Television?

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jab42483

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I have been struggling with what I should allow in my home as a responsible Catholic husband and father. Is it bad to subscribe to services such as Amazon Prime and Netflix? I like watching Star Trek as well, but I often wonder if Christ were sitting with me, would He approve of my use of time watching such things as they don’t benefit me spiritually.

Any answers would be appreciated.
 
I think you are fine. As long as the shows aren’t too raunchy, and you know that certain things are morally wrong (porn, drug use, murder, etc.)
 
I signed my husband up for Netflix for Father’s Day. He loves it! You control what you watch on the these services; if something is inappropriate for you or children to watch, then turn it off and watch something else, just like television in your home. There is a huge selection, including every Star Trek movie, TV show and documentary ever made.
 
jab42483 said:
I have been struggling with what I should allow in my home as a responsible Catholic husband and father. Is it bad to subscribe to services such as Amazon Prime and Netflix? I like watching Star Trek as well, but I often wonder if Christ were sitting with me, would He approve of my use of time watching such things as they don’t benefit me spiritually.

Any answers would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
The post by The Reginator is worth a read; here
 
I would say it’s neutral and we are allowed to use it in moderation like candy. That being said, I would recommend reading Padre Pio. At best it’s a distraction from prayer. I grew up watching a lot more TV than I should have and it was not until I studied more neuroscience I found out the effect it had. It is not as harmless as people think and too much can be harmful to brain development. Just like too much candy can lead to diabetes. The full extent is still being studied but I would advise no more than 2 or 3 hours of recreational (work and school is different) screen time (TV, internet, video games and such) a day for minors and no more than 4 for an adult. Some free sources to backup my point (last one is a bit technical):

mayoclinic.com/health/children-and-tv/MY00522
bbc.co.uk/news/health-18149510
nature.com/tp/journal/v1/n11/full/tp201153a.html

What I do in my house:
My wife and I are also trekkies but lately we cut back to a movie night once a week. Honestly we both like the increase in free time for hobbies and how the kids play more outside and with each other. As far as content goes, I am stricter with the younger kids since they are still developing their minds and values. I have to be careful what influences them mainly due to a lot of subliminal messaging especially in advertising (To be pretty you need to look like this, to be happy you need this, etc). For older kids I try to watch stuff they are interested in and engage in discussion afterward to see how they are processing what they see and talk to them about how their faith fits into watch they are seeing and how reality can differ from a movie. In this sense I think the TV is a powerful tool to give a teen insight on life experience while having a bonding moment.
 
Here’s something about NetFlix from Patrick Madrid.

**patrickmadrid.blogspot.mx/2010/07/plethora-of-catholic-movies-available.html
**

I, also, am torn with StarTrek. I LOVE StarTrek. I was there even before Captain Kirk, with the green lady and everything! Then, I love the Next Generation and had watched some Deep Space Nine.

However, there are a number of episodes which really concern me, which talk about all these other faiths, making them seem like each is equally valid. There’s one episode where heterosexual lifestyle is portrayed as abnormal and a “throw back”.

Traditional marriage and relationships, seem to be looked at as outdated, a thing of the past.

However, I love these programs so much that I try to learn which episodes, on NetFlix, seem okay and which not. I try to watch just the ones which are okay, that don’t seem to create any moral dilemmas for me. That’s the compromise I’ve come to. So, I’ll watch the Next Generation, just selected episodes.

I’ve gotten to a point, with movies, at least, that I also sometimes research them on the Bishop’s Council website, because I’ve had too many times I thought it was okay and when I got there, it was NOT.
 
Thank you all for your replies. I have struggled with finding sin in every movie and TV show I have watched. Had a great confession today with our parish priest and discussed finding joy in what I watch, as long as it isn’t morally objectionable.
 
You will find Netflix and probably Amazon as well make recommendations based on what you have already watched.
So if you watch a steady diet of family-friendly movies or Catholic-themed movies that is what the Netflix algorithm will provide for you. The exception is that if you watch, say, the Scarlet & the Black it will come up with other Gregory Peck films like *12 O’clock High *and Pork Chop Hill.
 
ClearWater said:
Here’s something about NetFlix from Patrick Madrid.

patrickmadrid.blogspot.mx/2010/07/plethora-of-catholic-movies-available.html

I, also, am torn with StarTrek. I LOVE StarTrek. I was there even before Captain Kirk, with the green lady and everything! Then, I love the Next Generation and had watched some Deep Space Nine.

However, there are a number of episodes which really concern me, which talk about all these other faiths, making them seem like each is equally valid. There’s one episode where heterosexual lifestyle is portrayed as abnormal and a “throw back”.

Traditional marriage and relationships, seem to be looked at as outdated, a thing of the past.

However, I love these programs so much that I try to learn which episodes, on NetFlix, seem okay and which not. I try to watch just the ones which are okay, that don’t seem to create any moral dilemmas for me. That’s the compromise I’ve come to. So, I’ll watch the Next Generation, just selected episodes.

I’ve gotten to a point, with movies, at least, that I also sometimes research them on the Bishop’s Council website, because I’ve had too many times I thought it was okay and when I got there, it was NOT.
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What in Star Trek was before Captain James Tiberius Kirk?
 
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