Don Draper and the Apostle Paul
I am a product of my environment. I was born in 1970 and am a member of that slacker generation x. My generation is now grown up, married off and started families. We cling to our youth by wearing sonic youth t-shirts, even when we are well into our 40's. My generation has been raised by the media. TV, movies, music - and then later on the internet contributed to our development.
I grew up in an Evangelical Christian home. We were very devout. We went to church TWICE on Sundays - AM and PM. For some reason, back then churches had an evening service. For some sad reason the pastor had to preach two different sermons.
I grew up in Awana and Youth Group. For most of my childhood and adolescence I was told that the media was bad: rock music, tv shows and movies were bad. There were some exceptions, like Chariots of Fire and the odd Billy Graham movie. I was allowed to listen to Christian "rock" which sounded painfully lame when compared to what my pagan friends at school were listening to on their walkmens.
Curiously enough the one tv show we could watch was the Wonderful World of Disney, which for some demonic reason was broadcast at the exact moment our evening Church service took place!
As I entered my 20's, I started partaking in more secular media. I developed a taste for the pixies, Radiohead and The Police. I time traveled and also got into Led Zeppelin, The Clash, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. I started to go to more movies. I never really got into tv, but my social diet had now expanded beyond that which was published by Christian media houses.
Note - I started this cultural expansion while enrolled as a student in a very conservative Bible school on the Canadian prairies. I soon was confronted by some fundamentalist pious brothers in the faith. They pulled out a verse that I was familiar with. Its from Philippians:
Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.
Triumphantly they would bury my nose in this verse, bring my head back up for air and demand how that would jive with my viewing of an R rated film the night before - or how it can jive with clash's call to anarchy on the awesome album "london calling".
I would usually agree - you're right, I shouldn't listen or watch that stuff - and then kick them out of my room, so I could do something else.
But, it has always nagged at me - I do watch movies and listen to "secular" music. I don't watch much tv - but the shows I do watch, probably wouldn't receive favorable reviews from Focus on the Family.
So - do I need to justify my viewing in light of what Paul wrote? Maybe - but perhaps we need to revisit what Paul has written there.
Paul says we are to think on these things of virtue. The greek word for think is logizomai which means to "think about something in a logical and detailed manner." What Paul is saying is the focus of your mind should be on things of virtue, things of beauty and moral uprightness. Now - does that mean certain films, books and music are out of question for Christians? Absolutely. Pornography, depictions of graphic and sadistic violence have no place in our minds. And we should not allow media containing graphic portrayals of these things into our homes.
But, what of films or tv shows that contain some scenes of violence, adultery or even nudity? Is all this material off bounds for a Christian?
Well, I would say it depends. It depends on the particular sensitivities that each Christian has in terms of their conscience. For example, I cannot watch the shows "Criminal Minds" or "Dexter" because I get quite disturbed by the sadistic machinations in the minds of the killers in those shows. Some other Christians might have no problem, and be able to remove themselves from what is happening on the screen.
But, I watch shows like Mad Men and The Wire and Breaking Bad. These shows contain violence, some nudity and carry themes of a morality that I disagree with. So, then why do I watch them? Well, in a word... they're good. They are very well done. I don't have to agree with something in order to appreciate it.
Most pop media products are created as pleasurable diversions from everyday life - and that's how I treat them. I don't build my morality on the amoral sociopathic tendencies of Don Draper from Mad Men. I watch that show because of the incredible story lines and character development. And The Wire is a show that should really be taught in all our seminaries - there is no other media creation that has so eloquently portrayed the end of the American empire and the consequences of living life in a moral vacuum.
I hope I don't sound like I am down-playing the need for holiness in the minds and hearts of believers. I am simply saying that we need to engage our world on its terms. And sometimes, secular media can help us do that. But, we also need not be so pragmatic about everything - you can also listen and watch things for the sheer pleasure of them. Like the poetry of Bruce Springsteen or Leonard Cohen - neither of whom are believers, and yet they can depict the human condition more eloquently then the top CCM artists of our day.
So - as a product of my environment, I have learned to live a life where I can read E. Stanley Jones in the morning, and then enjoy the most recent Alexander Payne film at night. And, I think I'll be ok.
I grew up in an Evangelical Christian home. We were very devout. We went to church TWICE on Sundays - AM and PM. For some reason, back then churches had an evening service. For some sad reason the pastor had to preach two different sermons.
I grew up in Awana and Youth Group. For most of my childhood and adolescence I was told that the media was bad: rock music, tv shows and movies were bad. There were some exceptions, like Chariots of Fire and the odd Billy Graham movie. I was allowed to listen to Christian "rock" which sounded painfully lame when compared to what my pagan friends at school were listening to on their walkmens.
Curiously enough the one tv show we could watch was the Wonderful World of Disney, which for some demonic reason was broadcast at the exact moment our evening Church service took place!
As I entered my 20's, I started partaking in more secular media. I developed a taste for the pixies, Radiohead and The Police. I time traveled and also got into Led Zeppelin, The Clash, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. I started to go to more movies. I never really got into tv, but my social diet had now expanded beyond that which was published by Christian media houses.
Note - I started this cultural expansion while enrolled as a student in a very conservative Bible school on the Canadian prairies. I soon was confronted by some fundamentalist pious brothers in the faith. They pulled out a verse that I was familiar with. Its from Philippians:
Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.
Triumphantly they would bury my nose in this verse, bring my head back up for air and demand how that would jive with my viewing of an R rated film the night before - or how it can jive with clash's call to anarchy on the awesome album "london calling".
I would usually agree - you're right, I shouldn't listen or watch that stuff - and then kick them out of my room, so I could do something else.
But, it has always nagged at me - I do watch movies and listen to "secular" music. I don't watch much tv - but the shows I do watch, probably wouldn't receive favorable reviews from Focus on the Family.
So - do I need to justify my viewing in light of what Paul wrote? Maybe - but perhaps we need to revisit what Paul has written there.
Paul says we are to think on these things of virtue. The greek word for think is logizomai which means to "think about something in a logical and detailed manner." What Paul is saying is the focus of your mind should be on things of virtue, things of beauty and moral uprightness. Now - does that mean certain films, books and music are out of question for Christians? Absolutely. Pornography, depictions of graphic and sadistic violence have no place in our minds. And we should not allow media containing graphic portrayals of these things into our homes.
But, what of films or tv shows that contain some scenes of violence, adultery or even nudity? Is all this material off bounds for a Christian?
Well, I would say it depends. It depends on the particular sensitivities that each Christian has in terms of their conscience. For example, I cannot watch the shows "Criminal Minds" or "Dexter" because I get quite disturbed by the sadistic machinations in the minds of the killers in those shows. Some other Christians might have no problem, and be able to remove themselves from what is happening on the screen.
But, I watch shows like Mad Men and The Wire and Breaking Bad. These shows contain violence, some nudity and carry themes of a morality that I disagree with. So, then why do I watch them? Well, in a word... they're good. They are very well done. I don't have to agree with something in order to appreciate it.
Most pop media products are created as pleasurable diversions from everyday life - and that's how I treat them. I don't build my morality on the amoral sociopathic tendencies of Don Draper from Mad Men. I watch that show because of the incredible story lines and character development. And The Wire is a show that should really be taught in all our seminaries - there is no other media creation that has so eloquently portrayed the end of the American empire and the consequences of living life in a moral vacuum.
I hope I don't sound like I am down-playing the need for holiness in the minds and hearts of believers. I am simply saying that we need to engage our world on its terms. And sometimes, secular media can help us do that. But, we also need not be so pragmatic about everything - you can also listen and watch things for the sheer pleasure of them. Like the poetry of Bruce Springsteen or Leonard Cohen - neither of whom are believers, and yet they can depict the human condition more eloquently then the top CCM artists of our day.
So - as a product of my environment, I have learned to live a life where I can read E. Stanley Jones in the morning, and then enjoy the most recent Alexander Payne film at night. And, I think I'll be ok.
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