Author : Keith Sharp
As decadent Rome devoted itself to debauchery and the entertainment of the Coliseum while it lurched toward decline, decay, and demise, America muddles along in the Entertainment Age. Evangelical scholar Gary Gilley, with amazing insight in his little book,This Little Church Went to Market, describes, documents, and analyzes the American obsession with entertainment and the response by evangelical Protestant churches. Individual Christians and local churches of Christ must be in the world but not of the world (Romans 12:1-2; Revelation 2:18-29). A wise man understands his enemy. What’s the modern world, including modern religion, up to anyway? How should we respond?
Citing Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman, Gilley traces America’s love affair with fun to roots in the nineteenth century as “new forms of entertainment gaining popularity with the ordinary man were nothing more than senseless fun – and loved for just that reason” (Gilley. 25). At this crucial time, Protestant religion could offer very little if any restraining effect, for the popular revival meetings of the day were themselves a form of mindless entertainment filled with emotionalism and virtually devoid of Scripture and reason.
In contrast, in
the 1700s and well into the 1800s almost everyone in American was a reader…. The outcome of such a state was a nation of people who could think, analyze, debate, formulate an argument, and understand and discuss issues, including theology (Gilley. 27)
It was into this world that the Restoration Movement, the effort to restore first century Christianity, was born and grew rapidly. Alexander Campbell, the most influential leader among American Christians in the first half of the nineteenth century, engaged in five great debates with monumental impact, edited in sequence two very influential magazines that were noted for lengthy, meaty articles, and preached two and three hour sermons brimming with Scripture and logic to huge audiences throughout the Eastern United States and even into Canada.
But today “television has made entertainment itself the natural format for the representation of all experience… Television is transforming our culture into one vast arena for show business” (Postman. 80,87, as quoted by Gilley. 27). “Television’s primary contribution to educational philosophy is the idea that teaching and entertainment are inseparable…” (Postman. 146, as quoted by Gilley. 28). “…we have become people who no longer think and analyze; rather we respond to clever manipulation of our emotions” (Gilley. 29). “Entertainment reaches out to us where we are, puts on its show and then leaves us essentially unchanged, if a bit poorer in time and money” (Devries. 144, as quoted by Gilley 29).
‘Evangelical Protestantism … only refined its techniques in the twentieth [century], especially after the advent of television. Televangelists like Oral Roberts and Jimmy Swaggart recast the old revival meeting as a television variety show, and Pat Robertson’s 700 Club was modeled (sic) after The Tonight Show…’ (Gabler. 120, as quoted by Gilley. 29).
… the people having now been trained to be consumers, have also been taught that the ultimate sin is to be bored. Hence the birth of the market-driven church that caters to the insatiable appetite for amusement in society in general (Gilley. 29).
“Overall there has been a great shift in what our culture values…” (Gilley. 30). “Puritan culture emphasized values like hard work, integrity and courage. The new culture of personality emphasized charm, fascination and likability” (Gabler. 197, as quoted by Gilley. 30). “Shortly after World War I the basic view of success shifted from theCharacter Ethic to what we might call the Personality Ethic…” (Covey. 18-19, as quoted by Gilley. 30).
We live in a society that increasingly drifts toward the form rather than the substance, which embraces the superficial, lives to play, will pay almost any amount of money to be amused, and prizes fun a the highest pursuit of life. Conviction has been replaced by thrill and few seem to notice (Gilley. 31)
Too many Christians, just like their unsaved counterparts, are impressed by appearances rather than structure; are seeking thrills and excitement rather than substance; are more apt to respond to emotional manipulation rather than to rational discourse… The problem is that the main business of entertainment is to please the crowd, but the main purpose of authentic Christianity is to please the Lord (Gilley. 31, emphasis mine, KS).
Os Guinness… believes we are a generation that has ‘dumbed down’ everything that is important to the level of bumper stickers and greeting cards, and we are suffering the consequences. One revealing bumper sticker, of the type Guinness has in mind, reads, ‘There is no right or wrong – only fun and boring’ (Guinness. 34, as quoted by Gilley, 32).
In 1975 my first book, What Must I Do to Be Saved?, was published. It was a first principles study intended to lead the lost to Christ, was well received, and got good reviews. In recent years I have found that the material is too difficult for most students. With the help of my daughter Michelle, I have “dumbed it down.”
This is the world in which we live. How should we respond?
It is not our goal to please ourselves or others but to please the Lord (Matthew 16:24; Galatians 1:10).
It is not sinful for Christians to enjoy clean entertainment in moderation. The Lord needed some “R & R” (Mark 6:31-32), and so do we.
But the obsession with entertainment is a shallow, vain life that brings no real satisfaction but does bring divine condemnation. When Solomon turned away from the Lord, he tried “pleasure,” enjoyment, and “laughter,” in short, “folly,” as a way of life and declared “it too was futility,” and “What does it accomplish?” (Ecclesiastes 2:1-3, NASB; cf. 1 Kings 11:4). We are stewards of both our time and our money as gifts from God (1 Peter 4:10), and we must use them wisely in His service (Ephesians 5:15-16; 1 Timothy 6:17-19). I find it hard to justify spending $100 to see a show (not that I have $100 to spare), when the same $100 could keep an African preacher and his family from starving. We need to spend less time seeking entertainment and more in meditation (Philippians 4:8), prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18), and good works (Galatians 6:9-10). “For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life” (Galatians 6:8). In contrast with the world, we must love God rather than pleasure (2 Timothy 3:1-5).
The Lord’s church is not in the entertainment business. It is a spiritual relationship (John 18:36; Romans 14:17; Ephesians 1:3,22-23). The work of the local church is limited to evangelism (1 Thessalonians 1:6-8), edification (Ephesians 4:11-16), and the relief of needy Christians (Acts 4:32-35). Satan uses carnal attractions, but the Lord appeals to the spirit (Romans 8:5-8). We must use the love of Christ related in the gospel to attract the lost (Romans 1:16; 2 Corinthians 5:14-15).
We are called upon to be a thinking people (2 Timothy 2:7), who spend much time meditating on the eternal truths of the Word of God (1 Peter 2:2; Psalm 119:97).
It is not wrong to enjoy worshiping the Lord and hearing the message of Christ proclaimed, but the goal of our public assemblies are to glorify God (1 Corinthians 10:31) and to edify one another (1 Corinthians 14:26) not to entertain. If you don’t find the worship assembly to be fun, just get over it. That’s not our purpose.
We are not to pander to the carnal by offering them whatever they want (Galatians 1:10). Rather, we boldly call upon lost sinners to sacrifice everything for Jesus Christ that He in turn might give them eternal life (Matthew 16:24-27; Mark 10:29-30).
In short, we must “not be conformed to this world” but be “transformed by the renewing of our minds” (Romans 12:1-2).
Works Cited
Covey, Stephen R., The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.
Devries, Mark, Family-Based Youth Ministry.
Gabler, Neal, Life the Movie.
Gilley, Gary, This Little Church Went to Market.
Guinness, Os, A Time for Truth.
Postman, Neal, Amusing Ourselves to Death.
