hum, like, is american idol, like, idolatrous?
2Corinthians 6:15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
My brother in the Lord, Marc Onofre, defined it best while preaching in the preachers' course: "a star is a wicked person that looks good"
Or sings good I would add. The Bible is as up-to-date as ever, and idolatry is back in bold. We separated Christians most vocally decry the worldliness and compromise of others yet indulge ourselves with exceptions. The french have a term for it "peche mignon"; "sweet sin". Take "American Idol" for instance. You would think the word IDOL pretty much gives it away as an IDOLATROUS show but Christians who can crossreference the laodicean church character, the physionomy of the antichrist, and the geography of the millennium before you're done with the alphabet are strangely myiopic when it comes to reading the word IDOL in American, or Canadian IDOL for that matter.
Ironic twist, they use the same tired old justifications they've judged for so long in others.
I'm not concerned in this post with the nauseating Christianity displayed by some contestants on the show. How O how could Christian parents encourage their children to be part of it, or an entire church be the practicing ground for its American Idol hopeful, or a man sing "Amazing Grace" or even a Ground Infantry sing "His eye is on the sparrow" for such a worldly and sensual show is so far beyond me that I dare not tread the waters. No, those "Christians" sold out long ago. In fact they were never in the battle. Those guys would think you were kidding them if you ever read them James 4:4 and ask to see your Bible. Of course their "Ultra New ReReReRevised manifesto for the Post-Modern she-male version" cools down the verse 'bout 17 notches. No, forget those guys. We've wasted too much our nerves on people who fear not the Lord. My concern is for the troopers. The guys in the front-lines of our spiritual war.
So, to you who are still in the action
2Corinthians 6:15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial?
Men of Belial are men of vanity. Vanity is all that show is about.
:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with IDOLS? for ye are the temple of the living God
I.E. what are you doing letting american idols into God's temple, which is your body, through the gates of the eyes. Be like Nehemiah and shut those gates to the heathen.
No wonder we have no time for Bible reading and no energy to bend the knees, we're wasting away at the local shrine: the T.V. set.
An insiduous effect of television is that one person turns it on, and others flock. Idolatry is contagious. God is aware of that in the Bible. How many times have we heard the first commandment preached as "whatever you put before God in your life is an idol". But just how much do we believe that?
I'm guilty also including of American Idol.
A while ago the booklet "the second coming" by Larkin, (written before T.V.) spurred me to drastically lessen my television viewing time (I'm talking t.v generally). The sermon "the thief in the living room" by Ruckman also had an impact. I still watch the box, but watch myself also. A good indicator of "backlsiding" is the fluctuation in the amount of time you spend watching T.V.
American Idol has it judges and its standard. The standard is clearcut: "Will the world accept you?" In fact the judges phrase it similarly.
The Bible is clearcut: God is the Judge of all the earth, and all will appear before Him to be judged. He has his one judge, that Just One, the Son of God, and he will set us up as judges over the world and angels. The standard? the Lord Jesus Christ. Will He accept you?
Your post was very convicting, and I'm not necessarily talking about "idol". You know, we get so caught up with living in this world, that we forget that we are not of this world! I need to live a more consecrated walk with God.
thanks
joe
I had a strange picture in my mind some time ago as I pondered this strange phenomenon. You know, you were close to what I was thinking when you said that when one person turns it on, others flock to it.
Imagine sitting down to watch [any show] and watching it "religiously", or regularly. While you tune in, there are thousands of others tuned in at the SAME TIME, not only in your ciy, but all over the country.
It is like a giant worship service! The attention of thousands of people is on ONE thing, and many of God's people...instead of letting their minds be controlled by the Holy Ghost....are submitting themselves to the T.V. show, and letting THAT control their thoughts...at least for how ever long they sit there. It is like being in a giant worship service all across the community in which you live.
I think that is strange.
Thanks for the great post. It truly was very convicting. Amen and amen.
I'm somewhat read-up on New Agers' views concerning the future.
A recurrent theme in their "prophetic" literature is a simultaneous and global appearing of the antichrist (who for them is basically the hero) to all peoples, accompanied by a kind of warping of time and space and psychedelic visions: a sort of global trance that would enslave peoples' minds.
2Thessalonians 2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.