Is it a sin to watch celebrity gossip shows?

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This question popped into my head while watching Tiger Woods “news” coverage last night.

Is it a sin to voluntarily take in information/gossip that’s none of your business even if you’re not spreading the gossip yourself? Are we somehow rewarding or cooperating in the sin of detraction?
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I think we spend too much time worrying about the quanitative - “is it a sin?” - and not enough time thinking about the qualitative - “how is this detracting from my faith, why in the world does it appeal to me in the first place, and how can I change that?”

Minding other people’s business is a very human trait, especially when it involves listening to or dishing the dirt on someone else. It makes us feel superior (“I’d never do that!”), feeds our envy (“He can only get away with it because he’s got so much dough…”) or contempt / anger (“I hope he gets what he deserves. Serves him right if his wife leaves him…”) or just our natural curiosity about anything out of the ordinary (Sort of like piling the kids in the car to go watch a building on fire.)

Does it do anything to build up your faith? Nope.
Does it detract from your faith? Yep.
What can you choose to do with your time instead of watching gossip on tv? Keep a few spiritually-edifying books right by your tv-watching spot. When the news gets gossipy, when the gossip shows come on, when tb programming is offensive, turn it off and read for awhile. You don’t have to give up tv; that would be traumatic! But at least you have a quick way to change your focus to something that will build your faith.
 
How I wish it were a sin! :doh2:

But since you probably aren’t doing it on purpose, it’s probably not. However, I do agree with the first responder’s views that it’s not very beneficial to your faith. Although you probably shouldn’t give up TV forever (:eek:), I do suggest that you get a spiritual break/pick-me-up and just do a few prayers now and then (oh, and pray for Tiger Woods, by the way – he probably needs them :)).

May God bless you through Mary and St. Jean Vianney!

Sincerely in His Most Sacred Heart,

– Jean-Therese Delacroix
 
Is it a sin? It feels like it is, so it must be. What is clear is that coverage by the so called news stations of Tiger Woods is made as important as the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and the Health Care Bill. Someone with more celebrity, if that’s possible, must commit an outrage to get the media onto another story.
 
Saint Maximillian Kolbe said everything we do either takes us closer to God or further away.
 
Yes it is, chagne up the question a bit by asking it a different way:

'This question popped into my head while watching Cineamax last night:

Is it a sin to voluntarily take in soft core pornography that’s none of your business even if you’re not engaging in it yourself? Are we somehow rewarding or cooperating in the sin of detraction?’

I like St. Kolbe’s quote!
 
ODGarza said:
Yes it is, chagne up the question a bit by asking it a different way:

'This question popped into my head while watching Cineamax last night:

Is it a sin to voluntarily take in soft core pornography that’s none of your business even if you’re not engaging in it yourself? Are we somehow rewarding or cooperating in the sin of detraction?’

I like St. Kolbe’s quote!
Click to expand...
Our response to the public gossip forums and the news in general probably will tell us if following them is spiritually harmful. If we are finding some perverse pleasure in learning about all of the falws and sins of some public personality, like this week’s salacious stories about the sordid life of the golfer, it is sinful. If we hear about these kinds of things and the impact on us is we find ourselves praying for these pitiful creatures, then there is something good in it.

It is a quetion of how we respond to evil.
 
i’m not sure it is a mortal sin to listen to massive media celebrity gossip…but it can certainly be venial or atleast an occasion of sin,
since it is not someone talking directly to you, who you cannot rebuke for their gossip or scandle or idle talk, you are really not contributing to the sin in any direct way that further hurts the situation,
but as far as you are concerned, it can be, and i would say, definitely is harmful to you,
by letting yourself listen to gossip even on tv, you are leaving yourself susceptible to its influence and weakening your ability to fight off such things in real life, or at the least make you more lenient to these kinds of things.
and of course you have to ask yourself the question, “is God pleased with me watching such things?”
you should always ask yourself those kinds of questions, “What does God want me to do” “What would God think of this?” “Does this make God happy?”
usually, in my own experience, when i ask myself those questions, they tend to get answered right off the bat…
and like someone else said, everything you do in life either brings you closer to God, or takes you further from Him, so as a good Christian and devout Catholic, you should always choose carefully and wisely all occupations in your life, whether they be recreational or otherwise.

an easy way to decide whether or not to stop watching these things on tv though, just find out why you feel the need to watch them in the first place,
when you realize there is absolutely no good reason for watching them, and perhaps the reason for watching them is actually bad, then you may find it much easier to just forget about it altogether.

personally i do not watch tv, i use to watch it alot, but since i stopped i have just felt so much more peace and clarity in my life, i have more time to be with God and do things that are much more productive,
what disturbs me about how i use to watch tv is, i must have spent years of my life *just *watching tv…and i know it influenced me alot, because since i stopped watching it, i have just been gradually changing my outlook on life…it would really do us no harm to give up tv in our lives, it’s one thing to watch religious shows or movies, but even that is not necessary, i think we would do just fine without it,
the saints, even though they did not have tv, they did not fill up their time with useless entertainments, and i can’t imagine how many saints we have failed to obtain simply by the current lifestyle we have taken up in this day and age…
 
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