Say "No" to TV

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Apologia100:
Has anyone heard of a show called MASH? I’ve heard it is pretty popular.
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That’s very funny.

I watch Everybody Loves Raymond whenever I remember. That is one of the few programs that still contains a standard mother-father-children family! And Patricia Heaton (Raymond’s wife Debra) is the patron of Feminists for Life so she’s got my attention and respect.

It is becoming easier all the time to avoid watching television because so much of the material broadcast nowadays is utter garbage. I cannot think of an Australian-made sitcom now. All we seem to generate are ‘reality’ shows. Most of them are no good, so there isn’t much on TV worth watching.

However I would say that using the internet is similarly able to deprive one of a ‘real-world’ experience, so I could never tell someone they are wasting time watching television if I spend that time on the internet.

A balanced diet of outdoor activities, reading, conversation, television, games and the like is my aim.
 
I wish I could either throw my t.v. away or have more satellite options. On one hand, Sky Angel sounds like a good idea to me, except that I really prefer not to watch televangelists like Rod Parsley, Mike Murdock, Marilyn Hickey, Paula White, etc. On the other hand, regular t.v. is absolutely profane. People often say “if you don’t like it, don’t watch”. They even say “It’s your job to monitor what your children watch”. While those statements are valid to a certain extent, the situation is not so simple. Simply flipping by the channels to find a certain program or station can be quite embarrassing. The commercials that air instantly during otherwise tame programming are often offensive and lewd. Even supposedly educational channels like the History Channel have sexualized programming such as “The History of Sex”. Luckily my television allows me to bypass any channel, so I have stations such as ABC, MTV, VH1, E!, SpikeTV, and Bravo blocked so that I don’t even have to look at them.

I went down to about 60 channels, because if I’m going to have a cable subscription at all, I had better receive EWTN. Unfortunately there’s a new channel coming out, called “LOGO” that is all gay, all day. I believe it is for most cable subscriptions, no extra charge (comes with basic cable line up), launched by MTV. American Movie Classics has really changed. I rarely see a classic on that station anymore. In fact, they are now airing a new series called “THE AMC PROJECT: GAY HOLLYWOOD”. Turner Classic Movies (TCM) salutes “gay pride month”, June (the month normally known for weddings) by showcasing films every Wednesday that share a common gay or lesbian theme. T.V. viewers are bombarded with homosexuality, other forms of immoral sexual behavior, people making fools of themselves for money or fame, shows critiquing Jesus and Mary in such a way as to attempt discrediting them or depicting them as adulterers, or liars, and vain shows like “The Swan” leading average women to believe they have to look a certain way to feel better about themselves.

Oh, t.v. is very horrible. I hope EWTN will prosper and send up a satellite (much like Sky Angel) that will offer 40+ Catholic and tame entertainment channels. That would be wonderful. Until then, there only seems to be three choices: throw away your television, get Sky Angel, or block/skip channels with offensive commercials and programming. If only people would use their talents for the glory of God, t.v. could be such a blessing.
 
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La-Petite-Fleur:
I wish I could either throw my t.v. away or have more satellite options. On one hand, Sky Angel sounds like a good idea to me, except that I really prefer not to watch televangelists like Rod Parsley, Mike Murdock, Marilyn Hickey, Paula White, etc. On the other hand, regular t.v. is absolutely profane. People often say “if you don’t like it, don’t watch”. They even say “It’s your job to monitor what your children watch”. While those statements are valid to a certain extent, the situation is not so simple. Simply flipping by the channels to find a certain program or station can be quite embarrassing. The commercials that air instantly during otherwise tame programming are often offensive and lewd. Even supposedly educational channels like the History Channel have sexualized programming such as “The History of Sex”. Luckily my television allows me to bypass any channel, so I have stations such as ABC, MTV, VH1, E!, SpikeTV, and Bravo blocked so that I don’t even have to look at them.

I went down to about 60 channels, because if I’m going to have a cable subscription at all, I had better receive EWTN. Unfortunately there’s a new channel coming out, called “LOGO” that is all gay, all day. I believe it is for most cable subscriptions, no extra charge (comes with basic cable line up), launched by MTV. American Movie Classics has really changed. I rarely see a classic on that station anymore. In fact, they are now airing a new series called “THE AMC PROJECT: GAY HOLLYWOOD”. Turner Classic Movies (TCM) salutes “gay pride month”, June (the month normally known for weddings) by showcasing films every Wednesday that share a common gay or lesbian theme. T.V. viewers are bombarded with homosexuality, other forms of immoral sexual behavior, people making fools of themselves for money or fame, shows critiquing Jesus and Mary in such a way as to attempt discrediting them or depicting them as adulterers, or liars, and vain shows like “The Swan” leading average women to believe they have to look a certain way to feel better about themselves.

Oh, t.v. is very horrible. I hope EWTN will prosper and send up a satellite (much like Sky Angel) that will offer 40+ Catholic and tame entertainment channels. That would be wonderful. Until then, there only seems to be three choices: throw away your television, get Sky Angel, or block/skip channels with offensive commercials and programming. If only people would use their talents for the glory of God, t.v. could be such a blessing.
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There is always ONE problem…Money! WHile listening to EWTN Radio, Deacon Bill states that they are $400, 000.00+ in the HOLE!
I am unable to contribute since I am on SSDI, but I pray for them every evening. To get Good Catholic Programing certain things must happen. Donations of money, time, talent, and prayers. Remember what the early Christian communities did (in Acts) and banded together and shared what they had with each other according to their needs.
Should we just band together and form a new country or state? That would be isolationist, and Christ tells us to go out and preach the Gospel to the WHOLE world. Also, we are to be IN the world and not OF it.
Yes, times will be rough in such a Pagan world we live in, but yet we just have to roll up our sleeves and get be radically against our pagan world but being TRUE Christians, and show Christ’s love to the world.

Go with God!
Edwin
 
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Edwin1961:
There is always ONE problem…Money! WHile listening to EWTN Radio, Deacon Bill states that they are $400, 000.00+ in the HOLE!
I am unable to contribute since I am on SSDI, but I pray for them every evening. To get Good Catholic Programing certain things must happen. Donations of money, time, talent, and prayers. Remember what the early Christian communities did (in Acts) and banded together and shared what they had with each other according to their needs.
Should we just band together and form a new country or state? That would be isolationist, and Christ tells us to go out and preach the Gospel to the WHOLE world. Also, we are to be IN the world and not OF it.
Yes, times will be rough in such a Pagan world we live in, but yet we just have to roll up our sleeves and get be radically against our pagan world but being TRUE Christians, and show Christ’s love to the world.

Go with God!
Edwin
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Very true :yup:.
 
We watch very little TV- about 5 min. of local news each AM. As I have grown in my faith the past 3 years, my appetite for TV dramatically diminished. Shows I used to enjoy, I now find replusive.

As a funny aside, a few weeks ago I had lunch with some co-workers. The conversation turned to TV. The guys were talking about the Sopranos, while the women were discussing The Bachelor (yuck). We have never had cable, so I have never seen the Sopranos. I asked if it was a comedy!! They all looked at me like I was crazy. I just shrugged and said I have never seen the show, that I watch little to no TV.

From what I heard about the Sopranos, I don’t think I am missing much!
 
Wonderful! I have had cable for years and I just turned mine off since I have not watched TV in 6 months. It is always movies or news or work or the internet.

I agree. The media uses TV to try to destroy families anyway. It is all just some economic calculation. The problem is that children want it. I am getting married in two months and the chances are that we will have a child shortly. However, I am concerned about bringing a child into this world in its current state. But, keeping them in Catholic schools and having the tvs set up so they can watch only “clean” tv seems better than shutting it off. It can be an educational tool.

Mary says that more people go to hell for sins of the flesh than for any other reason. I recently read that women consume about 50 percent of all porn. It seem that just setting up your life to shut out the evil is possible with some good planning. That is, media evil. However, the Catholic culture is and has always been under attack. But, Mary is saving souls all day long.
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Edwin1961:
To save money in 2002, I had stopped my cable tv service. Little did I know that I really haven’t missed much. I receive all my news from radio and Internet.
Another discovery that I found was that content on televison today is less than moral. These distractions elimiated has been a blessing to me.
I have NEVER seen an episode of Survivor, Fear Factor, The Apprentice or even American Idol! And to be honest, I can care less!

So, what to you my fellow Catholic/Crhistian community think about television and the lack thereof?

I have been viewing video tapes and DVD’s. And I really rarely look at those too.

What advice to you give to those who want to cut TV from the family ‘diet’?
What experience do you have since your family has cut TV out?

Go with God!
Edwin
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We haven’t had TV for 10 years! As a mother, I can tell you that I have it a whole lot easier than most parents! Since we don’t have it, there is nothing to fight about! My kids find other stuff to do… like playing outside. I think we have fostered their creative sides, as they must make up stuff to do with each other. Since we live in a converted church, it just felt like the right thing to do. I will admit, that in the beginning, I was the one who missed it, but now, life can get pretty busy on its own, I don’t know when I would have the time to watch anyway. Too many great Catholic books out there to read. That is just my :twocents: !

God Bless you all!

Mary
 
Lastnight I watched some religious stuff from the good old USA, 😉 and it was like “just pick up the phone and make a vow” after watching this lunatic preacher for 20 minutes or so I turned the channel over.
And was greeted with "just pick up the phone and make a $1000 pledge :eek: again by another minister, why was I watching this ? curiousity I suppose.
What is all this making a pledge thing ? can any of you good folk shed any light on it ?:bowdown2:
 
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hawkeye:
Lastnight I watched some religious stuff from the good old USA, 😉 and it was like “just pick up the phone and make a vow” after watching this lunatic preacher for 20 minutes or so I turned the channel over.
And was greeted with "just pick up the phone and make a $1000 pledge :eek: again by another minister, why was I watching this ? curiousity I suppose.
What is all this making a pledge thing ? can any of you good folk shed any light on it ?:bowdown2:
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Making a pledge is giving support for a ministry that a person belives in.
Of course, some of the ministries (either Protestant or unapproved Catholic ones) mislead many. I am always skeptical about ministries that always pound the plate.
As for EWTN, Catholic Answers and others, when you can actually SEE the positive effects of the giving, then it IS worth giving.

Go with God!
Edwin
 
I got my Sky tv system switched off and it’s the best decision I made, too much telly and all you do is switch from one channel to the next.
Plus some of the stuff is unsavoury and with a 16 year old here that like to sit up late, well it’s hard to keep an eye on that filth.
I prefer to read as it’s better for the mind :whacky:
 
We do not have cable TV and gave up basic cable for Lent. We have not watched a bit of TV since and have not missed it at all. I do have one concern, though. It seems that many people that give up TV substitute it with the internet. I think one can easily get caught in the “web” and this definitely can take up important family time as well.
 
Karl Keating:
I can top that, Edwin. I gave up television long enough ago that I am one of the few people who never saw an episode of “Seinfeld.” I know that the show existed, but I don’t know anything about it otherwise.
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We basically stopped watching TV right when we got married in 1982. We did watch some reruns of shows we liked but nothing new. The last 15 yrs we have watched a bit of news and some sports that makes it to non-cable TV. Actually when we had a baby in 1992 I stayed home and watched some TV for a night or two. ACK–was it raunchy!! It surprised me what was on in prime time. I thought the shows sounded like R rated movies.

We used to watch a good deal of TV growing up and even as young adults. Now, it is for videos, an occasional news story like the fires or an earthquake and sports on occasion. Most sporting events are on cable now though.

Konig
 
When going to Catholic grade school (late 1960’s early 1970’s) I used to do my homework and laying down watching tv. I don’t know why, but I think it was the fact of having the tv in front of me to look up once in a while to take a ‘break’. I ended up with a B average.

Parents…do your kids watch tv and do the homework all at once?

Go with God!
Edwin
(#500)
 
I am considering dumping the TV. I pay for cable because of EWTN, but isn’t that a lot of money to pay for one station? It seems wasteful to pay for so much money for so many channels and only watch one or two. I wish cable companies didn’t ONLY offer package deals. Why can’t we just pay for the channels we want?:banghead:
 
Ana, check out suggestion number 50 by Edwin on this thread. Also I know that Dish Network is trying to come up with a way that you can pick the channels you want to recieve, but it is a work in progress. I called when we cancelled our dish and that is what I was told. We kept our sky angel programming (1800SKYANGEL). It has one Catholic Station but some of the other station our good too, but they aren’t Catholic. They are Christian stations though and any of them that you don’t want to watch you can block out. Sky Angel only costs 11.99 a month and the familyland Catholic channel compliments EWTN.
 
I was listening to the radio this morning on a Christian station and the topic of Reality TV came up.
I was listening to ‘Focus on the Family’.
We know Reality TV IS NOT real.
This article is more proof we need to know that this form to televison is turning viewers into not know what reality really is! :eek:

family.org/fmedia/weekendmisc/a0033121.cfm
Your thoughts?

go with God!
Edwin
 
People say they "just " watch this or that. Fugetaboutit; just dump the whole thing. After a week or two you won’t miss it and you wonder why you ever wasted your time. Read, ercise, pray, call your cousin. No one needs TV.
 
The family I grew up in watches TV way too much. If it’s not Sci Fi or Comedy Central it’s Cartoon Network or the GameCube. I am eagerly looking forward to moving into an apartment with my husband–NO TV!! (only one of the blessings of our married life)
 
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