Is it a sin to habitually watch TV?

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Apart from any question of the mindless and disgusting content of so much TV programming, I’ve begun to think that, since watching TV is addictive and as such fits the definition of a narcotic, it is in fact a sin to habitually watch TV. Would you agree?
 
In moderation it’s fine. If you watch too much it would probably fall under the sin of sloth.
 
If over-watching is a true addiction, then I would classify it as an illness, and not a sin.

But I don’t think having the TV on for a lot of hours is necessarily a sign of addiction. If the channel is EWTN, it may even be a form of prayer! 🙂

Seriously, some of us who live alone just like to have it on so every sound doesn’t echo off the walls of an empty house. Silence for prayer and contemplation is good, but 24 a hours a day is a bit much – the house really does echo.

Sometimes it’s just background noise, while I actually do something else.

About the content, some of it is mindless and disgusting, but there’s good stuff, too – it’s just a matter of being discriminating when selecting shows to watch.
 
DH and I are anti-TV and I’m glad that we agree on that (among many other things). It saves us the cable bill and we have a lot more time to do other things. It leaves me time to read as much as I want, post on CAF as much as I want, pray more often…and one of the best parts is that I’m not blinded by the mainstream media’s liberal anti-Christian bias. There’s an easy solution to obesity and learning more about the faith: don’t watch TV! Get some exercise, pray, read, keep in touch with friends.

my Mother my Confidence,
Corinne
 
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romano:
…I’ve begun to think that, since watching TV is addictive and as such fits the definition of a narcotic, it is in fact a sin to habitually watch TV. Would you agree?
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I think EWTN shows that tv can actually be beneficial. The bad habit lots of watching tv led some of us to stumble upon an old little nun and her tv network which teaches authentic Catholic teachings. Since many Catholics are poorly catechised and some parishes even teach against the Magesterium, EWTN provides access to truth that many don’t otherwise find. Watching the rosary, daily Mass, and programs that teach the faith habitually is not sinful.

That being said, excessive tv viewing can be sinful apart from the content of the shows. We will need to account to God for how we spend the time He gives us. If we spend all that time seeking entertainment and knowledge while neglecting our other duties, we sin. (The computer can be used for that as well, and that’s a bigger problem for me than the tv.:o )
 
Other Eric:
Hi romano!

Doesn’t it depend on what you’re watching?
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Hi Eric:

Satan sugars his bait. Once the TV is turned on, how many folks find it easy to turn it off?

Here’s an interesting point I ran across recently though I can’t remember who said it:

"Perhaps the key to cultural control is that people can’t not watch a screen. It is probably true that stupid people would not watch intelligent television, but it is certainly true that intelligent people will watch stupid television. Any television, it seems, is preferable to no television. As people read less, the lobotomy box acquires semi-exclusive rights to their minds."

I think that “people can’t not watch a screen” because it is the ceaseless flow of images itself, irrespective of any meaning they may hold (and they often hold none), that exerts a hypnotic fascination on viewers and takes away their will.
 
“Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God, the things that are God’s.” (Matt. 22:21)

If habitually watching t.v. takes one away from properly worshipping/serving God, then it is a sin.

frank
 
The question asks one thing and the answers answer a different question. “Habitual” does not imply unlimited. I habitually watch a show or two a day. Many days I watch none. I had to vote “no” to the question, while I believe unlimited TV or addiction could be sinful.
 
pnewton
The question asks one thing and the answers answer a different question … while I believe unlimited TV or addiction could be sinful.
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It seems to me that “unlimited” or “nearly unlimited” t.v. watching is probably what the author of this post originally had in mind anyway.

frank
 
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FiremanFrank:
It seems to me that “unlimited” or “nearly unlimited” t.v. watching is probably what the author of this post originally had in mind anyway.

frank
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I realized that after I had answered. I do not want to be critical. The question is a great one we all should think about. At least romano’s thread here awareness of a potential sin. I do not equate it with narcotics, though.
 
The poll options are too restrictive.

Watching TV is not inherently evil. If it were so, then watching even a small amount would be an occasion of sin.

Many people have lots of time on their hands, like little old retired ladies. For them, tv may be their chief form of entertainment. My mother watches the Game Show network all day long, old re-runs of a lot of extinct game shows.

Or alternately, she can be transfixed by the Weather Channel. Heaven help us if they predict a thunderstorm seven days from now. Those people virtually terrorize the viewers with their dire forcasts of high winds and damaging hail. Even when I pointed out last summer that TWC was wrong seven times in a row, my mother was mortally fixed to the tv to keep up with the “latest developments” on the 8’s, as they say.

I’m hooked on watching Monk and Desperate Housewives and Fr. Corapi (on EWTN). So, shoot me.

In reality, I will walk away from the TV if my family has any need or if the dog needs “attention” if you know what I mean. Although, it’s hard to do it in the last pithy five minutes of a show.

I did not have a tv for a couple years in the early 990’s. I was culturally a cretan, because I didn’t know what Seinfeld is about. I have enjoyed catching up via reruns to all the worthwhile series that I didn’t catch the first time around.

I’m reading The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyesvski and it’s really good. 97 chapters, each written as sort of a short story. 822 pages, and I’m on page 60. I’m really looking forward to this.

I have also resolved to spend more time in scripture and saying the rosary (which is really a form of conversion for me).

JAG just hit the series finale, so 9 p.m. EDT is now freed up for me. I loathe the reality shows from the get-go. Give me some Columbo Mumbo Jumbo or Matlock squeezing the truth out of somebody.

I’m looking forward to the new Gilligan’s Island (HELP).

Any Howard Stern is in poor taste and sinful.
 
I think it depends on what you watch. PBS, “The Simpsons”, “Green Acres”, etc. are no problem. However, if you live on a constant diet of “Faux News”, that definitely qualifies as corruption, and we all know about desecrating “the body/the temple”, eh?

Peace!
 
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CarolAnnSFO:
I

Seriously, some of us who live alone just like to have it on so every sound doesn’t echo off the walls of an empty house. Silence for prayer and contemplation is good, but 24 a hours a day is a bit much – the house really does echo.

Sometimes it’s just background noise, while I actually do something else.
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I don’t live alone but that is why I leave my tv on. It’s comforting to have those sounds isntead of dead silence. It’s on all day and night but I certainly don’t watch it that much.
 
If anything becomes the focal point of your life and it is taking time away from God, your family it should be considered a sin. Watching TV is a choice you do it willingly. I admit I watch to much TV. I also spend too much time on the computer! The only thing is I can rationalize away the computer as I am at Catholic forums and am learning about the faith. Where two or more meet in his name. 😃
 
I have to say as a Protestant I am just perplexed at how many times I’ve seen people asking these “Is this or that a sin” questions on here.

I mean, if I want to know if something is a sin, I think about what I read in the Bible, or just pray about it. I think if you are really a Christian, you should in your heart know the difference between sin and a good idea.

Like: watching t.v. all day while your life goes by - SIN.

Watching an educational show and discussing it with your family - good idea.

Is common sense really that uncommon?
 
Fortunately for me I don’t watch much tv. I’d much rather read. I do enjoy Survivor and The Amazing Race however and my one tv “vice” is Rescue Me.
~ Kathy ~ :wave:
 
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Christian4life:
I have to say as a Protestant I am just perplexed at how many times I’ve seen people asking these “Is this or that a sin” questions on here.

I mean, if I want to know if something is a sin, I think about what I read in the Bible, or just pray about it. I think if you are really a Christian, you should in your heart know the difference between sin and a good idea.

Like: watching t.v. all day while your life goes by - SIN.

Watching an educational show and discussing it with your family - good idea.

Is common sense really that uncommon?
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Christian4Life,

Unfortunately, I have to say that many Catholics really don’t know what constitutes a sin. I don’t know how it works with other religions, but I know that many Catholics think that all they need to do is go to Mass on Sunday. After that, it doesn’t matter what else you do.

As a cradle Catholic, I can honestly count on the fingers of one hand, the number of times that I’ve heard specific sins addressed from the pulpit. Several years ago, I was shocked when I heard a priest say that it was a sin to bring home office supplies (for personal use) or cheat on your taxes. I thought everyone did it so it was ok.

I know Catholics who attend Mass each week and think that it’s fine to illegally copy software or watch immoral programs on tv. We honestly need to do a better job educating our brothers and sisters about sin. In what is an irony for a thead about the sinfulness of watching tv, EWTN does an excellent job of telling the truth about sin.

God Bless,
Gary
 
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romano:
Hi Eric:

Satan sugars his bait. Once the TV is turned on, how many folks find it easy to turn it off?

Here’s an interesting point I ran across recently though I can’t remember who said it:

"Perhaps the key to cultural control is that people can’t not watch a screen. It is probably true that stupid people would not watch intelligent television, but it is certainly true that intelligent people will watch stupid television. Any television, it seems, is preferable to no television. As people read less, the lobotomy box acquires semi-exclusive rights to their minds."

I think that “people can’t not watch a screen” because it is the ceaseless flow of images itself, irrespective of any meaning they may hold (and they often hold none), that exerts a hypnotic fascination on viewers and takes away their will.
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Beautiful, romano. Everything has become pornographised. Now the slightest, littlest, dullest image captures our attention in the way that the most shocking and graphic images used to. Hell will be the intense desire for something just outside our memory. We are at the final stop before hell. We don’t even remember, or care even, why we began watching T.V. in the first place.

This isn’t meant to be personal, but the same thing happened here with your post. Why is it that others posted after you when your answer seemed to hit the nail on the head? If we could come to certain agreements here at CA once in a while would we feel less alone in this world and therefore less inclined to seek out a friend in television?

Btw, was Twin Peaks God’s last clear word on T.V.? Could be… 🙂
 
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Pace:
This isn’t meant to be personal, but the same thing happened here with your post. Why is it that others posted after you when your answer seemed to hit the nail on the head? If we could come to certain agreements here at CA once in a while would we feel less alone in this world and therefore less inclined to seek out a friend in television?
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Maybe it’s because there really is more than one valid point of view. It is possible to watch television without ever seeing the “stupid” or “pornographised” stuff. It’s just a matter of selectively using the remote control to watch only the channels that have the good stuff. 🙂
Crazy Internet Junkies Society
****Carrier of the Angelic Sparkles Sprinkle Bag
 
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