Ungodly Counsel

Psalms 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. TV is one of the true trance states. It is hypnotic. The result is that the media has been able to turn the public against those who follow Christ. If the media were doing this against any other group, they would never get away with it. If they always characterized blacks, gays, or any other group as evil in their fiction, there would be an outcry. No one speaks up for Jesus even though 81% of Americans identify themselves as Christians. It’s no wonder that the liberals are sensitive and antagonistic toward Christians. For twenty years, almost the only clergy they have seen in any drama has been a diabolically evil person, a complete fool, or an unbeliever who is very nice, sincere, and compassionate and teaching a false gospel without the Savior. The wonder of fiction is that you can create unreal scenarios and make them seem like reality. If you are watching a drama at the movies or on TV and a character speaks respectfully of God, within several minutes, you will find out that the writer has crafted that character is a mad bomber, a murderer, or some other form of evil person. Ned Flanders is typical of this same type of methodology. The TV has turned out to be one of the main false evangelists for the New Age and Humanist religions. Film and other forms of entertainment fall right in line.  These are used to promote evolution, which isn't science, but also to promote all types of the left wing agenda.  "Entertainment" is used to successfully promote the idea that right wing politics will lead to oppression and left wing politics will lead away from oppression . . . even though, in real life, virtually every oppressive government has been a left wing government. Every time the left wing takes over the government of a country, oppression is the result. This just never happens when the right wing takes over a country. It has been used to promote sex outside of marriage; true marriage is a life-long union between one man and one woman. It has been used to promote disrespect toward God, Jesus, the Bible and those who follow Jesus and who follow the teachings of the Bible. It has been used to promote abortion and other forms of murder. It has been used to promote disrespect toward parents. It has been used to promote social programs that are based on covetousness, desiring what others have. These social programs always seem to do more damage than good, and rightly so since the New Agers and Secular Humanists are trying, through these programs, to create the Kingdom of God without the King. It has been used extensively to promote destructive forms of music. Would You Let This Guy Live In Your House? When we come home so very tired, we sit down with our friend. We know he will not make us think although he may offend. We've taken him into our house; he lives with us you see. We put him on a pedestal, part of the family. My friend and I, we disagree; he is a humanist, And every time he speaks the truth, he gives the truth a twist. But yet I let him stay with us and let him speak his mind, For he is entertaining and he helps us to unwind. And even though we're Christians and we want to walk in light; Our friend keeps preaching darkness, saying things that are not right. He is religious, in a way, with rules for wrong and right, Which mostly undermine our faith, exchanging dark for light. He mixes good in with the bad, so we are led along, A mix of fact and lie so the conclusions are all wrong. It's true, our friend is vulgar but he's entertaining too. He's trying to convince us of some things that are not true. Our friend is not the one to blame, for others pull the strings. He really cannot help it that they make him do these things. A wicked group controls our friend, part of an evil plot Whose main intent is to control us, and they have, somewhat. And somehow, as we listen there to stories that he tells, We're hypnotized, yes, mesmerized with many crafty spells. And once he has us hypnotized, he feeds us with some thought, Which we receive quite readily for in his trap we're caught. And many times I could have made him go but haven't yet, For with his entertaining ways he holds me in his net. Perhaps we are addicted to amusement from our friend. Perhaps we're hooked so well we cannot bring it to an end. We keep him on a pedestal, part of the family, And listen to his subtle lies, our friend, the enemy. We keep him on a pedestal, part of the family, And listen to his subtle lies, our old friend the TV. Bob and Kathy Stenson One of the favorite themes in fiction is the romantic fornication theme.  The theme proclaims the joys of fornication and adultery.  Fiction gives the writer the ability to present a case for that which is not true.  The amount of personal harm that fiction writers do through this methodology is astronomical.  Here is some real reality from http://www.agapepress.org:   “A recent study of the effects of sexual conduct shows Americans suffer negative consequences at a rate three times higher than other economically advanced countries.” Mary Rettig    “But this [the study] did clearly document that we, as a culture, have lots of people and lots of days lost to life and to illness because of our sexual behavior.”  “There's this notion that the people who enjoy sex the most are [the people who are] the most promiscuous -- and it turns out to be just the opposite,"    "women who are in faithful marriages and who attend church have the highest sexual satisfaction of all groups." Dr. Gene Rudd   Dr. Rudd also noted that there are several studies over many years that keep confirming the same thing.  These studies are wide-ranging and from sources like Stanford and University of Chicago, and the results always indicate that women who are faithful to their husbands and who attend church regularly experience more satisfaction than all other groups.  He also noted that personal experience as a gynecologist has shown him the physical pain and suffering that automatically follow those who ignore God’s pattern.   Source: Article by Mary Rettig on http://www.agapepress.org Fiction presents stories as if they were realistic even when the stories do not represent what actually happens in reality.  In this way, fiction can constitute a very complex and persuasive lie.  Books are powerful, but TV and movies are even more powerful.  The telling of stories is hypnotic.  Really.  To the redeemed, the worldly books, TV programs, and movies take away many of the blessings associated with being redeemed. What would happen if you made this your rule: Every time you see violence, immorality or anything that is against God (that which doesn't build you up as a Christian), you turn off your TV for two hours. How much TV would you watch? You might even have a family conversation again. Bob Stenson They lie on the table side by side, The Holy Bible and the TV guide. One is well worn and cherished with pride, Not the Bible . . . but the TV guide. One is used daily to help folks decide, No, not the Bible . . . but the TV guide. As the pages are turned, what shall they see, Oh, what does it matter, turn on the TV. Then confusion reigns, they can't all agree, On what they should watch on the old TV. So they open the book in which they confide, No, not the Bible . . . but the TV guide. The Word of God is seldom read, Maybe a verse as they fall into bed. Exhausted and sleepy and tired as can be, Not from reading the Bible . . . from watching TV. So then back to the table side by side, Lie the Holy Bible and the TV guide. No time for prayer, no time for the Word, The plan of Salvation is seldom heard. But forgiveness of sin, so full and free, Is found in the Bible . . . not on TV. -- Author Unknown Romans 14:19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. The Stranger (excellent reading for anyone) A few months before I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small Tennessee town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the world a few months later. As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me the word of God, and Dad taught me to obey it. But the stranger He was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies. If I wanted to k now anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to the first major league ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind. Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to her room and read her books (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.) Dad ruled our household with certain moral  convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home... not from us, our friends or any  visitors. Our longtime visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush. My Dad was a teetotaler who didn't permit alcohol in the home, not even for cook ing. But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished He talked freely (much too freely!)  about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing. I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... and NEVER asked to leave. More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you were to walk into my parent's den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. His name?.... We just call him, "TV." **Note: This should be required reading for every household in America!** We put couples with incomes of $100 million a year on the covers of our magazines. The noncoms and officers who barely scrape by on military pay but stand on guard in Afghanistan and Iraq and on ships and in submarines and near the Arctic Circle are anonymous as they live and die. I am no longer comfortable being a part of the system that has such poor values, and I do not want to perpetuate those values by pretending that who is eating at Morton's is a big subject. There are plenty of other stars in the American firmament...the policemen and women who go off on patrol in South Central and have no idea if they will return alive; the orderlies and paramedics who bring in people who have been in terrible accidents and prepare them for surgery; the teachers and nurses who throw their whole spirits into caring for autistic children; the kind men and women who work in hospices and in cancer wards. Think of each and every fireman who was running up the stairs at the World Trade Center as the towers began to collapse. Now you have my idea of a real hero. I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters. This is my highest and best use as a human. I can put it another way. Years ago, I realized I could never be as great an actor as Olivier or as good a comic as Steve Martin...or Martin Mull or Fred Willard--or as good an economist as Samuelson or Friedman or as good a writer as Fitzgerald. Or even remotely close to any of them. Ben Stein A Law and Order drama. The writer has created a lesbian and a Christian.  Each has honestly stated her feelings and reasoning.  The lawyers are discussing the case.  In the discussion, the Christian is termed, "bigoted," for expressing her view.  The lesbian is termed, "principled," for discussing her view.  They have both done the same thing, but one is a bigot and the other is principled.  This is how drama is used to brainwash the public.  Unfortunately, the saved are just as addicted to entertainment as the unsaved are. Like so often in history, facts trump platitudes. Reality reigns. Those who always preach brotherhood, thus far have acted devoid of it. Those who for decades have been accused by elitists of not having compassion are the ones living it. They are: the churches, the military, and the sons and daughters of the South. Rabbi Aryeh Spero