7/13/07
A CASE STUDY
IN ECCLESIASTICAL RESPONSE TO MOVIE ENTERTAINMENT
The internet blogspot http://sycamorerpc.blogspot.com/ provides a case study in ecclesiastical response to movie entertainment. At this site, Rev. Barry York of the RPCNA explains the situation he faces with many of the youth in his church, based upon his review of their internet sites:
“…Look at how many R-rated movies you or your friends have listed as
favorites. Do you really mean to use your internet space to promote publicly
these films with their shameful scenes and blasphemous expletives? If even the
world blushes a bit in rating a movie as sexual or violent, how can you not be
ashamed to say to all your friends, "This is one of my favorites"?
You appear to be engrossed with promoting what comes out of Hollywood. That's
the witness you want to have? Consider the lyrics and lifestyles of the music
groups. What if I used my blog to record the antics and lyrics of these groups,
then typed your name next to them as one who gives public endorsement? Do not
try to excuse yourself by saying, "Just because I list a rock group does
not mean I endorse all they do." You and I both know that when we see the
guy walk by wearing a T-shirt with Linkin Park or Smashing Pumpkins on it,
he is not just promoting the one or two half-decent songs ("decent"
here not describing the quality of the music but its lyrical content) on their
latest CD. He is advertising the group. And so are you when you list a group
under "Favorite Music" on Facebook…”
Rev. York admonishes them, and expresses his grief at what he has seen,
while at the same time assuring these youth he is confident they are converted
believers and that he is not embracing what he regards as a legalistic
position:
“…I do not doubt your love for Christ. I'm just calling you to a truer
experience of it…”
“…the acceptable amount of "immodesty, cursing, or violence" any
given movie may have depends on so many variables (age of viewer, purpose for
viewing, way the director presents it, personal sensitivities, etc) that wisdom
is needed in deciding on whether to watch a film or not. Finally, the previous
sentence is still no excuse for the pervasive nudity, crudity and lewd-ity in
many of the movies I saw listed. To outlaw all would indeed be legalistic; but
to allow all is licentiousness…”
In response to this public matter, I have
addressed the following letter to Rev. York:
Dear Rev. York:
I have read your blog addressing
entertainment among a number of the youth in the church where you labor, and I
applaud that you did not turn a blind eye to the situation you describe. Too many ministers today simply ignore what
is happening around them, and this is a shame.
Nevertheless, I have some questions and concerns regarding your
response:
·
Why
do you regard it as legalism for the church to forbid movie entertainment? (Note: please see resources at http://www.puritans.net/movie%20reviews/moviereviews.html
where I address why it is Biblical and appropriate that movie entertainment be
prohibited)
·
Are
you sure you have sufficiently called your congregants, especially those you
describe in your blog, into self-examination of whether they really are
converted? In other words, do they
sufficiently understand that the manner of behavior you describe may not simply
bring into question their testimony before the world , but also brings into
question whether they have been converted by the Lord?
·
Is
it the case or not that if some persist unrepentantly in the behavior you have
described, that excommunication will be necessary?
·
Are
you suggesting that it is all right in certain cases to be entertained by
R-rated movies, albeit not in the way you observed by some of the youth in your
church?
Sincerely,
Parnell McCarter