Some Christians may wonder how a fellow believer can give any support to the film industry, notorious as it is for anti-Christian bias and moral relativism. I would note that there is also a view on the opposite extreme: some Christian critics of culture insist that all Christians have a responsibility to become culturally aware, to become knowledgeable about cultural trends in art, music, literature, film, drama and so on.
I reject both of these extremes. A more balanced position, I think, is to recognize that Scripture tells us to be "in" the world, but not "of" the world. That means that we not only may, but must, be willing to live amid secular (anti-Christian) influence without ourselves compromising the faith. In this respect, it doesn't matter whether that secular influence comes from film, or from involvement in business, labor, neighborhood, politics, or whatever. Nor, within the general realm of media entertainment, does it matter whether we are talking about Beethoven or modern rock, Jane Austen or William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway or Jackie Collins, news or business magazines, TV or film, Disney films or films by Martin Scorsese. To avoid non-Christian influence altogether, we would have to live as hermits (assuming that we could even find some place in the world beyond the reach of modern communications and government). In all modern experience there is a heavy component of anti-Biblical teaching and influence. But complete isolation is not an option for biblical Christians. Even the Christian hermits of the ancient and medieval periods justified their existence as a life of prayer, and thus a life that was spent in and for the world. How can we pray for a world we know nothing about? We must not seek to isolate ourselves from the world, but rather to be salt and light in our fallen culture, to carry out our Lord's Great Commission.
That balance of being in but not of the world is sometimes difficult to maintain. One's choices in this area should be based in part upon his or her own moral and spiritual maturity. Some people, especially children, or those young in the faith, or those with special problems like alcohol addiction or unusual susceptibility to sexual temptation, should limit their exposure to secular culture in appropriate ways. But at the same time they should be trained in Christian maturity, so that eventually they can enter more fully the secular arena, not fearing that they will be compromised by the culture, but expecting to influence the culture positively for Christ.
Ra McLaughlin also notes John Frame's distinction between "hearing" and "hearkening":
John Frame offers a helpful distinction between “hearing” and “hearkening” that we can apply to lyrics and other aspects of music that influence us. Specifically, it is not wrong to listen to sinful ideas (cf. 1 Cor. 5:9-10), but it is wrong to adopt, follow or obey them (1 Cor. 15:33). If listening to the music tends to cause one to sin, then one ought not to listen to the music.
It is also worth noting that music tends to influence us in emotional ways that we cannot necessarily describe or analyze satisfactorily. Some music makes us angry, some arouses our libido, some makes us tired, some fills us with energy, etc. All of these influences can be used for good or for evil. But not everyone is moved in the same way by any given piece of music, and not everyone “hearkens” to what he “hears.” Whatever the feelings we get from music, we must use those feelings for good and not for evil. If we cannot avoid using them for evil, then we ought not to listen to the music that inspires them.
1 comment:
graceupongrace,
Good post. I think this addresses Paul's teaching on questionable things, and strong vs. weak conscience, as he laid out concerning meat sacrificed to idols. It's difficult to understand sometimes that in the matter of questionable or doubtful things, that for one person it can be sin, and for another not sin. We need the constant guidance of God's Word illumined by the Holy Spirit to discern these things. Blessings.
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