Why don't Christians or God want anything to do with "secular" activities?

VCR-2000 · May 24, 2022

This seems like the mentality of the good majority of Christians I read. All secular activities or pursuits like entertainment are weak or sinful by their nature.

I see very little Christians and their ideas in the entertainment business and other 'worldly institutions. Maybe instead of seeing physical or secular things as 'below' them, Christians should actively pursue and compete for influence in these areas of society.

I would love to see some comeback of conservative ideas in popular culture.

Pavel Mosko · May 24, 2022

Funny you say this. I am dabbling in being a Christian content creator as a living for places like Youtube and its many tiny competitors, Patreon etc. I have a Christian book review series in mind called "Advancing the Gospel in a Post Christian World". And the first book on the list is.

https://www.amazon.com/Finding-Common-Ground-Communicate-Christian/dp/0802440967

Anyway your OP is one of the main points of the book, that Christians need to reinvest themselves in the culture, rather than ghettoize themselves from it.

Maria Billingsley · May 24, 2022

VCR-2000 said:
This seems like the mentality of the good majority of Christians I read. All secular activities or pursuits like entertainment are weak or sinful by their nature.

I see very little Christians and their ideas in the entertainment business and other 'worldly institutions. Maybe instead of seeing physical or secular things as 'below' them, Christians should actively pursue and compete for influence in these areas of society.

I would love to see some comeback of conservative ideas in popular culture.

Oh boy I'm in bad shape then . I'm a Trekkie. :sigh:

lismore · May 24, 2022

VCR-2000 said:
This seems like the mentality of the good majority of Christians I read. All secular activities or pursuits like entertainment are weak or sinful by their nature.

I see very little Christians and their ideas in the entertainment business and other 'worldly institutions. Maybe instead of seeing physical or secular things as 'below' them, Christians should actively pursue and compete for influence in these areas of society.

I would love to see some comeback of conservative ideas in popular culture.

That's an interesting observation. In this country it seems to be the opposite. 'Christians' often rarely turn up to church because of sports, football and the like which are often on Sundays. I know one couple who are seen less than the Loch Ness Monster because they are into surfing. Some can't attend a church service because they're hung over from the night before.

I would say what you're describing, make the most of it while you have it. Seeing distractions as distractions can be useful IMHO. As David said:

Psalm 84: 10 Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

God Bless

ElenaMaria_9 · Jun 14, 2022

I'm not one of these Christians . I enjoy plenty of secular activities and things

littleangelone · Jun 15, 2022

i think it depends on what kind of secular activity it is, i think it it depends on the believers convictions on what is or is not secular, i think it depends on what the believer reads, watches, what kind of sports they like etc etc,

i just got back here so that's my 2 cents

BravoM · Jun 18, 2022

VCR-2000 said:
This seems like the mentality of the good majority of Christians I read. All secular activities or pursuits like entertainment are weak or sinful by their nature.

I see very little Christians and their ideas in the entertainment business and other 'worldly institutions. Maybe instead of seeing physical or secular things as 'below' them, Christians should actively pursue and compete for influence in these areas of society.

I would love to see some comeback of conservative ideas in popular culture.

Entertainment can influence people.
I find some things in secular entertainment bad enough I skip over them if I can and given what "month" some of this planet think it is you can see that is a bigger problem.
Some I avoid b/c of the heavy influence of such things and others it's so minor I can "turn of parts of my brain" in a way and ignore it.
In my opinion, you cannot avoid the truth and reality. Any of it. Cursing. Physical harm. LGB and T+.
Ignoring a problem won't make it go away and if faced with it you'll be unprepared.

DragonFox91 · Jun 24, 2022

-Secular entertainment over-values good things, values bad things

-Secular entertainment by definition kicks God out. We’re called to do everything praising God

-A 2 hour movie may not seem influential or bad. But put 2 hours every day or week over the course of your entire life, & that builds up

-Secular entertainment messages usually run contrary to what God says, including “be yourself”, “it’s good to disobey tradition”, “science has the answers”, hot actors always the stars, heroes sleep around, drink ,do drugs, never depicted as bad but normal & good, etc.

Few God-fearing Christians will say all secular entertainment is to be avoided, but we do recognize there’s a lot of problems in it.

littleangelone · Jun 24, 2022

good points there, that is so true, we have to watch & listen carefuly to what we are watching or reading, we must make good choices about what secular entertainment we choose to pick and what movies we see

VCR-2000 · Jun 29, 2022

ElenaMaria_9 said:
I'm not one of these Christians . I enjoy plenty of secular activities and things

I guess that I think differently about some things than other Christians. Makes me question if I am "fit" to be or identify as in the first place. Am I the crazy one and everyone else is sane?

VCR-2000 · Jun 29, 2022

littleangelone said:
i think it depends on what kind of secular activity it is, i think it it depends on the believers convictions on what is or is not secular, i think it depends on what the believer reads, watches, what kind of sports they like etc etc, i just got back here so that's my 2 cents

There are some people that believe everything that is secular is inherently corrupt or impure. Again, other people may also think that "secular" things are a gift if they glorify good. But there does seem to be a dichotomy of the physical and the spirit.

nhaas11 · Jul 8, 2022

I guess I really disagree with this post. In an entertainment Industry such as "Hollywood", Christians are shunned away. There are several examples of ANTI-Christian groups going after Christians - Just because of there values, nothing more. There are examples of actors becoming Christian and moving away from the Secular Entertainment life. What this article should be about is how can we make a Entertainment Group and produce quality entertainment that anyone and everyone says "WOW why cant we make Movies/Shows like that!"

Wyatt A. · Jul 19, 2022

VCR-2000 said:
This seems like the mentality of the good majority of Christians I read. All secular activities or pursuits like entertainment are weak or sinful by their nature.

I see very little Christians and their ideas in the entertainment business and other 'worldly institutions. Maybe instead of seeing physical or secular things as 'below' them, Christians should actively pursue and compete for influence in these areas of society.

I would love to see some comeback of conservative ideas in popular culture.

"And whoever exalts himself will be [e]humbled, and he who humbles himself will be [f]exalted."

Wyatt A. · Jul 21, 2022

nhaas11 said:
I guess I really disagree with this post. In an entertainment Industry such as "Hollywood", Christians are shunned away. There are several examples of ANTI-Christian groups going after Christians - Just because of there values, nothing more. There are examples of actors becoming Christian and moving away from the Secular Entertainment life. What this article should be about is how can we make a Entertainment Group and produce quality entertainment that anyone and everyone says "WOW why cant we make Movies/Shows like that!"

littleangelone said:
good points there, that is so true, we have to watch & listen carefuly to what we are watching or reading, we must make good choices about what secular entertainment we choose to pick and what movies we see

DragonFox91 said:
-Secular entertainment over-values good things, values bad things

-Secular entertainment by definition kicks God out. We’re called to do everything praising God

-A 2 hour movie may not seem influential or bad. But put 2 hours every day or week over the course of your entire life, & that builds up

-Secular entertainment messages usually run contrary to what God says, including “be yourself”, “it’s good to disobey tradition”, “science has the answers”, hot actors always the stars, heroes sleep around, drink ,do drugs, never depicted as bad but normal & good, etc.

Few God-fearing Christians will say all secular entertainment is to be avoided, but we do recognize there’s a lot of problems in it.

"Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience."
Ephesians 5:6

I disagree with this post too. I'd like to point out a couple things that I noticed if you'd like to hear them.

The title is a complex question and needs to be divided into two parts. It also begs the question.

The question should be:
Is it true that Christians and God do not want anything to do with secular activities? If so, why?

And, what is a secular activity? According to the author.

Since that hasn't been answered the first question of the argument cannot support itself and you can't draw a logical conclusion from it.

Also they provided no evidence that Christians do see those things as below them. That would be exalting yourself I think and proud which the bible commands not to do. It also places Christians in a bad light with no evidence or logical reason. It is mocking.

I could go on but those are the most obvious.

"And whoever exalts himself will be [e]humbled, and he who humbles himself will be [f]exalted."

LW97Nils · Feb 3, 2023

No secular acitivity? Not even gardining?

Lost Witness · Feb 3, 2023

something we should try to keep in mind

LW97Nils · Feb 3, 2023

Lost Witness said:
something we should try to keep in mind
View attachment 327454

Amen!

Wyatt A. · Feb 5, 2023

LW97Nils said:
Lost Witness said:

something we should try to keep in mind
View attachment 327454

Click to expand...

No secular acitivity? Not even gardining?

This is a fallacious argument. The author is assuming what he is trying to prove.

The premise is a compound question and needs to be divided into two parts:

"Is it true that Christians do not want anything to do with secular activities? If not why?

The author asserted that Christians want nothing to do with secular activities without providing any evidence for the claim.

If you respond to their argument without recognizing and pointing this out, you're agreeing to their, (illogical), terms and have already lost the argument.
Since this is true, I'll go on to say that his first sentence is unsupported, and his second sentence is an arbitrary statement that is not backed up with evidence. Therefore should not be considered to back up their argument...

Just because He sees " very little Christians and their ideas in the entertainment business and other 'worldly institutions.", doesn't mean they're not there. It depends where you look and if you're looking for them at all...

I see very little videos about the mechanical process of how ball bearings are made. Probably because I haven't looked for them. It doesn't mean there are no videos about that.

Hese provided no evidence that Christians see those things as below them. This is another compound question and needs to be divided into two parts: "Do Christians see physical and secular things as below them? If so why? Since this question remains unanswered the following sentence is unsupported and illogical. Since that question remains unanswered, it cannot be used as evidence for Christians not competing for influence in those areas.

Hes putting Christians in a bad light for no logical reason, in order to evoke an emotional response from his audience.

LW97Nils · Feb 5, 2023

Wyatt A. said:
This is a fallacious argument. The author is assuming what he is trying to prove.

The premise is a compound question and needs to be divided into two parts:

"Is it true that Christians do not want anything to do with secular activities? If not why?

The author asserted that Christians want nothing to do with secular activities without providing any evidence for the claim.

If you respond to their argument without recognizing and pointing this out, you're agreeing to their, (illogical), terms and have already lost the argument.
Since this is true, I'll go on to say that his first sentence is unsupported, and his second sentence is an arbitrary statement that is not backed up with evidence. Therefore should not be considered to back up their argument...

Just because He sees " very little Christians and their ideas in the entertainment business and other 'worldly institutions.", doesn't mean they're not there. It depends where you look and if you're looking for them at all...

I see very little videos about the mechanical process of how ball bearings are made. Probably because I haven't looked for them. It doesn't mean there are no videos about that.

Hese provided no evidence that Christians see those things as below them. This is another compound question and needs to be divided into two parts: "Do Christians see physical and secular things as below them? If so why? Since this question remains unanswered the following sentence is unsupported and illogical. Since that question remains unanswered, it cannot be used as evidence for Christians not competing for influence in those areas.

Hes putting Christians in a bad light for no logical reason, in order to evoke an emotional response from his audience.

View attachment 327560

Exactly. Those people just love to be strawmaning.

StuartB · Sep 7, 2023

My job is secular, I do Boxing and boxfit classes, I've always enjoyed older horror movies (70's, 80's are my fav genre) South Park and wwf wrestling are things I've always liked.

I believe in disernment. For example, I don't watch South Park episodes that mock any religion (I'm all for free speech and the right for those episodes to exist), I just don't want religion or politics in my entertainment. Same with horror movies, most demonic possession movies are garbage to me, The Exorcist being the best of the lot, but I've seen it and don't feel the need to rewatch it.

I think each person will know what's right for them.

Why don't Christians or God want anything to do with "secular" activities?

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