Building a Christian Civilization
Will Require Limits on Entertainment

by Stuart DiNenno


The Christian preachers of past ages strongly condemned theater attendance, which was only occasional and likely very tame by modern standards. Today’s so-called Christians have electronic theaters in their living rooms and bedrooms pumping out non-stop filth, lies, and nonsense, and their ministers speak little or nothing against it.

Yet many are scratching their heads perplexed as to why the professing church is so weak and worldly.

It is not difficult to see how television, as it has been used since its invention in the 20th century, has been very destructive of morality and faith. However, it is only one part of the larger entertainment culture that I believe needs to be severely curtailed. No doubt, some will see this proposal as hyper-puritanical, or legalistic, or even tyrannical, but I believe that at some point in the future there will have to be stringent limits put on the production and distribution of entertainment products, including television and film presentations, sporting events, video games, etc. — not only limits in terms of substance but also in quantity.

Even if we could clean up much of what is being produced today and remove the explicitly offensive and destructive content, the great majority of it still would be no better than a colossal waste of time and a seductive diversion that draws men away from studying and meditating upon the things that matter. It is no mere coincidence that we live in an extremely ungodly age full of weak, puerile, and superficial men, and that it our society is awash in a sea of entertainment productions far beyond anything that has been seen at any other time in history.

Some would say that the problem is not entertainment in and of itself; it is in the messages communicated through it. But I believe it goes deeper than that. I do not believe that it is possible to raise up a society consisting of sober-minded, deep-thinking men of strong character in a culture filled with frivolous amusements and meaningless diversions, and without those type of men it is never going to be possible to build and maintain a Christian civilization.

We need to get rid of the “entertainment room,” “home theater,” “man cave,” or whatever else you want to call it and bring back the study.