Movie Review of Lord
of the Rings Series
Movie Review of Gods and Generals
Movie
Review of Chariots of Fire
Movie Review of The
Passion of Christ
Links to Helpful Resources on the Evils of Movie and
Stage-Play Entertainment
http://www.naphtali.com/stagefrm.htm
http://books.google.com/books?id=Z10PAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&dq=serious+inquiry+into+the+nature+and+effects+of+the+stage&source=web&ots=yINtxHYBIE&sig=4HPVhtyB8ISBQfCPznozJoVG14Q#PPA31,M1
http://www.covenanter.org/Practical/Theatre/theatre.htm
http://truecovenanter.com/reformedpresbyterian/reformed_presbytery_testimony_against_immoralities.html#rp_testimony_against_immorality_note_09
Article that Appeared in FP Young People’s Magazine in 2006
From the April 2006 Young People's Magazine (Vol. 76, No. 4,
pages 79-80) on the FP website ,
apparently written by the magazine’s editor, Rev. K.D. Macleod:
Looking Around Us : Sin As Entertainment
This is an age of entertainment. Never before have people had so much leisure
time as in the last 50 years, or even the last 100. It was to meet the demand
for different ways of occupying people's leisure time that cinemas began to
open – especially as, in a time of new inventions, it was now possible to
produce films, or what in America are called movies.
When television became common, it became possible for people to watch such
films in their own homes, without anyone outside the family seeing them going
to a cinema. More recently, with films available as videos or DVDs, people can
watch them just whenever they want to. While some material on TV, and on videos
and DVDs, is educational and instructive, much of it is dangerous. Sin is not a
proper subject for entertainment. And most films, it would seem, are glorifying
what is sinful.
Indeed there is something false about all acting – when people take on someone
else's character and have to pretend to express someone else's emotions. This
is quite out of keeping with what God demands in the Ninth Commandment: perfect
truthfulness. It is, in effect, bearing "false witness" to others.
If violence and murder are wrong – and of course they are – then it cannot be
right to turn them into entertainment. And it cannot be right to seek enjoyment
from watching them. Nor can it be right to make sins against the Seventh
Commandment into entertainment. Paul said of one such sin that it "is not
so much as named among the Gentiles"; he was shocked that there were some
in the church in Corinth who were guilty of that sin. How much more shocked he
would be to find such sins used as a means of entertaining people. And how
appalled he would be if he found some connected with the Church today enjoying
such films.
What should be our attitude to sin? Remember Job, and how he is commended at
the beginning of the Book which carries his name. It is said that he
"eschewed evil"; he turned away from it – you may say that he always
tried to get as far away as possible from evil. He would certainly not have
found his enjoyment in watching others acting out what is sinful, and neither
should we. We are in this world to glorify God, and it should be clear to
everyone that watching sin – especially serious sin – is very far away from being
glorifying to God. No wonder Paul said: "Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever
things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be
any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things" (Philippians
4:8). This should be our standard – always.
We should always remember that we have corrupt, sinful hearts. It is dangerous
for us to watch what is sinful, because it is likely to stimulate evil thoughts
in our minds. It makes us even more unlikely to want to draw near to a holy
God, who hates sin with a perfectly hatred. The fact is that such entertainments
are preparing sinners from an eternity far away from God – they most certainly
will not prepare anyone for heaven.
In the light of the Bible, we are to flee from the wrath to come. Obviously then,
we must flee from sin, and we must refuse to spend our precious hours watching
sinful activities depicted on a screen for our entertainment.
If you have comments or suggestions,
email info@puritans.net
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