Should Christians Watch Television, especially Hollywood movies?

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
Jan 31, 2025
23
13
3
#21
eChristian2,

What people don't understand is that the devil loves fighting. I will give you an example. Tonight, at the store, I was talking to the clerk about rescued animals. Later, her eyes lit up with excitement at the mention of the violence they had suffered. I wondered what was wrong with her. Now I know. This is the difference between us and the wicked. That's why it's so important to shield our eyes from it. God doesn't want us to be partakers in violence. He doesn't want us to touch it.

(Yes, well, I don't watch it for the violence in it but because I like the storyline.)

Do you? How can you know that? The Bible says the heart is desperately wicked; who can know it?
 
Nov 14, 2024
1,173
804
113
#22
@aChristian2

I think that you might enjoy the Christian movie "Time Changer." It is about a professor at a Bible college who lived prior to the invention of TV who travels into the future. Part of the movie deals with how horrified he is to see how antichristian TV shows and movies are. Here is a link to where you can watch the movie for free if you are interested in checking it out.

https://tubitv.com/movies/445085/time-changer
 
Jan 18, 2016
7,263
1,864
113
#24
I don't watch any of it.... it says in 2 Assumptions 11:4 ..... "waste not thy time watching TV, nor shalt thou observe Honey Boo-boo"
 

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
28,028
9,869
113
#27
@aChristian2

I think that you might enjoy the Christian movie "Time Changer." It is about a professor at a Bible college who lived prior to the invention of TV who travels into the future. Part of the movie deals with how horrified he is to see how antichristian TV shows and movies are. Here is a link to where you can watch the movie for free if you are interested in checking it out.

https://tubitv.com/movies/445085/time-changer
A movie... That preaches against tv and movies?

It has to have set a record for highest percentage of viewers who stopped watching it right in the middle.
 

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
28,028
9,869
113
#28
So if I could extrapolate from the logic currently being touted here...

The Bible says thou shalt not kill. Hammers can be, and indeed have been, used to kill. Therefore any good Christian should get rid of all his hammers and never touch one again.

What? It's the same logic some people are using about TVs.
 
Jan 31, 2025
23
13
3
#29
I used to think it was harmless too. Watching shows like Tom and Jerry they seem innocent. But the TV shows today are far removed from the ones we grew up with. It desensitizes us to violence. And what is the point of those disgusting ads they flash? I never liked sponge bob but that what it feels like. When they zoom up on things. Hollywood has always pushed violence I'm sure they are aware of the effects. They are trying to currupt our nation. Every time I watch a new movie, I regret it.

God is merciful and forgives our faults, but modern entertainment can ruin our relationship with Him. It dims our eyes and damages our ability to hear His voice.

Years ago a pastor from the new jew church said people aren't interested in how to live a pure life; all they want to know about is death.
 
Nov 14, 2024
1,173
804
113
#30
I would seriously like to know why so many professing Christians like to be entertained by TV and movies. I mean, the harvest is plenteous, and the laborers are few. Did Jesus save us so we could sit around and be entertained as the harvest perishes in the field? Does anybody remember the whole "WWJD?" thing? Would Jesus sit around watching TV and movies? He only did what he saw the Father doing. Is God watching TV or a movie in heaven as I type?

Come on, people...
 
Jan 18, 2016
7,263
1,864
113
#31
So if I could extrapolate from the logic currently being touted here...

The Bible says thou shalt not kill. Hammers can be, and indeed have been, used to kill. Therefore any good Christian should get rid of all his hammers and never touch one again.

What? It's the same logic some people are using about TVs.
transvesites? They kill people? Just what are you saying? :ROFL:
 
Mar 31, 2023
1,368
1,509
113
68
Cheyenne WY
christiancommunityforum.com
#32
I don't watch television. The last time I had a television in my home it was my parents home, the tv was black and white, and there were three channels to choose from, all of which would need horizontal adjustment from time to time.

I do watch a lot of movies. Many of them I won't watch again due to the content. The ones that offend me the most I stop watching mid-movie. I enjoy relaxing and watching a movie in the evening. I especially love comedies. It's okay with me so it doesn't really matter what others might think about it. If I knew a brother looked down on watching movies I wouldn't offer a movie for entertainment while they were visiting, anymore than I would offer a glass of wine if I knew the person was a teetotaler. But after their visit was over, I'd go back to watching a movie most evenings.

I don't understand why people spend the money they do for streaming services. But that's there thing... I not their judge. I've never spent a penny and don't expect I ever will spend so much as a penny on a streaming service.
 
Nov 14, 2024
1,173
804
113
#33
A movie... That preaches against tv and movies?
Not quite. That is only a tiny portion of the film and its overall message. Here is how Wikipedia describes the plot.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Changer

Plot

In the year 1890, Bible professor Russell Carlisle (D. David Morin) stops and scolds a boy named Roger for stealing his neighbor's marbles. He makes the boy return the marbles, and demands he apologize for his unjust action, only for Roger to run away. Carlisle has also written a book manuscript promoting themes of bringing forth Christ's teachings apart from His name. The book is on track to receive a unanimous endorsement from the board of Grace Bible Seminary, until colleague Dr. Norris Anderson (Gavin MacLeod) objects, arguing that teaching morality without Jesus as the standard would be detrimental to future generations. The Dean puts the vote on hold until Anderson and Carlisle work out their differences.

Anderson invites Carlisle to his home later that evening to show him something that would prove his point. Carlisle turns him down, and urges the Dean to proceed with the endorsement without Anderson's vote. However, the Dean firms that the vote must be unanimous. Carlisle finally meets with Norris the next night, where Norris shows him a top secret invention: a time machine invented by his late father. Refusing to believe time travel is possible, Carlisle laughs Norris off as crazy before leaving. However, Carlisle relents and returns to Norris the next night after deciding their differences must be resolved.

Anderson prepares to send Carlisle 100 years into the future. Sending him on a Saturday afternoon, he instructs Carlisle that he has until Wednesday night, and must return to the exact location where he was sent. He further instructs Carlisle not to tell anyone where he is from, nor is he to learn of his own fate. However, Anderson does urge him to find a Christian librarian named Michelle Bain, who helped Norris when he himself traveled to the future.

Arriving in the late 20th century, Carlisle, although fascinated by society's advancements, is shocked at its moral decay: half of all marriages end in divorce, teenagers talk openly about underage drinking, children are disrespectful to their parents and treat moral sins, such as theft, as fun and games. Immodest apparel are openly sold in retail stores, movies and TV shows contain blasphemous language and inappropriate content. Jesus and the Bible are now banned from public education, and many professing Christians in the church do not really follow Jesus. Carlisle finds Bain (Jennifer O'Neill), and with her assistance, he learns that society decided to remove the Biblical foundations the country was built on in the 1960s, after deciding that morality was good enough on its own. Finally realizing the error of his ways, Russel begs God for forgiveness.

Anyhow, the movie does a good job, in my estimation, of showing not only the decline in morality, but also some of the causes for it. In this sense, I believe that it is not just entertainment, but that it has some true Christian value to it.