Is it a sin to watch certain TV shows?

[edwest2]

Thank you, Joe, for your comments. I work in the media. Television programs are thought out long before they appear on television. Executives, writers and producers, sit around in rooms and talk about why they should or shouldn’t put on a new TV show.

You often hear terms like “edgy” being used to describe a program. What does that mean? Offensive, that’s what.

Grey’s Anatomy - everybody’s fornicating and/or committing adultery.

Two and a Half Men - the main character is a fornicator.

Desperate Housewives - fornication, adultery, false witness, gossips and backstabbing.

Family Guy - Listen to the opening song which talks about those values on “which we used to rely.” Peverted sexuality, violence and other immoral themes.

99% of “comedians” - Profanity, graphic descriptions of sexual acts and general anger toward people, average people.

See a pattern? And it all cross-reinforces itself. The average young person thinks that Britney and Paris, etc. are somehow worth emulating.

Pick up a copy of The Creation of the Media by Pulitzer Prize winning author Paul Starr. Someone is always trying to sell you something, including the messages in TV shows themselves.

God bless,
Ed

 

[goofyjim]

The question then has to be asked are certain tv shows, if any, a sin for anyone to watch, or just certain individuals? What may be sin for one in the area of entertainment is not necessarily a sin for another.

 

[edwest2]

Are you Catholic Jim?

Peace,
Ed

 

[goofyjim]

I’m Catholic. I just don’t find entertainment a soucre of sin for me. If it became so I would not watch it. Each individual must decide this one for himself.

 

[Lee_M]

I’m Catholic. I just don’t find entertainment a soucre of sin for me. If it became so I would not watch it. Each individual must decide this one for himself.

So, would you say that watching pornography is not a sin? It is after all a source of entertainment. The way that entertainment is heading, I wouldn’t be shocked if that is on our network television one of these days. Should the government not be able to censor this type of shows on our airwaves?

 

[edwest2]

There are limits to all things. You eat until you’re full. Your body will tell you. In the past, parties had a beginning, a middle and an end, not party till you drop. You bought the things you needed. Entertainment could be a walk in the park. In the 1950s and 1960s, television reflected good Christian values and normal, functional living. The TV was not on 24 hours a day. Stores were closed on Sundays. Let’s Review:

1970s - A porn movie called “Deep Throat” is marketed as just another movie. So-called Adult Bookstores pop up all over the country and they are not just selling images of partly clothed models but graphic sex acts. All in the Family talks about sex.

1980s - Dallas and Sue Ellen drinking straight from the bottle and driving. The B word enters the picture. Porn on cable.

1990s - NYPD Blue decides it needs profanity and partial nudity. So-called profanity spewing “shock jocks” appear, promoting immorality and prostitutes referred to incorrectly as “porn stars.” The internet increases access to porn.

2000s - An attempt is made to change the word stripper to the more benign sounding “exotic dancer.” Prostitutes are now referred to as the more benign sounding “sex workers.”

Wake up my fellow Catholics!

Dexter - Works in a police crime lab and then goes out and murders people while they’re still alive. You can pick up the first season on DVD.

How far does it have to go before somebody says: “OK. That’s it!”

Paris Hilton is best known for what?

And it’s not getting better. Catholics have fallen asleep. They think TV today is the same TV of 20 or 30 years ago. It Is Not.

They think the radio is the same. It Is Not.

And I recommend that all Church based divorce recovery groups not go out for dinner and a movie unless that movie does not feature the usual: boy meets girl, fornicate, and “OK, we’re a couple now.”

God bless,
Ed

 

[goofyjim]

So, would you say that watching pornography is not a sin? It is after all a source of entertainment. The way that entertainment is heading, I wouldn’t be shocked if that is on our network television one of these days. Should the government not be able to censor this type of shows on our airwaves?

This thread isn’t questioning pornography. My goodness, my dear old mom and dad used to watch NYPD Blue. Are people gooing to tell me they were sinning? I don’t think so.

 

[edwest2]

Sometimes, people think: “I’m an adult now. I can do whatever I want.” If you’re Catholic, not so.

Some Catholic adults were not raised properly. Some Catholic adults think, “Oh, when I was a kid I couldn’t cuss and swear, and I couldn’t do other adult ‘stuff,’ but I’m an adult now and I can do whatever I want.” Wrong.

If you were raised as a good, obedient Catholic, all of the things you were taught still apply when you become an adult. Forget about what other people, Catholic or non-Catholic, are doing around you. No cussing and swearing, period. No George Carlin. No NYPD Blue. Sure, in real life, people you know or work with can and do cuss and swear and a whole lot of other non-Catholic things. Ask yourself: Are you becoming more or less Catholic by doing what they do? What makes you Catholic? What outward fruit do you create? “By their fruit you shall know them.”

If the average person can’t tell the difference between a Catholic and someone who does not follow Catholic teaching, what’s the point of being Catholic? Being Catholic does not mean just showing up at Church once a week. It means living out your Catholic faith in obedience. This is not an opinion. It is not optional.

Sure, nobody’s perfect. God knows, I’m not. But the sooner we move away from the so-called “popular” culture, the sooner we will get back to living like Catholics. I encourage you, brothers and sisters in Christ, turn away from the world and walk toward Christ.

God bless,
Ed

 

[Lee_M]

I’m Catholic. I just don’t find entertainment a soucre of sin for me. If it became so I would not watch it. Each individual must decide this one for himself.

This thread isn’t questioning pornography. My goodness, my dear old mom and dad used to watch NYPD Blue. Are people gooing to tell me they were sinning? I don’t think so.

I know this thread isn’t questioning pornography. But you stated that you don’t find entertainment a source of sin for you. All that I’m saying is that entertainment that is on tv dulls our senses to what is right and what is wrong. They keep getting worse. It will get to the point where soft porn is considered harmless. Then it leads you on down the road to temptation. The devil is brilliant at luring people into temptation. It is evident in today’s shows.

 

[rush176]

Each of us has to answer the question. Why are we watching a particular program? What attracts us to this show? If we are completely honest we may find we watch some shows because we like watching the attractive people in sexy clothes in sexual situations. Even if we recognize these shows are fantasy it doesn’t change the fact that we are watching to be titillated by the actors.

Serious sin rarely occurs suddenly but rather is a series of smaller sins that desensitize our conscience to the danger present to our souls. Unfortunately most popular media endangers our souls by the themes and lack of morals portrayed.

 

[goofyjim]

One could just as easily ask is it a sin to look at certain statues in Rome. Remember there are nude statues there but noone says they lead to pornography. So why are we so upset over nudity in tv programming? It is not gratuitous and not used pornographically. When it does get used that way on broadcast tv I’ll join in the complaining. But until then these are just tv shows that people ar enjoying the story. To assume we are salivating over the actors is a judgement of the heart and should not be made by anyone here. Shame.

 

[edwest2]

It is gratuitous. It is used pornographically. An episode of NYPD Blue was recently fined by the FCC.

There is and was no other reason to show bare butts on NYPD Blue. No Other Reason.

Quit trying to tell anyone different Jim.

Peace,
Ed

 

[Lee_M]

To assume we are salivating over the actors is a judgement of the heart and should not be made by anyone here. Shame.

Why do you think these shows keep getting more risque? Unfortunately, sex sells and the networks know this and it is going to keep getting worse and worse all of the time.

 

[disciple1211]

Hi, Sydney28.

You know, I struggled over the same question with a series I used to really enjoy which contained occasional instances of offensive language. I finally came up with guidelines which worked well for me and which enable me to make what I hope are sound choices for what I will and will not read, listen to, etc. If Jesus Christ materialized in the room while I was watching this or listening to that, would I be embarrassed? Would I take our Lord to see (fill in the blank) or would I recommend this or that book for Him to read? What you say is very true in that it would eliminate most of the garbage produced by our culture, but I live with myself much better that way. There is still plenty of good drama and great literature out there that I personally don’t feel deprived.

I’m so torn on this issue…I don’t watch a whole lot of tv, but there are certain shows that I am hooked on - Grey’s Anatomy being one of them…obviously it has many themes that are contradictory to the Church, but I don’t watch the show FOR those themes, and watching those scenes don’t make me doubt my faith or feel any less strongly about the Church’s stance on premarital sex or homosexuality (for example). So, am I sinning by watching shows that condone or somewhat glorify immoral behavior even though it doesn’t cause ME to support or engage in the same immoral behavior?

On that same token, is it a sin to go to movies or watch tv shows or purchase music from singers/ actors who are outspoken about their support of abortion or homosexuality, etc. If so, that pretty much eliminates nearly all secular movies, shows and music…

I go back and forth on this issue a LOT…

 

[Joe_5859]

Hi, Sydney28.

You know, I struggled over the same question with a series I used to really enjoy which contained occasional instances of offensive language. I finally came up with guidelines which worked well for me and which enable me to make what I hope are sound choices for what I will and will not read, listen to, etc. If Jesus Christ materialized in the room while I was watching this or listening to that, would I be embarrassed? Would I take our Lord to see (fill in the blank) or would I recommend this or that book for Him to read? What you say is very true in that it would eliminate most of the garbage produced by our culture, but I live with myself much better that way. There is still plenty of good drama and great literature out there that I personally don’t feel deprived.

If that works well for you, more power to you. To me, the whole “What would I do if Jesus was in the room?” doesn’t strike me as a good means to make decisions. I would be embarassed if Jesus materialized in the room while I was using the restroom, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong for me to do that. Jimmy Akin gives a pretty good explanation of why this isn’t necessarily the best means of calibrating your moral compass.

Here’s a brief excerpt from the article:

If you try to imagine Jesus in the room as a test for whether it’s okay to do something then one of two things will happen:

• You will become scrupulous because you will conclude that an awful lot of things are not okay which in fact are okay (e.g., “I wouldn’t snarf down a Big Mac while bopping to secular music on my iPod during Eucharistic exposition, therefore I should never do those things”).

• You will become irreverent by concluding that things that are okay to do in general must therefore be okay to do when in the immediate presence of Infinite Holiness Incarnate (e.g., “It’s okay for me to snarf down a Big Mac while bouncing my head back and forth as I listen to secular music on my iPod in general, therefore that’s perfectly okay for me to do that during Eucharistic exposition”).

The “Would you do it with Jesus in the room?” test thus strikes me as a bad tool to use for making such decisions. It either will force us to scrupulosity or irreverence–or both.

 

[edwest2]

Joe, you’re engaging in maybe-ism. There is such a word as decency, there’s also modesty. The examples you cite are stupid and don’t apply here.

The Only Reason to show a woman’s bare butt on NYPD Blue is to get a lust reaction from the guys watching. This is not about some “high art” form or something.

The Bible tells us to be holy in all we do. Don’t put God in the position of some tyrant. He, Jesus Christ, called us friends. There are a lot of people I know but I don’t do a lot of sinful things with them because they are, in fact, sinful. Period. But to call bare butts on TV in any way OK is not OK.

The producers, writers and actors in these shows know it. But they don’t care.

God bless,
Ed

 

[Joe_5859]

Joe, you’re engaging in maybe-ism. There is such a word as decency, there’s also modesty. The examples you cite are stupid and don’t apply here.

The Only Reason to show a woman’s bare butt on NYPD Blue is to get a lust reaction from the guys watching. This is not about some “high art” form or something.

The Bible tells us to be holy in all we do. Don’t put God in the position of some tyrant. He, Jesus Christ, called us friends. There are a lot of people I know but I don’t do a lot of sinful things with them because they are, in fact, sinful. Period. But to call bare butts on TV in any way OK is not OK.

The producers, writers and actors in these shows know it. But they don’t care.

God bless,
Ed

I’m not arguing against decency or modesty, nor attempting to engage in maybe-ism. I’m only making the point that the “Would I watch this show if Jesus were in the room?” is not the best way to make decisions about what is appropriate to watch. If Jesus were in the room, I sure wouldn’t be watching TV!

 

[edwest2]

So, you’re just saying: this way doesn’t work, and that way doesn’t work so… what??

This is not a vague situation:

Let’s review:

Bare butts on NYPD Blue are there to incite lust - a sin.

George Carlin saying F every 10 seconds or MF and graphically describing and/or denegrating various sex acts - sin.

Wallowing in the mud with the pigs of “popular” culture is never a good idea.

Howard Stern? Need I say more?

God bless,
Ed

 

[goofyjim]

So, you’re just saying: this way doesn’t work, and that way doesn’t work so… what??

This is not a vague situation:

Let’s review:

Bare butts on NYPD Blue are there to incite lust - a sin.

George Carlin saying F every 10 seconds or MF and graphically describing and/or denegrating various sex acts - sin.

Wallowing in the mud with the pigs of “popular” culture is never a good idea.

Howard Stern? Need I say more?

God bless,
Ed

And I suppose all those statues in Europe are made just to arouse lust. Oh wait that’s called art.

 

[goofyjim]

Joe, you’re engaging in maybe-ism. There is such a word as decency, there’s also modesty. The examples you cite are stupid and don’t apply here.

The Only Reason to show a woman’s bare butt on NYPD Blue is to get a lust reaction from the guys watching. This is not about some “high art” form or something.

The Bible tells us to be holy in all we do. Don’t put God in the position of some tyrant. He, Jesus Christ, called us friends. There are a lot of people I know but I don’t do a lot of sinful things with them because they are, in fact, sinful. Period. But to call bare butts on TV in any way OK is not OK.

The producers, writers and actors in these shows know it. But they don’t care.

God bless,
Ed

So you are saying, and falsely, that my dear old parents were only watching NYPD Blue to lust after the naked bodies. No, they were watching it for the story. Many actually do.