thing, so we must keep a balance.
Immoral romance scenes…well, it’s not the watching it that’s the sin. It’s the response. And since many such scenes can lead to sinful thoughts, in my opinion, it’s best to keep away from such things.
Language, like the other parts of the question, is really not an issue set in stone. If the words used cause you or others watching with you to stumble, it’s not good. ““I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial.” (1 Cor 6:12 NIV) We are free to do things in Christ, but we need to make sure that what we do is not harming our relationship with God.
To sum it up: does watching/listening to a specific movie/song honor God? Not “does ___ honor God”, because, for example, instrumental songs, don’t explicitly honor God. Is God happy with what you listen to and watch? Does it further your relationship with God or tear it down? How about for other believers?
Yeah, I was reminded of that DQ too 🙂
One scripture that my mom has pointed out to me before is Psalm 101:3-4…….
”
I will set before my eyes no vile thing. The deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me. Men of perverse heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with evil.”
……..Now when it comes to applying that, I can’t give a solid answer, other than “read the text”. 😛 I don’t know if that means to avoid all things wrong in any film, or if you can even apply that scripture to films, but I think it’s a valid thought, to be approached with prayer.
But two thoughts I do have: one is, people get uncomfortable with the idea that the number of movies they will be able to watch will diminish too much, and they really don’t like that idea. I relate. But I have to ask, do we really *need* to have a vast supply of entertainment available to us at all times? Or are there other things we could be doing with our time that would be both worthwhile and honoring to God? Keep in mind the real reason we are here on this earth…
And also, it all boils down to this; are you following the guidance of the Holy Spirit? Do you pay attention to your conscience when you are watching something? Do you honor the consciences of your parents, who are given authority over you by God? The answer to what media you can/can’t watch isn’t necessarily going to be found here; but it can be found in God.
So I hope that doesn’t feel like I’m beating around the bush, but those were my thoughts. 🙂 Good question!
You make a really good point about needing entertainment. I had to go through my iPod around a year ago and delete any memes that had foul language. Some were “funny,” but I realized they were filling my mind and I was sacrificing my morals for the sake of mere entertainment.
1 Corinthians 10:23-24 (especially verse 23)
23 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.
Hey, Trent!
I have struggled with the same thing, I mean, I love, (sorry, very much enjoy) Marvel movies, (I actually just watched all three original spider-man movies) but I agree with what others have posted on this discussion. Most of what you watch or listen to should be judged by your reaction to it: whether or not it inspires sinful thoughts or thoughts God would be proud of. But one thing I would say is that violence is not necessarily bad. If you look into the Bible, especially in the old testament, you will find several instances where God used violence to put an end to evil on His earth. Take the story of Ehud for example, (I won’t say in detail what happens here, but look it up in Judges 3:12-30) or the story of Noah, which is more violent than what most people think. On the other two questions you posted, I’m not so sure where I stand (or should be standing), but I think what the others have said on here is great stuff!
The awkwardness of the Ehud scene is actually kinda entertaining…
All of Judges is kinda awkward. The book shows dark truths about human beings and has some of the strangest stories I’ve ever read.
Yeah. The last couple chapters show the horrible spiral of Israel’s decline. It’s really sad.
As sad as Samson’s poor choices were, I found many parts of his life amusing. Like when he picked up the city gate and put it on a hill:
Philistines Let’s take Samson out!
Samson (in extremely deep and manly voice) Nope! I’ll just pick up this 5,000 pound gate and rip it out of the wall.
*Samson picks up heavy gate like it’s Styrofoam and marches it up the hill*
Samson Hmmm… *Grunts and pounds chest* Beat that, Philistines!
Lol my youth pastor was just talking about that at yoyouth group last night
Hahahaha!
Yes… Is it wrong to find it somewhat amusing? 😉
I certainly don’t think so!
Good! Except now I have this image in my head, and I’m about to go eat dinner… lol 😛
P.s. It’s super cool to be in a place where people actually know off the top of their head who Ehud is! Most people I know would be like, whaaaaat?
I know someone who named their baby Ehud. I wonder if he’s left-handed. 🙂
I wouldn’t want to grow up with that name!
It’s better then “Nabel” – Abigael’s first husband. (I think it means “foolish one”)
I think that should have been my middle name.
Don’t say that! You aren’t a fool!
Haha – ’cause you don’t really know me.
In Matthew 5:22 Jesus says not to call others fools… I’d expect that applies to calling ourselves fools, too. And I expect everyone feels like a fool at least a thousand times in their lives.
@mimeforjesus:disqus, you are awesome! Thank you so much – I’ve been having kind of a down afternoon, and this really helps. 🙂 Thank you.
Hey, no problem. I call myself names all the time, and I know how damaging it is.
Say, I saw that you said you were getting ready for a move. Have you moved before? I’ve moved three times before, so I know what it’s like. I’ll be praying for you and your family!
I’m still trying to get through running myself down, I’ve gotten so used to telling myself what I once knew to be lies that I’ve grown to believe them, and even though I’ve believed them, it still hurts. Anyway, thank you for that, it was very encouraging. 🙂
Actually, this will be my sixth move in 14 years. This is my first cross-country move, though (something I am NOT looking forward to). Any advice for having to trade everything you’ve grown to love for something you’re not looking forward to? I know God works good out of evil (not saying that this move is evil – haha), but I really don’t want to move, and right now I’m not seeing too much good out of it. I know I have a negative attitude toward things sometimes, but it’s still hard. Sorry to talk your ear off, thanks for the prayers!
And Trent Blake, you’re awesome, too. 🙂
If you are hearing negative self-talk, switch it. Go through the alphabet giving yourself positive self talk words (this has helped me)
You are A__
your are B___
You are C___
etc.
Thank you so much! This is very encouraging! 🙂
I do have one question for whoever wants to answer it: where do we draw the line between talking positively about ourselves, and taking pride in ourselves? This was originally the reason for my negative self-talk, which spiraled out of control. Now I’m not for sure; I don’t want to constantly be trying to say something good about myself and it come across as pride.
I have the same problem. Just Sunday I was telling (or trying to tell) some people about what God has done in and for me over the years, but it was hard to do so without thinking I’m coming across in a puffed-up manner. What I tried to do, personally, was continually emphasize that it was not me who did those things or grew certain character qualities; it was God alone Who did the work. Even so, I still feel like it didn’t quite come across the right way. :/ I would just say don’t be afraid to say the positive about yourself, but always give the glory to God, for on our own we would still be helplessly enslaved to sin. 🙂 I was actually thinking of submitting that as a DQ.
Thank you! We should certainly give God all the credit.
And you know, the thought about that being a DQ crossed my mind, too. 🙂
Yes, that would be a great DQ!
Good question, that’s how I’ve gotten to be so critical of what I write/make in any way. A couple of years ago I realized that I was overly proud of what I was doing, so I started critiquing it harshly. I still do that, far too much.
That’s exactly what I do. And I’m not for sure what to do about it! In a sense, it’s wrong to criticize God-given talents, but at the same time, we shouldn’t be priding ourselves in how great we’re doing it, either! What is your opinion?
I’ll just pop in here and say that I submitted the DQ, “How do you talk about your good traits without sounding prideful?” 🙂 Although perhaps “How do you talk about your good traits without being prideful?” might have been a better way to phrase it. Oh well.
Yay! I really am curious to see other people’s responses.
That one ought to spark a lot of good discussion 🙂
Hmm, you mean debating-wise or that it’ll bring about a lot of interesting answers?
It should bring about a lot of interesting answers. Although if it started a debate, that would be fun to read, too 🙂
I second your answer. 😉
This isn’t my discussion, but if you don’t mind me tossing in something real quick. C.S. Lewis put it very well when he said (paraphrase from the Screwtape Letters) that humility is not talking down about yourself or even not bragging about yourself. Instead, it’s thinking about yourself less.
As someone who flipflops between both sides of that problem (overconfidence and pride one day; unconfidence and over-criticism of self the next), that was a revolutionary concept to me. Hope it helps somebody!
Please, toss something in! I kind of hoped you would.
Yes, it does help. Okay, so yes, we should be practicing humility instead of criticizing ourselves and running ourselves down, but how exactly do we have confidence in whatever it is we’re truly good at, without it seeming as pride? Or does criticizing ourselves come from a desire to have someone say something good about us, to make us feel better about ourselves? Does it come from the fact that we crave attention?
I think it can come from a desire for attention. You’re speaking to someone who struggles with the same thing, so if I had all the answers, I wouldn’t be still struggling with it!
I think a knowledge of my own sinfulness is one thing that constantly helps to fight my pride, and on the swing side, a knowledge of God’s abundant grace is another thing that fights my own pride. Anything good in me is not my own, and I owe to another! And when I run down that good I’ve been given, I’m running down a gift God has given me.
Honestly, I don’t how to to exercise self-confidence without seeming prideful. There are times I know my own overconfidence comes across as pride (probably rightfully so!)
I know for myself, many times I’ve put myself down hoping for someone to come along and contradict it. I don’t think I can say that every time comes from a desire for attention, but I know that personally that’s true.
I acknowledge I’ve done the same thing. And then usually when I apologize to someone for doing it, it looks like I’m still craving attention! Not sure how to fix that one…
Thanks, Taylor, this helps a lot!
Well, I don’t know… But I will say that Taylor B kinda stole my thunder with the C. S. Lewis quote, but the second piece of that quote was that men are rarely called upon to give an opinion of their talents, anyway. He goes on to say that the true definition of humility is looking at something you did well, and basically liking it no more or less than you would if it was someone else’s work.
It’s hard to balance, and I haven’t gotten anywhere near there yet, but I think that you can like what you’re doing so long as you would like it just as well if your younger brother had done it.
Hmm, that’s an interesting perspective. I hadn’t thought of that before. That really points out how self-centered we are in our thinking!
ikr?
Sorry, I don’t know a lot of media lingo – what’s “ikr”?
It’s “I Know, Right?” I didn’t really know it when I joined the Reb, either 🙂
Aaahh… thanks for clarifying! It took me forever to learn “BTW” and “FYI”. 😉
I’m just glad I’m not the only teen who doesn’t know those abbreviations 🙂
I would change my name if my parents named me that.
Me neither.
Lol 🙂
Then there’s the story where the king was assassinated in the outhouse, and the servants were afraid to come in for fear of being “shocked and slightly embarrassed at the sight of… their king” (to paraphrase Veggietales). When my brother and I were reading through Judges together, we both laughed so long at that story!
Yep, that’s Ehud. We heard a storyteller tell that it at a homeschool convention. And they say God doesn’t have a sense of humor….
Oops, I thought that was a different guy…
God has a great sense of humor! To quote John Branyan, “He made you, didn’t he?”
Nothing about you , you understand…
Oh, God definitely gave a chuckle or two when He made me!
Same here… when they say the angels dance in Heaven, I wonder if someone saw them (the angels) laughing so hard they looked like they were dancing!
I mean, God loves humor, and He has the ability to be the greatest comedian in the universe!
Gotta love them veggies:)
Righto!
I think we actually studied the Ehud passage in youth bible study a couple years ago.
don’t remember clearly anymore…
yeah, well, I’ll let you look it up. It’s a little too graphic to talk about on a public website. : P
Oh my goodness I love that story! Being a lefty I can relate 😛
Yeah, it’s kind of funny how people decorate baby blankets and things of Noah and his ark, like it’s somehow cute or something.
Have you seen Tim Hawkins’ joke on that?
I don’t have time to really answer the question of where to draw the line, but I can totally relate with your last paragraph. My family is movie-picky (in a good way) and we usually only watch those categories of movies: documentaries, classics, cheesy-Christian movies, and some animated stuff. There are some other movies we watch that don’t fit those categories, but pretty much that’s it. I’ve never watched a Marvel movie!
I’m going to have to read some of the other responses when I have more time because this question is super important to me, and not just with movies and music but also with popular books!
Take your time bro. No need to stress. I’ll wait. 🙂
My family is pretty strict too (in a good way, of course). I’ve watched the Avengers, but that’s about as far as it goes.
Ok, so I’ve taken some time and though I don’t necessarily like what I think and kind of wish there could be more popular movies, songs, books etc. that weren’t bad, I believe we can’t deceive ourselves into saying something is fine just because we want it to be. I read the first Hunger Games book and loved it and wanted to watch the movie and finish the series. My parents ( and sister) weren’t so keen on the idea and though I still wish those books were a little more clean and I could finish reading them, I realize I can’t deceive myself into thinking that those books are fine just because I want them to be.
I’m even a bit on edge with Narnia and LOTR because of their magic content and just don’t want to trick myself into thinking anything is okay when it’s not.
May I ask how you regard The Hunger Games ‘unclean’? I’m curious…
Also you may not be aware but the authors for both Narnia and LOTR were Christians. For example, the plot for Narnia is one big analogy, but particularly in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, which is portraying Aslan as Jesus, Edmund as humanity, and the Witch as sin. Aslan sacrificed himself in place of Edmund, killed on the stone table (analogy for the cross) by the White Witch and her followers. Aslan rose again and conquered death. And that’s just a very general explanation, when you read the books there are so many parallels to draw from. That was C.S Lewis intention.
As for The Hobbit and LOTR, I know that there are definitive Christian undertones and messages laced in there, although they are not as obvious as in Narnia.
Maybe this helps put you at ease? Not all fiction and fantasy, simply because it is depicted magically, is going to corrupt you. Sometimes it helps. And even if it is not written by a Christian author there are many great fantasy stories with morals that align with our Christian principles.
For example, I know many Christians are on the edge about Harry Potter, but I haven’t met a single person who’s read it that has gone “Oh the books really encouraged me to go into witchcraft and research curses.” I almost always hear (and this is what I draw from the books) about how the characters amidst this magical world show so much courage and bravery, love and loyalty, overcoming personal struggles and building friendships, learning that love is stronger than death and more valuable than gold or power, dealing with grief and loss, etc… I personally see it go way beyond waving a wand and taking down the villain. And the magical fantasy side never disrupts my relationship with Jesus, so I don’t consider it ‘badly influencial, corrupting entertainment.’
So yeah… Thought I’d mention allllll that 😛
If my saying that “I still wish those books were a little more clean” seems judgmental or makes someone feel bad, I am sorry. Let me clarify. The only reason I used that word was because I didn’t want to go into more detail about what I wish was better. Clean was probably not the best word for what I meant.
Also, I realize that Narnia and LOTR were both written by Christians. I have read all the Narnia books and can quote many lines from the audio drama by heart. (Shout-out to Uncle Andrew and Lazaraleen. Great voices.) I have also watched most of the LOTR movies, though not the Hobbit ones, and read the Hobbit and the first 2 books. (Haven’t finished the series.) Anyway, all that to say, I know these are good books. I’m just saying we have to be careful and not pretend that there are no parts that disturb us (if there are).
Finally, I want to be a novelist. I want to write fiction and fantasy, some of which has … magic . I just think we need to be careful when reading (and writing) stories that contain those magic elements.
Thanks for letting me clarify! 🙂
Oh, and Gollum is a great example of allegory in LOTR. He represents, like Edmund (at the beginning), sinful man without God.
So, I have thought about this a lot lately When is something wrong and when is it okay? And this question could be applied to a lot of things, not just music or movies. I used to obsess about if what I was doing was wrong. What if God was unhappy with me because I watched a movie that had an “immoral romance scene”? Well, honestly, I think I obsessed with it too much. In reality, I don’t think it matters as much, as long as we are not doing that thing on purpose–when we know it is wrong. If we truly are striving to live in accordance with God’s Word and are spending time with Him every day in prayer and our hearts are in the right place, I think that is what matters most to God. Just what I was thinking
Romans 14:23 says that everything that does not come from faith is sin, so set a personal boundary. Just beware of legalism.
I think it just depends on the person and how much you can handle it. I’m not saying that it’s okay to be constantly expose yourself to things like that. It will come out somehow later…
For my family, they can handle this sort of stuff better than me. It’s not about them being more mature than me. They just tolerate it more. I don’t watch PG-13 movies and inappropriate T.V. shows often, but that’s because I’ve been cursed with the ability to remember scenes (especially graphic ones) from movies and T.V.
Yeah, in my family we each have a slightly different level of tolerance. It’s funny how each person is different.
Family movies still work out great for us though, because with young children around they end up being Veggie Tales or Disney. 🙂 The classics!
Hi Trent! Great question….I see we’re thinking along the same lines when it comes to DQs ;). I probably should’ve phrased my question about secular music like the way you phrased your’s – more of “where do we draw the line” than “should we”. But honestly, I’ve thought a ton about it (partly because there were so many answers to my DQ!! whew, my inbox was packed for a while), and I reached the conclusion that it is truly up to you. There is no black and white, some things are just not directly addressed in the Bible. So the only advice I would give is diligently search the Scriptures, listen to what the Spirit is telling you, and then OBEY. You might have convictions about what movies you watch and what music you listen to that will be different from others’ convictions – that’s okay! But please hear me – as you try to figure this stuff out, do not let it become too big in your mind!! It’s so tempting to fall into legalism over little things that just don’t really matter in the long run. Guilt is not God’s desire for you. As long as you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, everything else will eventually fall into place.
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33
Déjà vu, maybe? Good thoughts. 🙂
Thanks, ladies! 🙂
While many people have chosen to take the more lenient way of determining what they may watch or hear as Christians, I see no leeway in the Word of God to ever entertain anything that is not righteous. Paul is very instructive in telling us to not use coarse jesting or foul language. God tells us not to take His Name in vain. We are told to avoid even the appearance of evil. We are to be holy, as He is holy. A little yeast can spoil the whole batch. We are never to make provision for the flesh. We are sinners and we are all capable of falling into any sort of temptation. Many use grace as an excuse to sin. That is cheap grace. Grace was not given to allow us to sin, but was given to give us the strength to avoid sin.
I know personally of lot of people who felt secure in their decisions as far as their personal preferences were concerned. Everyone has fallen from the faith. We need to quit kidding ourselves. We have a responsibility to the believer and the non-believer alike to live a righteous life in Christ and that men’s removing yourselves from the world’s systems so that they don’t stay our witness. It is a sacrifice that you will never regret making.
Come out from this world, and separate!
God’s word is very clear on what we entertain ourselves with and by. Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial.
I see what you’re trying to say and I do agree to some extent. However, I have to disagree with “come out from this world and separate”. We always talk about being in the world but not of the world. Yes, we need to not be of the world; we should stand out and be different in the way we live. But don’t forget the in part! We shouldn’t just completely cut ourselves off from the world and live in our own little Christian bubble. In order to reach the world for Christ, which is the reason we exist, we need to actually be in it, familiar with it, interacting with it. This doesn’t mean we have to go watch a bunch of horror movies and junky TV shows, but we should have an idea of the things happening in the world, and since entertainment is such a big deal to the world these days, this involves knowing what’s going on in the entertainment world. It’s good to watch some stuff or at least read about it so you understand what people are saying when it comes up in conversations. That way people won’t think you have a holier-than-thou attitude or are judging them for the things they watch and stuff. Definitely be careful not to let yourself be influenced too much by the world, but we can’t just totally separate from it because then we can’t do our job.
We are in the world, not of it. I would ask you to back up your statements scripturally regarding taking a little taste of evil in order to minister to people who are lost. What did Jesus do? To expose the Spirit of God in you to filth in whatever way is flat out wrong. You need nothing but a deep knowledge of God’s Word, a holy and separate life from participation in the world’s system and a deep broken love for the lost. It is God’s kindness through us that leads them to repentance. It is not a like knowledge of what they experience. I have been a witness to so much abuse of God’s grace that has caused the lost to think that they are saved, because nobody seems to think a holy, righteous, humble life is possible. With God, all things are possible. God set a standard. In order to experience all of Him, we need to surrender all of us to Him–and that means being Holy as He is Holy. Take it from me, the lost are looking for the highest standard. We don’t need to show them a water downed version.
2 Corinthians 6:14-17 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:“I will live with themand walk among them,and I will be their God,and they will be my people.” Therefore,“Come out from themand be separate,says the Lord.Touch no unclean thing,and I will receive you.”
I’m not saying we need a taste of evil. I’m just saying we need to be aware.
I totally agree.
Thank you. I was afraid I was upsetting a bunch of people and getting in an argument. Glad I was able to clarify, at least with you. Hopefully with Grace too. 🙂
It is always very helpful to discuss and reason with scripture our concerns and convictions. I am so grateful for your desire to serve God wholeheartedly. There is never any condemnation is iron sharpening iron. We are all learning for each other. Keep following His steps. The walk can be treacherous but the rewards are worth it.
Always In Him,
Jean
Amen. It’s great to have this community where we can do that.
@Amanda: What do you mean by “some stuff”? Romans 16:19 and 1 Corinthians 14:20 both say to be as children in knowledge of evil but knowledgeable in the things of the Scriptures. When it comes to entertainment, I think you can relate to people without having to have read, say, Harry Potter. We live in a world where people are more open to Christ when they know Christians well–building on a relationship (friendship). If someone is your friend, they are not as likely to think of you as antagonistic. They know that you care about them and are not going to automatically assume you are “judging them”. 2 Timothy 3: 16-17 says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfected, throughly furnished unto all good works.” God gave us His Word to use in conversations. However, as it applies to current events (if that is what you meant by “some stuff), yes! We as believers ought to especially care about what is going on in our world. We are told to be watching. This can open doors in a lot of conversations.
@tmselden:disqus: “We have a responsibility to the believer and the non-believer alike to
live a righteous life in Christ and that means removing yourselves from
the world’s systems so that they don’t stay our witness. It is a
sacrifice that you will never regret making.”
If applied to the matter of education of our children and who we allow our children to interact with, I agree with your statement completely. This may make me sound very weird, but I do not think children can be missionaries in a public school. They have not yet built a strong foundation and are going to be easily swayed by peers and teachers that they spend all day with.
In general: Yes, people will respect your convictions if you do not come across as condemning but also do not compromise. I have had friends who work at fast-food places. Their coworkers know their stands and respect them; people avoid having certain conversations or telling certain jokes in their presence because they have seen them walk away from it.
By some stuff I do not mean we have to read Harry potter! You guys are totally reading into what I said. I said we have to be careful what we watch, and I said we don’t have to watch a bunch of junky stuff. Did you see those parts? I’m not advocating anything big and bad here. I am just saying we need to understand what’s going on in the world. I don’t read Hunger Games or Divergent or The Fault in Our Stars, but I know they exist and have a general idea of the story line so I get what people are talking about. I try to understand what’s in the news and what’s currently going on in the world. I avoid watching and reading stuff I think would be a bad influence on me, but I don’t completely cut myself off from everything having to do with the world. That is all I’m saying.
As a side note, kids can definitely be missionaries in public schools. In fact, if I send my kids to school someday, the purpose will be so that they can learn to share their faith. Jesus said we need to be like little children when we come to Him. You might be surprised at the abilities of a kid who knows Jesus and sets out to tell her friends about Him. Let’s not have such low expectations of them. They can do more than we think they can do. 🙂
Amanda, I apologize for coming across in a negative way. I did not mean to tear you down and I know that not everyone is going to agree with where I stand on a few things like the public school question. Harry Potter was just an example–I am not saying you read that. I was just asking for clarification on that point–what you meant by “some stuff” and trying to briefly address it if you meant that or if you meant stuff like current events etc. (see my comment above).
And if you do attend public school and are successfully being a light there, know that I highly respect you for it. I am not saying that there are not kids out there who cannot be a witness in the school system. But in general, I do not think it is the best place for a child who is not extremely firm in their faith already. I have seen what the school system has done to friends of mine and have watched sweet little kids who attend my church completely change and become worldly at age 8 or 9. Their parents are strong believers. This is not the only reason I would never place my kids in a school but it is one. Please do not think I was attacking you; my comment was mostly in reply to tmselden and I should have stated that part as a question e.g. something like “What do you mean when you say, “the world’s systems”?
Again, please forgive me for coming across as attacking you personally. I honestly did not intend to, nor was I trying to say you meant stuff like Harry Potter. I only meant to use it as an example and ask for clarification on your point. ~AnnaGrace
Ok, thank you for clarifying. I think I probably was too strong in my response to your response. Sorry about that. I’m actually homeschooled, and I really do not like the public school system either, and I want to homeschool when I grow up and have kids because i think it is a better way (no offense to anyone reading this who goes to school!). I know it can have a negative effect on people; I’ve seen it happen too…but that doesn’t mean kids can’t share their faith effectively if taught well.
Thanks again for clarifying. It is easy to misinterpret things when they’re typed because we can’t see the emotions and expressions of the other person.
I know right? Thinking before speaking has a new dimension to it now…thinking before typing. 🙂
For sure.
the harlem shake is a dance from back in the day with Puffy and Jadakiss. I have no idea what this nonsense is now with terrorists and horse masks. it was Harlem’s way of expressing themselves thru their lens of the hip hop culture. it was a dope dance! if you were from the hood in NY you knew that dance.
As far as movies go I dont even know whats goin on with the whole “Christian verses secular” complex. Christian movies are so bad.. then again what do we mean by Christian anyways? I guess what Talia is sayin, where’s your conscience at you feel me? Scripture is explicit where it’s explicit but there aint a chapter about movie ratings. where’s your heart and what convicts you.. the Spirit is our guidance there but yo I dunno the answers!
Not all Christian movies are bad. There’s a lot of good ones, like “God’s Not Dead” or “Soul Surfer”. I’m glad that the Christian movie industry is making a comeback, considering that 3/4 of secular movies these days are complete trash.
YES! “God’s Not Dead” is an great and engaging movie. It taught me a lot about my walk with God. I really recommend it.
Yeahhh it was OK except for the “God created the world using evolution” part. :-/
What? I don’t remember that. I know they had that in a movie called The Genesis Code, but I didn’t find that in God’s Not Dead. Then again, I’ve only seen it once.
OK they didn’t mention evolution per se, but I still had a LOT of problems with that movie…check out this link…
https://answersingenesis.org/reviews/movies/gods-not-dead-movie-review/
and https://answersingenesis.org/reviews/movies/gods-not-dead-revisited/
I do not have a problem with how they said it. All they said was something similar to:
“… Atheists believe the universe was created in a large explosion, first there was nothing, then in a trillionth of a trilionth of a nanosecond, 95% of the matter to exsist or ever to exist was created. But, if you think about it, that is exactly how you would expect the universe to respond to God’s command in Genesis 1:3 Let there be Light ”
So, even that, I have no problem with what they said there. Here is a video of the debate:
________________________________
Yeah the second link I posted has a transcript of that part of the debate…listen to this…
“In God’s description of the events, the earth was formed first, covered
by water, and then the light appeared to distinguish night from day. So
in Genesis 1:3, we wouldn’t expect a flash
of light to form the universe, but to illuminate the water-covered
earth that was already there. The biblical explanation and the big bang
explanation are fundamentally incompatible. To make them fit together,
Wheaton must rearrange the events of the Bible
to fit with the big bang model. He must also deny that God created the
earth first and then light in order to accept that the big bang fits
just fine with the Bible.”
That’s from the second link.
And yes, I know I’m not making any friends disagreeing with God’s not Dead but oh well… 🙂
Very well. You make a convincing argument. However, that does not discredit the majority of his points.
It’s not my argument, but thanks. 🙂 And btw if I’ve come across as harsh I didn’t mean too…I saw the movie and most of my friends did too. 🙂
Yeah I’m not opposed to most of his other points…while I haven’t seen the movie in a while, I especially remember the one where he gave a quote from someone about “philosophy is irrelevant” and the professor was like oooohhhhhhh. 🙂
I read both articles, and while the reasoning of the first half of the first article was a bit off, I see what he’s saying about the evolution part. I think, personally, that the writers were trying to explain creation in a way that appealed to non-creationists, but I can see how that would result in contradicting worldviews/philosophies. I wouldn’t readily take the article-writer’s side without knowing what the actual producers have to say. But, regardless what their intention was, I see the concern.
Agreed.
I honestly don’t like the movie “God’s Not Dead” at all. The arguments were pretty bad, there were so many unrealistic scenarios, and it was like the makers of the movie were forcing Christianity down the throats of the viewers. Not how I would make a Christian movie.
Yeah, the unrealistic scenarios were pretty unusual, and as an actress I was looking at some of the acting (specifically where the Christian girl is getting slapped around by her Muslim dad) and thinking, “Couldn’t you get better actors?” I personally know people who could have acted that scene better — I’ve seen them do similar stuff.
How would you have made a Christian movie? Please say you’d have good actors! Please, please, please!
Every actor besides the Atheist professor was not that good, so it kinda made everything weird. 😛 Well I am still thinking and praying about how to make a good story, but I do know in a movie you don’t use unrealistic scenarios and you don’t paint every evil person as an atheist. I mean if you were an atheist painted as an evil person, would you be offended?
I would try my best to find good actors, get the right equipment, and do the best cinematography as possible. But my number one goal would be the story.
Yeah, the professor was good.
Yes, I see that all the time… and I hate to see how atheists are being offended right and left! I mean, I’m not likely to stand up for what an atheist believes, but I just might sometime if some people don’t watch how they judge atheists.
Yeah. I think I’ll make a video called “Christians Don’t Hate Atheists”
DO IT!!!
I will! It was already planned before I said that. 😉
Let me know when you do 🙂
I’ll be making it this Spring or Summer, and it will probably be released this fall. I’ll tell yall then.
That was the exact thought of my uncle (an athiest – or at least an “agnostic”). He wondered why all the non-Christians were vilified. He then asked people (specifically Christians) if they really see non-believers that way. So, in that respect, the movie kinda gave a bad name to Christians, making us look judgmental and such.
And that’s why you have to be so careful when creating media! Oftentimes whatever an atheist or a non-believer sees of Christianity (in a movie like God’s Not Dead) is the impression he gets. It’s kinda sad to see that though.
You might know… I’ve wondered for a while, is there a real difference between the “atheist” and “agnostic” mindsets?
Eh… Somewhat. Athiests don’t believe there is a God. Agnostics simply say “we don’t know” or “we can’t know.” From my experience, it’s a bit harder to talk theologically or philosophically with an agnostic, because they have much more of an emphasis on relativism (“everything is relative to each person,” especially truth). Both my uncles claim to be agnostics to some extent. There are really fundamental difficulties with both mindsets, but the difficulties are slightly different.
Thanks!
Wow, theological (or atheological) terms get confusing – there’s too many of them!
Yay I’m not the only one! 🙂
I did like “God’s Not Dead.” How many of us would be brave enough to stand before an extremely academic professor and put our whole chance at college, success as a lawyer on the table?? It would intimidate most of us.
At least Josh stood up for his beliefs and did NOT compromise. He could have. Haven’t we just had discussions here on The Rebelution about that??
They were not judging or bashing atheists. It presented deep heart issues that caused the professor to hate God. That was the root of his disbelief in God. He was bitter and angry. He wanted all his students to join him in that.
The end result of the movie was that God was glorified. Every student saw that God was real, living, and powerful. Some were saved. They realized the risk Josh took and wondered why someone would be willing to. It pointed to Christ. He said with his actions that Christianity was worth fighting for.
The pastor told Josh not to try to sound “smart” but just go by the Word. His arguments were supported by the Bible. In the end, nothing can come against the simple wisdom of God’s Word.
This movie portrayed the atheist as the villain and also stereotyped all non-Christians as mean greedy people. If you were presented that way would you be, I don’t know a little angry?
In reality the arguments Josh used were weak and would not have swayed dozens of college students to accept that God’s not dead, especially a hard studied atheist professor such as the one in the movie.
Josh’s first argument was not supported by the Bible. He merely said that the big-bang might would have been the way God would have started the universe. The big-bang has it’s conflict with the Bible and they can not correlate.
His second argument hardly even expands on what he was actually brought up in the beginning. Instead most of his talk wasn’t even an argument. Only some smart talk.
His third arguments was fragmented and incomplete. He said that free will is the only reason why God allows evil in the world. That is one reason, but not the entire.
There are also a bunch of other little bits and pieces I could pick at, but to sum it up this wasn’t a very well written movie. Poor arguments, misrepresenting people groups, unrealistic situations, and the promotion of the Newsboy’s and Duck Dynasty.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am a Christian. I am just in disagreement with some of the material in this film.
In Christ,
Liam S.
We obviously have differing views. I just wanted to mention a couple of points that I have been pondering since reading your reply.
God chooses people that are unlikely to be His mouth piece. It may not sound great. You do not have to be a professor to defend your beliefs. It may sound even foolish and weak at times to the world.
“…not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in His presence. ”
>> 1 Corinthians 1:26b-29
Moses, Gideon, Jeremiah, Daniel the unlearned fishermen who were Jesus’ disciples are all examples of unlikely men–they felt utterly unqualified. Men scoffed at them. But God used them and worked through them anyway. He works by His Holy Spirit and His Word.
“So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void, but shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thong where to I sent it.” -Isaiah 55:11
Our words are never enough to convince people that God is living instead of dead. His Word is what does that. It melts the heart of stone–discern the thoughts and attentions of the heart. (see Hebrews 4:12)
I do remember Josh using passages from Genesis. However, I don’t believe he said that God used the big bang to create the world. He was only saying that God speaking and saying, “Let there be light” could create a powerful light coming into existence very quickly.
I have been studying worldviews this year. One thing stands out: people who believe that they ate unanswerable to anyone (I.e. do not believe in God) are capable of greedy, mean, villainous things. Atheists do attack Christians sometimes as well as belittle or mock them. We are hated by people sometimes but Jesus tells us unbelievers hated Him first.
This is a movie, so it didn’t actually happen. Now I’m not disagreeing whatsoever that one should stand up for their beliefs. In fact I absolutely encourage it.
“He said that the entire universe, jumping into existence in a trillionth of a trillionth of a second, out of nothingness in an unimaginably intense flash of light, is how he would expect the universe to respond if God were to actually utter the command in Genesis 1:3, “Let there be light.” In other words, the origin of the universe unfolded exactly how one would expect after reading Genesis”
This is an exact quote from the movie. By quoting people who believe God used the big-bang, tells us that he supports his view. Josh talks about the big-bang, but doesn’t discard it. Instead he uses it as an explanation. But one thing that one should know is that atheists believe in the big-bagn theory, so using the big-bang as an argument is…not a very good one.
I would agree that some atheists are like the one depicted in this movie, but not all. And that’s why it upsets me that this movie, a Christian one; stereotypes them like they are uncivilized people. I wouldn’t say that’s very Christian.
Although it is a movie, it says during the credits that it was inspired by several stories of what has happened to real college students.
I have not studied Josh’s arguments in detail. Thank you for breaking it down for me with the quote. Glad you did because I do not agree with some Christian’s idea that God used the big bang to create the world.
“By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For He spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.” -Psalm 33:6-9
God created the world by His Word not an explosion.
As far as the atheists go, what stood out to me was not his disbelief in God or that all atheists are that way…but his bitterness. The events in his life caused the root of bitterness and anger to defile many. (See Hebrews 12:15) This was my thought as a Christian viewer.
I think the point you are trying to get across is that this movie would be a turn off to other atheists. I can see that.
Although it was just a movie, it was based on real stories and events that have taken place with real students. I remember seeing a list on the credits.
I am glad you shared the quote with me. I do not agree with how some Christians think God used a big bang to create the world. We must take Him at His Word including the Genesis account. Failure to do so discounts and undermines the rest of the Bible.
“By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.”
>>Psalm 33:6-9
God did not use an explosion. He spoke things into existence with His wisdom and creative power.
It is well put in The New Answers Book 1 by Ken Ham:
“Only the Bible explains why there is beauty and ugliness; why there is life and death; why there is health and disease; why there is love and hate. Only the Bible gives the true and reliable account of the origin of all basic entities of life and the entire universe.” Excerpt, page 24
As a Christian viewer, I saw not so much a man who didn’t believe in God–but one who was angry and bitter. His bitterness defiled many. ( See Hebrews 12:15)
I guess your point is that to an atheist watching that movie, it would be a huge turn off. I can see that.
At the same time, I have been around a man who was an atheist. When someone started talking about the Ten Commandments in an attempt to lovingly, gently witness–he got angry and offended.
People will do that–atheist or not. The Gospel is often times offensive when it convicts a person. But without that conviction, they would not see their sin and need for a Savior.
Love the article, Thanks!
I will share it with the people who watched the movie with me 😉
@liamsiegler:disqus
I just read this article from Answers in Genesis. Wow was it eye opening. I was deceived by the subtle twists to the truth in the arguments in the movie. Thank you for expressing your views. It made me think and question. In the end, my view of “God’s Not Dead” has completely been altered. AiG would not even endorse the movie. It is a blessing to have other believers willing to search out the truth for themselves!!
I’ll bet you are very good at writing persuasive essays.
Just curious was this to me or Liam (’cause I posted the link and you replied to my comment)? 🙂
Liam. Sorry I thought I put the @ by his name. Thank you though for posting it!
I also don’t remember listening to that statement in the movie, but maybe it has been misheard at the professor and student defense part.
If I remember correctly, it was in his first day of defending… you could probably use scene select to find it 🙂
Loved the movie, cringed at that part. I wanted to say to him “really josh?! If you are going to jump in and defend the bible, stick to the truth about the whole thing!”
But my dad and I still ask each other if we have a better blessing for the car 🙂
And “God is good” is forever firmly fixed in my daily vocabulary
My family found a Christian movie that we really enjoyed: “Return to the Hiding Place.” It’s more dramatized than “The Hiding Place” which is about Corrie Ten Boom, and we thought it was violent, but not all of you would. It’s about young adult resistance workers who were involved with the Ten Booms. It was suspenseful, inspirational and clean–no swearing or immorality.
Awesome! I’ll have to check it out sometime, it sounds pretty good.
lol true! I’m glad too I always said dont blame God if Christian movies suck
what do you mean “not all Christian movies are bad”? so there are christian movies that are bad? (O.O) really? enlighten me. I really wanted to collect christian movies.
I was just replying to someone else who said Christian movies were bad. I’m not sure which ones are, though, because all the ones I’ve seen are pretty good! Some of my favorites are Soul Surfer, Unconditional, and Mom’s Night Out. I’ve heard When The Game Stands Tall is good too.
I loved When The Game Stands Tall (but I might be a little biased with my love of football movies 🙂 ) Highly recommend it!
Haha football movies rock. Especially football movies with God right in the middle!!! 😛 I haven’t seen it yet, but it looks awesome.
You’ve seen Facing the Giants then?
Yeah! 🙂
I loved it too!! Here’s to another football movie fan! 🙂 Have you seen Remember the Titans? Probably the best football movie ever.
YES!!! When my sister and I watch Remember the Titans, we literally scream, cheering them on during the games, despite having seen it dozens of times 🙂
I believe that the content is what counts not the graphics.
I can’t speak for someone else, but they might have been pointing out that some think (most) Christian movies tend to be cheaply made with cheesy acting/plot. So “bad” as in poorly done. It’s a matter of personal taste though. I haven’t/don’t see many movies period. I really haven’t seen enough Christian movies to have a definite opinion one way or the other.
That’s a great help Ruthie, thank you for explaining it to me 😀
lol you right! we’ll see how it goes
Careful about saying “where’s your heart and what convicts you” …“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” Jeremiah 17:9
quoting scripture (like you just did) is what I meant about being explicit. Also, or example, Paul saying you can eat food sacrificed to idols unless it causes another brother to stumble would be “where’s your heart and what convicts you.” this is clearly in the context of the Holy Spirit causing conviction.
Hey Trent,
At 15, my parents are still pretty strict about what I watch. But I can relate that to the music side of things. I enjoy modern country music but a lot of it tends to be focused on ungodly things or take the Lord’s name in vain. For example one, of my favorite songs is “Play it Again” by Luke Bryan. It’s a pretty song but he uses the Lord’s name in vain. I used to cringe when I heard it, but didn’t think much more about it. Every time I listened to that kind of music it kind ‘a made me feel guilty cause deep down inside I knew it was wrong to listen to ungodly music.
Because of a resent family emergency I’ve been having light forms of depression and that type of music just makes it worse. I’ve begun listening Newsboys and Chris Tomlin music which helps me stay cheerful and reminds me that God is always in control. I love their music cause it’s engaging as country music but it has uplifting lyrics.
One scripture that my mom always read to us kids is Philippians 4:8-9 “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”
I hope this helps!
-Joy Swen
Hey Joy,
I have found that music that’s doesn’t have Christian lyrics can also be inspirational. I would check out this awesome composer who I listen too a lot. https://soundcloud.com/23violins
Thanks. I’ll check it out.
Nice new profile pic, bro!
It’s happy happy happy!
Yep, sir!
Everyone else pretty much stole the thoughts right out of my head! I used to watch a TV show called Doctor Who, and I got a little uneasy during the creepier parts, but I just shrugged it off and got a thrill from the mystery and action. Same thing with popular dystopian movies and books, until I realized that none of it was honoring God, and all I was getting out of it was occasional nightmares. I don’t think any of it is necessarily bad, as long as you can always keep God at the top of your mind, even while watching a movie and listening to music.
There’s this great Christian site for movie/music/video game reviews called PluggedIn.com. I always check out movies or music artists there before watching/listening to them.
I love PluggedIn! They’re a great site 🙂
I almost got into Dr. Who, because all my friends knew it… good thing I looked it up first 😉
I watch Doctor Who, and I do agree that it (as can other media) start to gain control of our thoughts. For me, I think it’s fine, but I do need to keep myself in check; I totally understand how it could cause people (including myself) to stumble in their walk with God.
Accountability is key in our walk with God. Have some people you trust that can hold you accountable for your weaknesses. “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” Hebrews 10:24
Good thinking, Karl – accountability is the only way to go!
Haha thanks! And your profile picture is cool, by the way. 😛
This is totally off topic, but could someone please repost the modesty survey?? Perhaps for valentines day again…!! Unfortunately the old links aren’t working anymore.
I hear that they took it off the website a couple of months ago, because some folks were misinterpereting it as a list of rules. 🙁
@trent_blake:disqus do I have that right?
Yeah, it was available (even afterward) if you had an external link, but then even that was taken away. :/ I understand why they took it down, though. It was giving a very limited, easy-to-misinterpret, seemingly-legalistic definition of modesty. Even if it is was helpful.
Yeah, it would have been helpful. It’s actually part of why I came on here in the first place! Then I found all of you folks and stayed 🙂
What can I say, we tend to have that effect on people. 😉
And I’m glad 🙂 Y’all made me laugh out loud so much when I first got on here, I wasn’t used to your craziness yet! And then the first thread I saw had Trent’s Yoda conversation about last names…
A couple years after reading Do Hard Things I decided to search for the modesty survey… I only found negative comments on external sights, but I found something much better than I could have hoped… The Rebelution!
I’m glad you stuck around 🙂
Trent Blake, a blogger I’ve come to respect, did a post on modesty on his blog, and I personally like it. In the comments, you can see folks talking about modesty. Here’s the link if you want to check it out. http://foreversoldiersofgod.blogspot.com/2014/12/true-modesty.html
I found it very helpful!
Ok, too bad! thanks for the link.
Trent, I’d try to answer this question if i thought i could add anything helpful, but i’m not sure that i can. Thank you very much for asking this question though! It’s helping me as i try to find my footing in convictions such as these. God bless!
I think it really depends on you. Everyone has a different level of tolerance for entertainment. I ask myself, “Am I getting desensitized to [insert negativity in question– violence, immoral romance, immodesty, ungracious language, etc.]? Do I need to take a break from this [insert name of entertainment source in question]? Do I need to cut it out of my life completely?”
I’ve been having the same troubles lately. In fact, my mom and I were just talking about this topic earlier today! As some people said earlier, I usually don’t like “Christian” movies. They just tend to not be well done. I LOVE the Avengers too- it’s actually my favorite movie- but as you said, it does have some expletives and other not-so-admirable stuff. I do like the main message though; good wins over evil and working together is important. Knowing where to draw the line is a tricky balance.
“In my mind entertainment is the devil’s substitute for joy. The more joy you have in the Lord, the less entertainment you need.” -Leonard Ravenhill
I agree to that!!!!
So true!!!
Interesting!
That’s a great quote!
Trent, entertainment is not just entertainment. Behind every movie, TV show, and song is a message. As Christians, we are called to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves… To be infants in evil, but in our thinking to be mature. We are never allowed to turn our brains off! 🙂
We should always be seeking and using discernment in our media choices. That does not mean we can never watch something that is not a “Christian film, documentary, or classic.” (Actually, we’re not even allowed to turn our brains off then. Sometimes we really need to be paying closer attention to the messages in “Christian films,” because it’s easy to overlook bad theology and untruth when it falls under a label we consider “safe” and is neatly packaged with some real truths.)
In our fallen world, sin has corrupted all that God created perfect, and that is just reality. So, necessarily, (almost) every movie produced depicts sin. If a movie didn’t include sin, it would be completely unrealistic and fantastical. The important thing is HOW does that movie depict sin? Does it show sin as sin–bad, wrong, evil? Or does it portray it as okay, good, brave, desirable, or… funny? In entertainment production, nothing happens by accident. Writers and producers know that if they can get the world to laugh at something, eventually they will accept it.
Think about the homosexual agenda and its normalization in America. How have we as a culture come so quickly to not only accept but passionately promote a thing we–not so long ago–viewed as perversion and listed as an official mental disorder? Well, the answer is multifaceted, but I’ll give you a clue to one major factor. Look at the progression of TV shows over the last few decades. Like I said, if you can get someone to laugh at something, then you’ve already own half the battle.
And even if a movie does depict sin as sin, does it go to unnecessary lengths to detail that sin? Does it fill your mind with images and thoughts that disturb you, tempt you to lust, or stir up ungodly fear? If so, then can you watch it with Philippians 4:8 in mind? “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Ultimately, it’s not about rules and “where to draw the line.” It’s about our hearts and glorifying God. You may have to give up some of your favorite songs or movies. I know it’s painful to click delete on something you’ve paid for and that you’ve enjoyed for a long time… I’ve done it many times. I know it makes things awkward when every time your friends ask if you’ve seen such and such, you just smile and say, “Nope, I haven’t seen that either.” And I know it really narrows down your entertainment options when you listen to your conscience, but it’s worth it. It’s worth it to seek after holiness, to lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely and run with endurance the race that is set before us. It’s worth it because of the One we are running for, the One who gave up everything for us that we might have life, and have it abundantly. At His right hand are pleasures forevermore–pleasures far better than any this world has to offer.
This is one of the best responses I’ve read here. Really, none of us need to become more lenient in what we watch (that’s not to be confused with legalism). If anything, we should become more careful. None of us have as much hatred for sin as we should. For that reason, we excuse things for the sake of entertainment. We have to keep in mind that… it’s just entertainment.
It is NEVER OK to sin – to any degree – for the sake of pleasure. Never. Does that mean you can’t watch a movie if it has one foul word in it? I don’t think so. But we should never be comfortable with it, and we should not be afraid (or passive) to skip a scene, mute it, or just walk away or turn it off. Of course there are various factors, but I don’t see too much of an issue with setting higher standards for ourselves. The opposite, though, can be quite dangerous. Again, very good, wise comment!
You’re right, Nathan. We don’t hate sin like we should. We take a diet mentality, where we just try to “cut back” on it rather than make war against it and put to death the deeds of the flesh! John Owen said, “Be killing sin, or it will be killing you.” Satan knows that, and he loves to wrap that sin all up in the shiny, entertaining package that is pop culture media. It’s more inconspicuous and irresistible that way. After all, it’s “just” entertainment, right…?
A diet approach — come to think of it, that’s how I’ve approached some “smaller” sins in my life. Thank you for the insight!
I totally agree with Nathen on this: one of the best responses here. Thank you soooo much for your wise response!
You’re welcome, Trent. But I can’t really take credit for everything I said. I heard John Stonestreet speak at a homeschool conference several years ago on the topic of entertainment and “amusing ourselves to death,” and God really used that message to convict me and help me understand the importance of entertainment choices. I think a lot of what I wrote in my comment stemmed from that talk. I’m glad if it was helpful to you, too. God bless! 🙂
I pray my classmates and my other friends will have a chance to read each comments here in this discussion. This is a very important topic, we should be very attentive and evaluate.
I know someone with your last name. You wouldn’t happen to have any relatives in Indiana would you?
Hi !
as far as I know I have Garcia relatives in America but I’m not sure particularly where 😀
Yeah, I kind of expected something like that. =)
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. -Philippians 4:8
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. -Romans 12:2
You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men. -1 Corinthians 7:23
I don’t know where the line should be drawn, but it is clear that God wants us to be pure and keep our eyes on him.
Would Jesus have cleared the temple if there was only one money changer in the whole temple? What if all the money changers only set up shop once a week? Twice a week?
Different scenario, but it raises a good point
I will be honest: my first thought after reading the DQ was that “haha, this doesn’t really concern me, I don’t listen to modern music or watch that kind of movie. I can just post some bible verses and move on.” (yeah, sometimes I still struggle with pride.)
Then I started thinking–or probably God started whispering. I have a question of my own to post.
WHERE DO WE DRAW THE LINE WITH THE CONTENT IN BOOKS???
I am almost finished the second book of C.S. Lewis’ space trilogy. I am starting to realise that the main character (Ransom) misuses the Lord’s name… more often than I’d like. Even Adventures in Odyssey. (of the hundreds or thousands of episodes I have heard maybe 3 dozen). It is supposed to be clean, Christian, children’s radio. I was surprised when someone said: “Oh dear _______, the barn’s on fire!” Someone could argue it was a prayerful cry, but it didn’t come across that way. We need to be on our guard even with entertainment by Christian authors.
well that isn’t entirely true. There is a difference between using Gods name in vane and using it as a safe guard to fall on and call out to Him. I believe that was what they were not using Gods name in vane. This is just my own conviction and opinion it may or may not be right only God knows. God bless you.
I think the line is at the same place as the fine line between living in the world and being a part of it.
Right on. And we’ve been trying to find that line for the past 1,800 years…
Just curious, why not for the past 2,000 years? Because of the persecution for the first 200 years or so?
Yeah, I was counting from the legalization of Christianity around 300 A.D.
I wonder if their question beforehand was, “How far should we go to blend in”, or if it was “do we even need to blend in”?
That’s a good question… I don’t know enough about that culture period of time to be able to give any helpful input on that one. Early church history is something I’d like to study more!
Early church history is the BEST! For two years I had a pastor who was super-into history, so I learned a lot during his sermons. Then I did ancient history for school 🙂
I never really enjoyed history until last year, when I took a class based on “How Should We Then Live?” by Francis Schaeffer. Seeing how historical events and people influenced cultural thought and belief has given me an appreciation for history!
Thanks! I definitely need excitement – got none of that. And peace. And, as I’m known to say maybe too much, nothing is impossible with God. 🙂
Ooh, and yes, I love that song!!!
Any Rebelutionaries in PA?
That would be me. ^-^
Yay!!
You’re in PA?
Yepers. Very far south, though. Not too terribly far from Maryland.
Seriously?!?! I really wish I could tell you where I live, but I can’t 🙁 Let’s say I’m really close 🙂
….What if we’ve actually met? or at least passed by one another? o_o Woah.
That would be really weird… I don’t think it’s very likely, because I don’t live in Maryland or Pennsylvania. Driven through those two, many times though, so I might have seen you. Well, if this random girl walks up to you sometime and knows your name, it’s probably me 🙂
Ah, I see. I’ll keep a lookout for mimes. 😉
That would be great, except that I have only traveled in mime makeup once…
Dare I ask why…?
Well, I guess I travel in mime makeup all the time, from my house to nearby performances. What I meant was that I’ve only traveled once far enough that he might see me as a mime. And that’s mainly because it’s hard to keep my makeup from smudging/getting on clothes/running. It’s tons of fun, though 🙂
Okay… I guess I was a bit confused! 🙂
You wanna know something funny?
So day before yesterday I was writing to you about your move, and yesterday, I found out that I’m almost definitely moving halfway across the country. This is the first move I haven’t been excited about — I’ve made my own community, gotten a great group of friends… I thought I would be staying here for the rest of my time in High School at least. Anyway, when I found out that I AM moving, not just that it was a possibility, I wasn’t so excited about the prospect. Then God reminded me of everything I told you. Anyway, I thought it was funny – I was encouraging you about your move, and then then very next day God used the same words to encourage me. 🙂
I’m near PA — but I can’t tell you any more.
I’m sorry! I’ll be praying for you, too! Now we can pray and struggle together! 🙂 God does have a sense of humor, even if it’s not funny to us at the time… sometimes His sense of humor is a little irritating! 😉
Thank you 🙂
His sense of humor… annoying at the time, but probably it’ll be funny later!
How’s it going?
You know, I’ve found that I’ve been wallowing in a pool of self-pity. I don’t want to move, but I’ve turned it into a pity-party for myself, instead of thinking about everyone else. My brother has to go through everything that I’m going through, and I’ve been too self-centered to notice. So, it’s going better than before. Still tough, but I’m trying to view it more positively than I have been.
How’s it going with you?
So both of you don’t want to move? That’s got to be interesting… Your parents want to move, then?
I’ve been feeling better about the whole move idea; I didn’t even really think about it much today, so I’m getting more used to it. Your description of yourself and all of this really showed me how self-centered I’m being about my situation. I think my family wants to move, and the one sister who I’ve talked about it most wants to move, but she’s still pretty happy here. Anyway, you pointed out how I’ve been thinking about myself throughout this time.
I’ve been finding all of these blog posts about faith, which is really at the heart of my not wanting to move. If I really was honest about what I’m thinking I would say that I don’t think God can take care of me as well there as He can where I am. And now that I write that, I realize how foolish and childish I’m feeling.
I found a quote the other day from C. S. Lewis (funny how his name’s been popping up in our discussions), where he said “…If only the will to walk is really there He is pleased even with their stumbles.” That has been greatly inspiring to me while I was trying to have the right attitude about the move, but I knew I was failing miserably.
It’s humbling, isn’t it, when we’re slapped in the face like this? I know exactly what you’re feeling, I’m feeling the same way. I don’t have much faith at all. I may know in my head that God knows way better than I possibly can, that He will take care of me no matter where I am, and that I just need to have faith in Him, but as I heard it put once, the longest distance in the world is from our heads to our hearts. I know all of that to be true in my head, but knowing it and believing it in my heart is a different story. It’s nice to know that someone else is going through what I’m going through!
Yes, we’re moving for my dad’s job. This is his golden opportunity, and this is where he plans on retiring. There really are a lot of pros to this move, it’s just the cons that I’m not accepting with the right attitude. However, I’m praying about my unwillingness to submit to His plan, and I know it’s all for the best, whether I can see that now or not. I’ll be praying for you!
Same here – we’re moving for my dad’s job. He’s getting a promotion 🙂
I’m still praying for you, too! I was talking to @nathantasker:disqus about this, and something he told me stuck in my head: “So dwell on the positives, but most of all dwell on the Lord and His word. And you can always count on us Rebelutionaries for support! :D” I really got a lot from what he said, especially about dwelling on the Lord and His word. He actually inspired one of my longer poems 🙂 Then the part about the Rebelutionaries reminded me that I’ll still have friends on here, even if I end up halfway across the country from everyone I know in person.
Woah, that’s humbling to see how the Lord can use what I say to be a blessing to somebody else! 🙂
You write poetry? Cool! All the more reason to start a blog… 😉
You just won’t let up until I start a blog, will you? Really, I appreciate your urging; I didn’t realize I wrote that well 🙂 I don’t think my parents would want me to have my own blog right now, though. In a couple of years I could start one, but not now. I’ll just have to send articles to the Reb and SOG until then (and you, if you’re interested in more) 🙂
Ah, OK, that makes sense. And yes, you do write that well! 🙂 Has TheRebelution.com posted anything of yours yet? I thought I would have known had I seen one, but then again, you’re a girl of many names, so perhaps I missed it. 🙂
I’m strongly considering taking a month-long break from social media and blogging-stuff, so I’m trying to determine how I want to maintain my own blog during that time. So I may ask you to write something, if you’re up to it. I have to figure out all of that. I will let you know what I decide to do!
The Reb hasn’t posted anything of mine yet, and my name on here is Grace Owens 🙂 I wonder if they lost my info because Brett was saying that he just needed some more info (bio, picture, etc.) so he could post my article. I sent my info to him, and he didn’t answer back or anything. How long does it normally take for him to post an article? (When did you send your article in?)
Okay, I’d be happy to help you any way I can – I’ve got some ideas for articles; I’ll see how they turn out, and save a few until I know if you want them.
Okay, sounds good to me! 🙂
I sent in my first set of articles (2 Reb articles and 4 from my blog) on January 3rd. I think it was about two weeks ago that one was published, so that was a little over a month? I’ve sent in 3 more sincesince the first set, so with that bombardment of articles, I don’t know if/when they’d be posted… From what I can see, my article was posted about 2 weeks after I sent him my bio and stuff. You could send an email just asking about the status of your article submission, if you’d like.
Okay, I wondered if I was being impatient or if I should email Submissions. Thanks!
Oh, I forgot to say – I’ve always liked what you’ve written, it’s encouraged me often in the short time I’ve been on Not Just a Teen.
That’s really a blessing to hear. Thank you!
You’re very welcome 🙂
Man, I love the Rebelution (Disqus spell-check needs to just accept “Rebelution”). Y’all are all so awesome!
Yeah, Disqus is crazy 🙂
Everyone on here is soooo awesome!
Aren’t they, though? 🙂
So I have a random, off-topic question: how do you submit a DQ?
You submit a DQ through the “submit content” button on the top left of the screen, if you scroll all the way up to the top. The system should walk you through from there.
That reminds me, I wanted to submit a DQ myself 🙂
I saw it, I just wasn’t for sure what to do past the email address. (Silly, okay, but I’m kinda slow…)
Ach! I just found out about the new system; it used to be different.
Bummer.
It works now! I changed it so people will email me directly rather than use the contact form. The form was sending some emails into the spam folder.
That’s good to know!! Thank you!!!
Wow. This question really made me think. I had no idea how to answer it. But reading through the comments it all became clear to me. I like what other people have said! I’ve always been what I guess I thought was “open” to entertainment. I thought it was silly that some Christians didn’t watch a movie because of one graphic scene, or didn’t listen to a song because of one swear word. I was wrong though, its not silly at all. I can now understand that the one cuss word was influencing me whether I knew it or not. I really need to go through my music/movies now 🙂
Good question!
I think that is you go through the following questions and if all are ‘yes’ then it is okay to watch or listen to.
1) Are your parents okay with you watching/listening to?
2) Is there no swear words in it? (the more you hear them the more likely it is to say them)
3) Is there no inappropriate things in it? (they will go over and over in your mind)
4) If Jesus was here do you think he will like you watching/listening to it?
What is your definition of “inappropriate things”? I know of people who are offended by Disney’s classic “Cinderella” because it has magic in it.
Good questions for self evaluation
wow! what an important question! I will probably end up muddying the waters further by commenting, but I will try not to.
I like really like to movie ‘Princess Bride’ even though it has a couple of pretty bad cuss words along with an inappropriate comment. at my house, we fast forward through that part and enjoy the rest. we do the same thing with the ‘Count of Monte Cristo.’ it has an inappropriate scene in it. we fast forward through that scene and, again, enjoy the movie.
as far as bloody scenes go, as long as it does not scare me, I am fine with that. the Bible has nothing against blood and gore.
I probably got some things wrong here, and I may have further complicated things, but that is my two cents…
Princess Bride… It took me years to get the one cuss word, when Rugen dies. When is the other? What is “Count of Monte Cristo” about?
my parents past forward through both, so I am not sure exactly what they say but I think that Wesley says something improper to buttercup.
the count of monte cristo is about a young sailor who receives a letter from napoleon after he is exiled to the isle of elba. this young man is placed in prison for taking the letter but eventually finds out that much more than what is seen si at stake. he meets a priest while in prison and then the priest dies, leaving him a large sum of money. he buys the tittle of count and proceeds to exact vengeance on those that placed him in prison.
Oh, yeah, now I remember… my family skipped where Wesley dies, too; we always had younger kids watching. I still haven’t watched that piece, come to think of it.
Sounds like a good movie. I’ll have to see if my library has it!
Mostly dies. ;D
Oh my goodness… my family is *obsessed* with the princess bride… (we do fast forward one or two parts when younger kids are around though)
I too love both of these movies… but I also use the mute button and fast forward. These are definitely part of my classics collection! 🙂
The litmus test for me is the substance or point of the entertainment. If the theme is positive, then I can usually overlook some negative minor points. However, that is just something I discovered about myself, I believe every person has to make their own decision with God about what they can and cannot filter.
Help me understand– so you’re just against sin shown as good, not sin in general?
I am against sin in general, but when it comes to entertainment it is mainly when it shows it as good when it becomes a problem. Also your age will play a factor in if you should watch/listen to something.
And let’s not forget that the Bible also has some things that are not exactly family friendly (in the words of Tim Hawkins). Especially in the book of Genesis.
Exactly why we don’t paint graphic scenes of “Cain and Abel” and a realistic “The Flood” on the walls of little kids’ bedrooms :).
Hey! You caught on! I’m on a Tim Hawkins craze, cuz I’ll get to see him live for the first time soon!
Oooo, exciting!! 🙂 I’m lucky, cuz I’ve gotten to see him live three times. He comes through Indy annually, if not more often.
Nice! What are some of your favorite bits from him?
My family had an opportunity to see Tim Hawkins a couple years ago at a homeschool convention, but we didn’t go… maybe next time!
Have fun 🙂
The first time I saw him was at a homeschool convention too…who knows, might have been the same one. Two Rebelutionaries and the same convention and we didn’t even know it! 🙂
haha
Well, the one we go to is quite large, so that actually could be!
Or Judges… or Leviticus… or Exodus (the firstborn dying, really?!)… or Deuteronomy…
And let’s not forget 1 and 2 Samuel (let’s just say David and Saul did some nasty stuff).
Eugggh!
Makes you wonder why David is held up so much, you know? I mean, the Bible talks about him with honor, but most of us, if we met him and knew what he’d done, would walk away.
Yeah he’s one of the greatest people in the Bible, and yet, he did some pretty terrible things.
Shows how God looks at people differently than we do, I guess…
Or Judges (check out Ehud casually disembowelling people) 😛
This is difficult to answer because most every pop song, rap song, regae, and even country songs, all talk about things that probably aren’t the best for us, as Christians to listen to. Is there anything morally wrong with it? I don’t think that there is, but i doesn’t mean that we should listen to it. There are so few song that aren’t christian that don’t talk about drugs, girls in tight cut-off jeans, alcohol, and sex. This is where are culture, for the most part, has gone.
“If you can’t laugh at yourself… laugh at other denominations!”
Well first of all, think about this ,does any of the non Christians songs affect the way you are thinking like violence or something morally wrong. If it does it surely not a good idea to listen to those songs. I mean I honestly don’t like listening to bad songs but listening to a Christian song does not make you Christian. You are Christian because you know Jesus so songs might or might not affect you. It depends how you perceive things.
Hey are you a Filipino? 😀 😀
Yes I am 🙂
where do you live aaron here in the Philippines? 😀 I live in Davao City, it states in your profile that you reside in Georgia. 😀 It’s my first time to meet a fellow countrymen here in therebelution. 😀 nice to meet you!
I used to live in Manila that was my hometown. I have some relatives there. Nice to meet you also :). I am also a fluent speaker of tagalog.
wow! kamusta ka naman dyan? 😀 I’m Visaya, I reside in Davao 😀
Mabuti naman ako :). Nag aaral parin sa school. 🙂
I have no idea what you’re saying… it’s fun to see!
I told her ” I am fine. I am still going to school” 🙂
Cool 🙂 I love seeing other languages and trying to guess what is being said. (I love languages, period!)
Haha!! I read it and I was like, “Are they talking in a different language?” It kinda threw me off a little. 🙂
haha 😀 I’m just so happy to see my fellow Filipino here 😀
Praise God 🙂 College ka na?
ako Third year college 😀
No. Yung school system here is different I am only junior in High school. 🙂
ahh, hehe tama 🙂 K12 na din dito sa Philippines. 🙂
I love seeing this… XD
lol
haha! we’re using our Language haha.. 😀
since kaylan? Ha gusto ko umowi the pilipinas 🙂
pasensya na ang tagal ko nag reply.. mga 2 years or 1 year before pa nag start ang K12 dito sa Pilipinas 😀
Its ok you ve been busy 🙂 . You need your things done so.
I think this would include just about everything
Philippians 4:8
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and wreceived and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and ythe God of peace will be with you.”
So I guess it would depend if it is pure, honorable, etc. I just think, “would I be listening to this if Jesus were sitting next to me?” Because He is.
I personally don’t watch any non christian movies, just because I don’t have a lot of extra time, and because I don’t want to be influenced by things that may not be glorifying to the Lord, or may be a sin (taking God’s name in vain, for example). It is so easy to be influenced, even if we don’t think we are.
James 4:4
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
1 John 2:15-17
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
Post your thoughts and corrections if I am wrong!
Right on brother!! My sentiments exactly!!
This verse is spot-on. And also, counsel from parents and mature Christians will help too.
This question is similar to another DQ: Should Christians Listen to Secular Music?
Rather than rewrite my comment since it pretty much applies to this topic also… I’ll just say this…
DRAW A LINE! And when it is drawn… stay as far away from it as possible! In the end, you won’t regret it!
And for those who are interested… I go into more details on HOW and WHERE to “draw the line” in my other comment. Check it out. 🙂
As far as drawing a line goes, no language, gore, or other not-so-appropriate stuff is the best option. Also, I think there are other forms of entertainment to watch out for. Video games is one such thing. That doesn’t mean you should never play them, just not 24/7 if you know what I mean.
Video games are definitely a big part of the entertainment industry… Whether you’re watching a movie, reading a book, listening to music, or playing a video game, you must create boundaries!
Hey, you’re profile says “city of destruction”. Since you’re a Christian, wouldn’t it be more accurate if you said ” on the road to heaven”? 🙂
Well… I think when I filled out my profile, it asked where I live… so I put in City of Destruction from “Pilgrims Progress”. I am on a journey, but this journey is taking place in the City of Destruction for now… I may change it later… 🙂
Haha gotcha. Good book. Kinda hard to read sometimes but good. haha 🙂
find out what your persanol morals are and start there
Hey @disqus_9ZIY2r5wNQ:disqus welcome to the Rebelution!
Really good question! I watch Vikings and The Big Bang theory with my family. I know neither show is christian, but since I watch it with my parents It is better. Try letting your parents draw the line. (We also skip through the bad parts)
There is a great thing called ClearPlay that is a DVD player that automatically skips over all the bad stuff in movies. That’s a great invention!
ClearPlay is great. My family has that!! 🙂
I watch Elementry and Forever on TV. Now these shows are not what you call christian shows, but because I know that my parents are with me when I watch these shows that I can rely on their wisdom.
Good question Trent!! For me personally I’ve stopped watching certain movies that imply sexual immorality and that has lots of cuss words, and graphic violence. I’ve done this based on my strong convictions and what God has been dealing with me about. Just because I’ve decided to to stop watching marvel movies doesn’t mean that you should too. I prefer entertaining movies and music that have a message. Something that’s encouraging, thought-provoking, and edifying. Something that challenges me in my walk with God. I think in essence the question is, “What is God saying?.” If you’re listening, He may tell you don’t watch this, or don’t listen to that. Although, I believe that whatever we allow our eyes to see, or our ears to hear, should honor God and not corrupt us in any way. There’s no universal rule such as, “Thou shalt not watch any movies unless it’s about Jesus.” No!! That would mean no educational or historical movies. As far as music is concerned, I believe that it should be Christian music. Music that makes us think and helps us grow in our faith. Christian music or some musicals (or movie soundtracks), like the Sound of Music, or The Music Man. Hope that helps.
If God was sitting there with you, would you watch it?
Well if God was sitting there with me, I wouldn’t be watching any movie; I’d be asking Him questions. 🙂
That`s true, and its a VERY good point, that I myself agree with whole heartily. But the truth is that God is ALWAYS with us. And we should really remember that when we are looking for something to entertain us:) But I agree with you!!
I have found a trend in many of the TV, movie items, books, etc. and you name it. Often times one sin purposely built into an entertainment’s plot line is followed by another upon another upon another until one “white” sin at the beginning of the form of entertainment is piled under many others. This is how Satan works; he tries to lure us in with a pleasing appearance so that we shall feel comfortable with a plot or perhaps we will be perched on the edges of our seats, a handful of popcorn frozen part-way up to our mouths as we wait for the next sequence of an adventure movie when all of the sudden, the movie launches into a New World or other religion type of explanation for an event that happened (examples: evolution theory, Buddhist ideals such as seen in Avatar: Last Airbender and Star Wars: mixed Christian and Buddhist). I can see where your question comes into conflict; do we allow ourselves to watch things which don’t glorify God but don’t exactly go against Him either (such as the new movie “Inside-Out”, which shows no influence from God on making descions) or do we stick to only the certified and proven “good stuff”? Well, like many bloggers have already said, does it glorify God? Do we really “need” the stuff of this world or can we resist temptations set before us? You could even debate whether superheroes have risen up as idols due to their powers (which reminds me of Greek and Roman demigods and even the demigods of Old Testament times). For thousands of years, God has had to return His flock to Himself because they strayed from the One, True God and isn’t that what entertainment’s “harmless” tactics of persuading people to partake in its abundance of lies doing to many unsuspecting teens today? Now I’m not saying ALL entertainment is bad but you’re right, there is a line and we as teens need to draw it and set an example for not only our peers but for the world of darkness in itself. We are supposed to be the carriers of God’s light, the candle-bearers whom devot themselves completely and fully to God. God wants us to give everything to Him and if we can’t give up that one Manga show that we “have to have”, then we need to question ourselves; are we truly following God? Jesus gave His life for us, so why should we not give Him our everything in return.
Sorry this was so long-winded but sometimes I get a little wordy. : )
God bless you and may you overcome many challenges through our Father!
Going along with what Trent asked, I want to watch ABC’s Supernatural, but I keep hearing that it’s blasphemous from some people but informative from others, and I’ve also heard groups where they say it’s OK for a Christian to watch. Personally, I think it might be interesting, but I’m not sure if this is something I should get into :/
This is a question of Ethics. I would encourage y’all to research “christian ethics” if you are unsure of where to draw the line on things like this. There are a lot of things to consider with these type of questions, and the study of christian ethics gives you some framework to answer this in.
My personal method for deciding what I can or can’t watch/listen to/etc. is summed up in one phrase: “What you let into your spirit will work it’s way into your life” -Levi Lusko (Off the Chain series). It’s kinda self explanatory. Hope this helps someone!
I am a 13 year old girl. My father is a pastor. I love movies. I do not enjoy over-the-top violence, bad language, etc. But these things are a part of our world today. We see plenty of violence in the real world, on the news, and right in our backyards. We hear people cuss and take the Lords name in vain in public places all the time. I don’t watch many R-rated movies because I’m only 13. I think that TONS of bad language and gore in movies is unnecessary sometimes. I don’t know why they add these things in entertainment, but there is really nothing you can do about it. They’re not going to stop making movies like that. If you feel that it is necessary to look at the content in a movie before you see it, then here is a sight for you.
Pluggedin by: Focus on the Family.