Entertainment

A.W.Tozer has some pretty good insights into this subject. hope this helps.

[b]The Great God Entertainment[/b]
by A.W.Tozer

A German philosopher many years ago said something to the effect that the more a man has in his own heart, the less he will require from the outside; excessive need for support from without is proof of the bankruptcy of the inner man.

If this is true (and I believe it is) then the present inordinate attachment to every form of entertainment is evidence that the inner life of modern man is in serious decline. The average man has no central core of moral assurance, no spring within his own breast, no inner strength to place him above the need for repeated psychological shots to give him the courage to go on living. He has become a parasite on the world, drawing his life from his environment, unable to live a day apart from the stimulation which society affords him.

Schleiermacher held that the feeling of dependence lies at the root of all religious worship, and that however high the spiritual life might rise, it must always begin with a deep sense of a great need which only God could satisfy.

If this sense of need and a feeling of dependence are at the root of natural religion, it is not hard to see why the great god Entertainment is so ardently worshiped by so many. For there are millions who cannot live without amusement; life without some form of entertainment for them is simply intolerable; they look forward to the blessed relief afforded by professional entertainers and other forms of psychological narcotics as a dope addict looks to his daily shot of heroin. Without them they could not summon courage to face existence.

No one with common human feeling will object to the simple pleasures of life, nor to such harmless forms of entertainment as may help to relax the nerves and refresh the mind exhausted by toil. Such things, if used with discretion, may be a blessing along the way. That is one thing, however, the all-out devotion to entertainment as a major activity for which and by which men live is definitely something else again.

The abuse of a harmless thing is the essence of sin. The growth of the amusement phase of human life to such fantastic proportions is a portent, a threat to the souls of modern men. It has been built into a multimillion dollar racket with greater power over human minds and human character than any other educational influence on earth.

And the ominous thing is that its power is almost exclusively evil, rotting the inner life, crowding out the long eternal thoughts which would fill the souls of men, if they were but worthy to entertain them. The whole thing has grown into a veritable religion which holds its devotees with a strange fascination; and a religion, incidentally, against which it is now dangerous to speak. For centuries the Church stood solidly against every form of worldly entertainment, recognizing it for what it was—a device for wasting time, a refuge from the disturbing voice of conscience, a scheme to divert attention from moral accountability.

For this she got herself abused roundly by the sons of this world. But of late she has become tired of the abuse and has given over the struggle. She appears to have decided that if she cannot conquer the great god Entertainment she may as well join forces with him and make what use she can of his powers.So, today we have the astonishing spectacle of millions of dollars being poured into the unholy job of providing earthly entertainment for the so-called sons of heaven. Religious entertainment is in many places rapidly crowding out the serious things of God.
Many churches these days have become little more than poor theaters where fifth-rate "producers" peddle their shoddy wares with the full approval of evangelical leaders who can even quote a holy text in defense of their delinquency. And hardly a man dares raise his voice against it.

The great god Entertainment amuses his devotees mainly by telling them stories. The love of stories, which is a characteristic of childhood, has taken fast hold of the minds of the retarded saints of our day, so much so that not a few persons manage to make a comfortable living by spinning yarns and serving them up in various disguises to church people.

What is natural and beautiful in a child may be shocking when it persists into adulthood, and more so when it appears in the sanctuary and seeks to pass for true religion. Is it not a strange thing and a wonder that, with the shadow of atomic destruction hanging over the world and with the coming of Christ drawing near, the professed followers of the Lord should be giving themselves up to religious amusements? That in an hour when mature saints are so desperately needed vast numbers of believers should revert to spiritual childhood and clamor for religious toys?

"Remember, 0 Lord, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach. The crown is fallen from our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned ! For this our heart is faint; for these things our eyes are dim." AMEN. AMEN.

Taken from Root of the Righteous, Harrisburg, PA: Christian Publications, 1955, p. 32-33.

A.W.Tozer has some pretty good insights into this subject. hope this helps.

This is a good thing to learn more about!

Here are some scriptures with questions to ask when considering entertainment:

1 Corinthians 10:31
Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

[u]Is this entertainment for the glory of God?[/u]

2 Corinthians 5:9
Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.

[u]Is my aim to please God with this entertainment?[/u]

Romans 14:23b
For whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

[u]Do I have faith that what I am doing is right and pleasing to God?[/u]

1 John 2:15
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.

[u]Is this entertainment helping me to love the world or to love God?[/u]

Ephesians 5:1
Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.

[u]Can I imagine Jesus pursuing this entertainment?[/u]

I used to be enslaved to entertainment, but Christ set me free. Now entertainment has it's proper place in my life: it is a time of relaxing and worshiping God through His word and His creation.
:-)
Nile

Why is there a need to be entertained??
Shouldn't the desire of our hearts be to
please God and our aim to glorify Him
by the things we say and in all we DO??

Great post Nile!

Also, I would add, "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." Eph. 5:11

Jordan

Tozer also has a book out and it's called, "Tozer on Worship and Entertainment." It's is well worth the read, trust me. ;-)

Jordan

Excellent article, Hulsey!

Many churches these days have become little more than poor theaters where fifth-rate "producers" peddle their shoddy wares with the full approval of evangelical leaders who can even quote a holy text in defense of their delinquency. And hardly a man dares raise his voice against it.

I have visited a worship service where this was done and was utterly shocked the pastor felt a need to use such shoddy entertainment to reach his listeners!

In my area it is the large, multi-million dollar churches who will put on excellent programs at Christmas and Easter times. They are beautiful and well done with excellent music. Among these churches is one who accepts practicing homos which presents a conflict for me: do I want to go there and allow these unrepentant sinners to 'entertain' me, using the Bible to do so? (I refuse to go there anymore.) Actually, this is the question I must consider: How right is it to use Holy things to entertain? On the other hand the worship program David instituted in the OT temple was glorious, I am sure. So another question: how can one differential between pure religious entertainment and absolute worship? (I know of unrepentant sinners being hired by churches to sing on their worship teams..sigh) IMHO, what passes for modern worship is anything but that.

Brother, this article will provoke more questions....hope to hear some discussions on the questions I asked...

ginnyrose

Excellent article, Hulsey!

Yes it is, and even prophetic when you think that this article was written in the 1950's.

The link Kire (tears of joy) provided is excellent also and much more extensive.

I've found the dictionary definition of entertainment to be edifying.

Merriam-Webster Online:
1 : the act of entertaining
2 a archaic : MAINTENANCE, PROVISION b obsolete : EMPLOYMENT
3 a : amusement or diversion provided especially by performers b : something diverting or engaging: as (1) : a public performance (2) : a usually light comic or adventure novel

Dictionary.com:
1.\tthe act of entertaining; agreeable occupation for the mind; diversion; amusement: Solving the daily crossword puzzle is an entertainment for many.
2.\tsomething affording pleasure, diversion, or amusement, esp. a performance of some kind: The highlight of the ball was an elaborate entertainment.
3.\thospitable provision for the needs and wants of guests.
4.\ta divertingly adventurous, comic, or picaresque novel.

WordNet
an activity that is diverting and that holds the attention

See, I don't know about you, but I see a lot of dangerous things just looking at the nature and purpose of entertainment. Diversion... holding our attention... pleasing (the flesh)....
I think that we can do BETTER than entertainment... I don't mean to sound like one of those ear-scratchers (for itching ears... you know) bragging that Christians basically one-up the world in everything. But we can engage our minds on godly things and the things above, we can peacefully meditate on the scriptures, we can sing praises to our God, we can fellowship and bless other believers, we can pray, we can do God's work... it is just a better life and theres no getting around it. Sitting and watching the TV or movies just isn't as cool.
With a life as short as ours, and being bought with the precious blood of Christ... do we dare waste our time getting caught up in such drivel?

This is something that blessed me very much when I first saw it posted. I thought it might fit well here.

Spurgeon, "The Love of God and the Patience of Christ"

If you receive the love of God fully into your
souls it will nourish the contemplative life.

You will want to be alone.

You will prefer to sit silently at Jesus' feet
while others wrangle over the little politics
of the day. You will give up being busy
bodies, talking in six peoples' houses in
an hour.

Quietude will charm you.

You will love no company so much as the
society of Him who is the Best and the Most.

To be with God in quiet will be your highest
enjoyment. You will not say, as some do,
"I must have recreation."

Contemplation of God is
recreation to the child of God.

It creates the soul anew. And is not
this the truest recreation?

Love to God will nourish the contemplative
life and so make us come forth as new
creatures, fresh from our Maker's holy hand.

With a life as short as ours, and being bought with the precious blood of Christ... do we dare waste our time getting caught up in such drivel?

I guess that depends on if we really believe that we will have to give account of our stewardship of this life. I was just reading this verse tonight:

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:10

That should make us reconsider indulging in the things the world has to offer as entertainment.

Danielle

Diversion. One of the devil's favorite
tools. Our focus as believers and followers
of Christ should be what will best glorify
and serve my Lord and Master's purpose??
We don't need any further diversion's
lets be devoted and disciplined!~! :-P

ce4 wrote:

sojourner7 wrote:
Diversion. One of the devil's favorite
tools. Our focus as believers and followers
of Christ should be what will best glorify
and serve my Lord and Master's purpose??
We don't need any further diversion's
lets be devoted and disciplined!~! :-P

I agree, but this is not diversion, this is simply other Brothers and Sister's giving biblical insight and thought to use of entertainment. The moderators are usually good at taking care of dividing posts. be blessed.

He was talking about entertainment. Entertainment = diversion. Referring to the dictionary definition given. Not to the posts. ^_^