The Stranger<\/b><\/p>\n
A few months before I was born, my dad met a stranger who was new to our small Tennessee town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer, and soon invited him to live with our family. the stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the world a few months later.<\/p>\n
As I grew up, I never questioned his place in our family. In my young mind, each member had a special niche. My brother, Bill, five years my senior, was my example. Fran, my younger sister, gave me an opportunity to play \u2018big brother\u2019 and develop the art of teasing. My parents were complementary instructors\u2014Mom taught me to love the word of God, and Dad taught me to obey it.<\/p>\n
But the stranger was our storyteller. He could weave the most fascinating tales. Adventures, mysteries, and comedies were daily conversations. He could hold our whole family spell-bound for hours each evening. If I wanted to know about politics, history, or science, he knew it all. He knew about the past, understood the present, and seemingly could predict the future. The pictures he could draw were so lifelike that I would often laugh or cry as I watched. He was like a friend to the whole family. The stranger was our storyteller.<\/p>\n
He took Dad, Bill, and me to our first major league baseball game. He was always encouraging us to see the movies, and he even made arrangements to introduce us to several movie stars. My brother and I were deeply impressed by John Wayne in particular.<\/p>\n
The stranger was an incessant talker. Dad didn\u2019t seem to mind, but sometimes Mom would quietly get up\u2014while the rest of us were enthralled with one of his stories of faraway places\u2014go to her room, read her Bible and pray. I wonder now if she ever prayed that the stranger would leave.<\/p>\n
You see, my dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions. But this stranger never felt an obligation to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our house\u2014not from us, from our friends, or adults. Our longtime visitor, however, used occasional four-letter words that burned my ears and made Dad squirm. To my knowledge the stranger was never confronted.<\/p>\n
My dad was a teetotaler who didn\u2019t permit alcohol in his home\u2014not even for cooking. But the stranger felt like we needed exposure and enlightened us to other ways of life. He offered us beer and other alcoholic beverages often. He made cigarettes look tasty, cigars manly, and pipes distinguished.<\/p>\n
He talked freely (probably too much and too freely) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing. I know now that my early concepts of the man-woman relationship were influenced by the stranger. As I look back, I believe it was the grace of God that the stranger did not influence us more. Time after time he opposed the values of my parents. Yet he was seldom rebuked and never asked to leave.<\/p>\n
More than thirty years have passed since the stranger moved in with the young family on Morningside Drive. He is not nearly so intriguing to my Dad as he was in those early years. But if I were to walk into my parents\u2019 den today, you would still see him sitting over in a corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures.<\/p>\n
His name? We always just called him T.V.<\/p>\n
The Fourth Dimension, November, 1998, pp. 13, 17<\/p>\n
Television Compared to a Snake<\/b><\/p>\n
I had never dreamed of having a snake for a pet until I saw one at my friend\u2019s house. I had always been afraid of snakes – they somehow gave me the willies. But this one was different. It wasn\u2019t slippery and slimy like most I had seen, and its colors were beautiful. Somehow it was intriguing. I knew it was poisonous, but it looked and seemed so harmless.<\/p>\n
So I bought one for myself. I was living alone at the time and somehow its presence comforted me. I didn\u2019t feel so alone anymore.<\/p>\n
Later, when I married, my husband took right up with it and to my surprise, he grew to love this creature even more than I had. Before long I realized I was very jealous. My husband seemed to visit more with the snake than with me. This snake caused many arguments between us and I began to hate it. I resented their relationship so much that I refused to participate in their fun and games. I spent many evenings behind the closed doors of our bedroom, in loneliness and tears.<\/p>\n
This snake was allowed to do absolutely anything it pleased. When the children were born I became even more frightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHoney,\u201d I pleaded, \u201cwe must get rid of this snake. If it bites one of the children, it could be fatal!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, nonsense,\u201d he responded. \u201cWe\u2019ve had it this long, and it\u2019s done no harm. Besides, it\u2019s kept in a box. I\u2019ll watch and make sure it doesn\u2019t harm the children.\u201d<\/p>\n
One night the snake hissed at my daughter. Poison filled the air. We had to pray hard that night before she could sleep. Somehow the more frightful and violent it seemed, the more pleasure my husband derived from it.<\/p>\n
One night I dreamed of praying over the snake and it withered an dried up. So I had friends at church join me in prayer. One saint came to the house. We laid hands on its box, praying that God would free us from this evil.<\/p>\n
Soon my husband agreed to get rid of it. \u201cBut let\u2019s sell it,\u201d he implored. \u201cWe can\u2019t destroy it!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t be ridiculous,\u201d I said. \u201cIt\u2019s poison – we can\u2019t endanger someone else!\u201d<\/p>\n
I finally gave in and agreed to sell it. At least my children would be safe. Still I feared for this new innocent family. It was my joy to keep this poisonous creature from intruding on them.<\/p>\n
One night while I was at church alone (my husband stayed home), the snake died. Just before it died it made one big long hiss-s-s-s-s! The picture tube went out\u2014some innocent family was spared!<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
Television has Caused More Crime<\/b><\/p>\n
Television may be responsible for doubling our crime rate in the United States, suggests Brandon Centerwall, psychiatrist at the University of Washington, in a recent study reported in the June 1992 Journal of the American Medical Association.<\/p>\n
Centerwall analyzed crime statistics both before and after TV was introduced in several communities. Those comparisons cause him to conclude that prolonged exposure to violence on TV has increased the number of murders in the U.S. by 10,000 each year. He sees TV as a \u201ccausal factor\u201d in about 70,000 rapes and 700,000 injurious assaults annually.<\/p>\n
Hollywood vs. America by Michael Medved, (Harper Collins\/Zondervan, 1992), quoted in Leadership, Summer 1993, p. 76<\/p>\n
Prime Time Hour of T.V. Contains<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cA Florida State University study reported that a typical prime-time hour (of television) contains an average of 1.6 references to intercourse, 1.2 references to prostitution and rape, 4.7 sexual innuendoes, 1.8 kisses, and 1 suggestive gesture. In all, TV characters talk about sex or display sexual behavior 15 times an hour, or once every four minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Youth Worker Update, quoted in Signs of the Times, June, 1993, p. 6<\/p>\n
Kierkeaard Wrote on T.V.<\/b><\/p>\n
Long before the advent of television, long before Johnny Carson and David Letterman, philosopher Soren Kierkegaard wrote: \u201cSuppose someone invented an instrument, a convenient little talking tube which, say, could be heard over the whole land…I wonder if the police would not forbid it, fearing that the whole country would become mentally deranged if it were used.\u201d<\/p>\n
Against the Night, Charles Colson, p. 41<\/p>\n
Hollywood<\/b><\/p>\n
Hollywood really is different from the rest of the country. A survey of 104 top television writers and executives found that their attitudes toward moral and religious questions aren\u2019t shared by their audience.<\/p>\n
Believe adultery is wrong: <\/p>\n
Hollywood <\/p>\n
49%, <\/p>\n
Everyone else <\/p>\n
85%. <\/p>\n
Have no religious affiliation: <\/p>\n
Hollywood <\/p>\n
45%, <\/p>\n
Everyone else <\/p>\n
4%. <\/p>\n
Believe homosexual acts are wrong: <\/p>\n
Hollywood <\/p>\n
20%, <\/p>\n
Everyone else <\/p>\n
76%. <\/p>\n
Believe in a woman\u2019s right to abortion: <\/p>\n
Hollywood <\/p>\n
97%, <\/p>\n
Everyone else <\/p>\n
59%. <\/p>\n
The Center for Media and Public Affairs, in Newsweek, July 20, \u201cThe Elite and How to Avoid It\u201d<\/p>\n
Surveys<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 Percentage of sexual acts depicted or referred to on soap operas that are between married partners: 3%<\/p>\n
\u2022 Percentage of American\u2019s who watch TV during dinner: 50%<\/p>\n
What Counts: The Complete Harper\u2019s Index, edited by Charis Conn<\/p>\n
Religion is Virtually Invisible on T.V.<\/b><\/p>\n
Religion is virtually invisible on network television, a recent study concludes. Scholars from three universities who monitored 100 prime-time TV shows aired by ABC, NBC, CBS, and the Fox Network determined that references to religion rarely appear on the screen, and when they do, religious beliefs or practices are seldom presented in a positive light. The survey found that 95% of all speaking characters on TV programs have no identifiable religious affiliation. Thomas Skill, a University of Dayton researcher who helped compile the report commissioned by the American Family Association, said television\u2019s treatment of religion \u201ctends to be best characterized as abuse through neglect.\u201d Skill said ABC showed the greatest respect toward religious behavior, while Fox most often ridiculed religion or linked it to humor.<\/p>\n
National & International Religion Report, March, 1992<\/p>\n
Resource<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 C. Swindoll, Growing Strong, p. 326<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Rebirth of America, A. S. DeMoss Foundation, 1986, pp. 117ff<\/p>\n
TV Programming<\/b><\/p>\n
Only 700 people\u2014writers, producers and actors\u2014produce 75% of all TV programming. According to a Lichter-Rothman survey, 86 percent never or seldom attend a church or synagogue; 84 percent say government should make no laws regarding sex; and 95 percent believe homosexuality is not wrong.<\/p>\n
Intercessors for America Newsletter, Vol. 15, No. 6 (June, 1988)<\/p>\n
SAT Tests Declined Because of TV<\/b><\/p>\n
The A. C. Nielson Co., which measures television audiences and their behavior, revealed that in the average American home the television set is on six hours and fourteen minutes per day. This is 2 hours more per day than the daily average in the 1960\u2019s which is approximately the same point in time that the Standard Achievement Test scores began to decline. This time frame is significant because the first generation to cut its teeth on TV began taking SATs in the early 1960\u2019s, which is, of course, when the decline in scores started. Media and Methods reported that while the TV is on in the American home approximately 2100 hours per year, the average American spends only five hours per year reading books.<\/p>\n
Resources, #2, May\/June, 1990<\/p>\n
Watch More with Cable TV<\/b><\/p>\n
The average number of hours that a U.S. household with a pay cable hookup spends watching TV each week is only nine minutes less than 60 hours! That works out to nearly two-and-a-half days per week. A household with basic cable spends 54 hours and 35 minutes before the tube, while a household without cable TV spends 47 hours and 17 minutes.<\/p>\n
Resources, 1990<\/p>\n
Parents Do Not Control TV<\/b><\/p>\n
The average young teenage American girl views 1,500 references to sexual acts on TV annually, according to a study at Michigan State University. Boys of that age view an average of nearly 1,300 such and attend 17 R-rated movies annually. According to the teens studied, parents \u201cnever\u201d or \u201cnot often\u201d limited their TV viewing. There\u2019s little indication that parents exercise any control, positive or negative, over TV viewing.<\/p>\n
Homemade, March, 1989<\/p>\n
Favorite Way of Spending an Evening<\/b><\/p>\n
Percentage of Americans who say watching TV is their favorite way of spending an evening: 33. Who watch TV during dinner: 50. Who say a TV set is a necessity: 64.<\/p>\n
1988 Gallup Report on Book Buying, reported in Zondervan Publishing House press release; Roper Organization, reported in American Demographics, 12\/88; Roper Organization, reported in Psychology Today, 3\/89<\/p>\n
TV Guide<\/b><\/p>\n
On the table side by side; The Holy Bible and the TV Guide. One is well worn but cherished with pride, Not the Bible, but the TV Guide.<\/p>\n
One is used daily to help folk decide, No! It isn\u2019t the Bible, it\u2019s the TV Guide. As pages are turned, what shall we see? Oh, what does it matter, turn on the TV.<\/p>\n
Then confusion reigns, they can\u2019t all agree On what they shall watch on the old TV. So they open the book in which they confide No, not the Bible, it\u2019s the TV Guide.<\/p>\n
The Word of God is seldom read, Maybe a verse e\u2019er they fall into bed. Exhausted and sleepy and tired as can be, Not from reading the Bible; from watching TV.<\/p>\n
So, then back to the table, side by side, Is the Holy Bible and the TV Guide. No time for prayer, no time for the Word; The plan of salvation is seldom heard.<\/p>\n
Forgiveness of sin so full and free Is found in the Bible, not on TV!<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
Mr. and Mrs. Spouse<\/b><\/p>\n
In the house of Mr. & Mrs. Spouse He and she would watch TV, And never a word between them was spoken, Until the day The set was broken.<\/p>\n
Then, \u201cHow do you do?\u201d said He to She. I don\u2019t believe we\u2019ve met. Spouse is my name. What\u2019s yours?\u201d he asked. \u201cWhy, mine\u2019s the same!\u201d Said She to He. \u201cDo you suppose we could be…?\u201d<\/p>\n
But the set came suddenly right about And they never did find out.<\/p>\n
From a letter to Ann Landers<\/p>\n
Quotes<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 There\u2019s already an educational TV channel\u2014it\u2019s called \u2018off.\u2019 – Lily Henderson, age 11, quoted in MSC Newsletter<\/p>\n
\u2022 According to research by the American Family Association, 91% of all sex depicted on TV is outside of marriage. – The Pastor\u2019s Weekly Briefing, March 17, 1995<\/p>\n
\u2022 Television is an invention that permits you to be entertained in your living room by people you would not have in your home. – David Frost<\/p>\n
\u2022 Billy Graham recently (2\/84) reported the results of a survey that found the viewing habits of Christians and non-Christians show no discernible differences in either time spent in viewing or content viewed.<\/p>\n
Psalm 101<\/b><\/p>\n
I will walk with integrity of heart within my house. I will not set before my eyes anything that is base.<\/p>\n
Preschool Children and TV<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 In the U.S. preschool children make up the largest TV audience with a weekly average viewing time of at least 30.4 hours. By the age of 17 the average American child has logged 15,000 hours watching TV, the equivalent of 2 years, day and night.<\/p>\n
Guidelines<\/b><\/p>\n
1. Priorities: TV should not come before personal and family devotions, church responsibilities, schoolwork, or household chores.<\/p>\n
2. Personal growth: TV should not become a substitute for reading good books nor replace family sharing.<\/p>\n
3. Principles: TV programs should be rejected if they;<\/p>\n
\u2022 Present violence as a legitimate way of achieving goals.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Approve of adultery, homosexuality, or sex before marriage, either directly or by implication.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Reflect a negative attitude toward the sacredness of the family and fidelity in marriage.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Minimize the seriousness of such sins as murder, dishonesty, greed, lust, profanity, and immorality.<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
Pediatricians Advised Less TV Watching<\/b><\/p>\n
The 39,000 member American Academy of Pediatrics says too much TV watching by your children can turn them violent, aggressive or overweight\u2014and possibly all three. In their first statement in six years on kids and TV, the pediatricians last month advised the nation\u2019s parents to reduce their children\u2019s video-viewing by at least half. Data from the A. C. Nielsen Co. reveal that children aged 2 to 5 currently watch about 25 hours of TV a week; those 6 to 11 watch more than 22 hours a week; and those in the 12 to 17 age-bracket watch 23 hours a week. The pediatricians maintain that by the time today\u2019s child reaches age 70, he or she will have spent approximately seven years in front of the tube.<\/p>\n
Parade Magazine, May 27, 1990, p. 13<\/p>\n
TV Is My Shepherd<\/b><\/p>\n
The TV set is my shepherd. My spiritual growth shall want. It maketh me to sit down and do nothing for his name\u2019s sake. Because it requireth all of my spare time. It keepeth me from doing my duty as a Christian, because it presenteth so many good shows that I must see.<\/p>\n
It restoreth my knowledge of the things of the world and keepeth me from the study of God\u2019s Word. It leadeth me in the paths of failing to attend the evening worship services and doing nothing in the kingdom of God.<\/p>\n
Yea, though I live to be 100 I shall keep on viewing television as long as it will work, for it is my closest companion. Its sound and its picture, they comfort me.<\/p>\n
It presenteth entertainment before me and keepeth me from doing important things with my family. It fills my head with ideas which differ from those set forth in the word of God.<\/p>\n
Surely, no good thing will come of my life, because my television offereth me no good time to do the will of God; thus I will dwell crownless in the house of the Lord forever.<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
Statistic<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 Actual or implied sexual intercourse takes place 2.7 times every hour, with 88% of all sex represented as taking place outside of marriage.<\/p>\n
Youth Leader\u2019s Source Book, p. 21<\/p>\n
TV Commercials<\/b><\/p>\n
Commercials are very interesting. We have been able to calculate that the average kid will see about 750,000 of them between the ages of six and 18, which makes them about the most important source of instruction of our children in America today. They are 30 second teaching modules, and the messages they teach are really quite striking. First, they teach that all problems are resolvable. Second, they teach that all problems are resolvable fast. And third, that all problems are resolvable fast through the means of technology. Television commercials do not stress that problems have origins or roots. Problems just seem to strike, which is, of course, very well suited to TV because TV always communicates a sense of the now, of the immediate.<\/p>\n
Neil Postman, professor of media ecololgy at New York Univ., in Dec, 1979 Youth letter, p. 92<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Stranger A few months before I was born, my dad met a stranger who was new to our small Tennessee town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer, and soon invited him to live with our family. the stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the world … Continue reading “Television”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1136"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1136\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}