This past Sunday (a week from Halloween and the day of The Walking Dead season seven premiere), my aunt informed me of the sermon preached at the church she, my father, and my brother attend. In short, the pastor spoke of the history of Halloween as well as forms of entertainment coinciding with the holiday, such as The Walking Dead, Twilight, and etc., encouraging everyone to reevaluate what they are watching. According to him, television shows, movies, and books that emphasize death- Christians should be emphasizing life- are not good influences in living a Christian life. While he didn’t demand these things forbidden, he heavily implied that they should be removed. Agreeing with the pastor, my aunt (a big fan of Game of Thrones and Orange is the New Black) added that her children wouldn’t be watching or reading television shows or books, such as The Walking Dead or Harry Potter because of the material it portrays and she didn’t want her children to be frightened when they went to bed at night.
My first reaction: WOW. I was livid. When I was a kid, the thing that scared me the most was not a fictional form of entertainment, but the fiery pits of hell. Every night, my mom helped me recite a prayer, “..and if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take..” Dying in my sleep and living an eternal life in Satan’s domain, utterly terrified me. Of course, anyone has the right to watch or listen to whatever they want and I respect that, but this particular situation as a whole just seems hypocritical.
P.S. TWD S7 E1 was awesome... although I am still emotionally unstable.
I see what you are talking about and to me, I believe these shows and books have nothing to do with living a Christian life. Many books and shows can impress morals onto children that they wouldn't get elsewhere. I know many books and tv shows that I have derived my belief of what right and wrong is and how to live a good life.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you so much on this it's unreal. Watching a TV show that interests you is a huge step away from glorifying death. In my opinion though, opinions like the one of your family's pastor will soon dwindle. This train of thought is outdated and out of focus. Just like all the pastors who would stone people faded out of existence those who complain about simple forms of entertainment will too, as soon as they have something worse to complain about.
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