I believe it is theologian David Wells who said television perhaps more than anything else has challenged the Christian view that God is in charge of all things.
In “real time” (a weird neologism) we can see all kinds of evil unfold. We can vicariously sense the terror of those going through war as we did when CNN correspondent, Bernard Shaw, reported from Baghdad. As the bombs fell, the tremor in Shaw’s voice was unmistakeable.
Even secular scholars have written books describing the destructive effects of being exposed to certain types of evil. Roger Shattuck’s Forbidden Knowledge is one such book and the anti-moralists were not happy that one of their own would raise questions about the value of reading certain works of literature.
Bringing this principle home is what caused me to get rid of our D.H. Lawrence books. I’m no prude, and yes, I have read books which have stuff about sex in them…like the Bible! I got rid of Lawrence even in my quest to “read the best which has been thought and said” because it seemed the defiling potential of Lawrence was greater than the positive payback. I could be wrong and gladly invite push backs.
In any case, how do we determine not only how much we watch television, but more to the point, what kinds of shows?
It’s nice to be back ‘in the grid’ after being on the mountain where ‘access is iffy.’ This latest comment reminded me of my friend’s book (which she actually DID write herself–I only proof read it and made suggestions for clarity 🙂 “All that Glitters” (written totally by Coleen Cook) describes the inherent biases of television news and also makes suggestions for being a wise consumer of television. This book stemmed from a talk she used to give when asked to speak for events (she was a local news reporter). The speech was entitled, “In the Fullness of Time, Why Christ Came When There was no TV.” I wonder if it is still available for purchase through Moody Press (published in the late 1980’s)?