Do you serve a 54 inch god?

[messianist]

saying all this mark I notice a Christmas tree in your picture?

 

[Apologetic_Warrior]

Welcome to the new "Choose an Idol" show. Let's begin with a few potential idols: food, sex, fame, fortune, friends, loved ones.... Stay tuned for our next episode entitled "The Amish Strikes Back".

 

[Mark Corbett]

Welcome to the new "Choose an Idol" show. Let's begin with a few potential idols: food, sex, fame, fortune, friends, loved ones.... Stay tuned for our next episode entitled "The Amish Strikes Back".

I think that things like food, sex, and fortune can in fact function like idols.

It is possible to treat these things in a way that we desire them more than we desire to please our Heavenly Father. It is possible to look to them for help when we are sad, stressed, or discouraged in ways which are contrary to God's will instead of looking to God to get us through.

Whether you want to call these things idols, or simply say that they are symptoms of loving the world instead of God at times, makes little difference:

NIV 1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.

Did John think of this type of "world love" as idolatry? Perhaps. He does not mention any "traditional. literal, idols" in 1 John, yet the last verse is this one:

NIV 1 John 5:21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

I think the author of this song has the right idea and the right attitude:

 

[Apologetic_Warrior]

I think that things like food, sex, and fortune can in fact function like idols.

It is possible to treat these things in a way that we desire them more than we desire to please our Heavenly Father. It is possible to look to them for help when we are sad, stressed, or discouraged in ways which are contrary to God's will instead of looking to God to get us through.

Whether you want to call these things idols, or simply say that they are symptoms of loving the world instead of God at times, makes little difference:

NIV 1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.

Did John think of this type of "world love" as idolatry? Perhaps. He does not mention any "traditional. literal, idols" in 1 John, yet the last verse is this one:

NIV 1 John 5:21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

I think the author of this song has the right idea and the right attitude:

I agree with Scripture, we should flee from all forms of idolatry, it should be our goal and aim, it is a Holy prescription. For believers it is possible, only possible by the work of God the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer, submitting themselves to God, to His authority, His Lordship. Personally, I see myself as mostly a failure in practice of fleeing all forms of idolatry, especially when it comes to comfort and security. I am naturally a cautious type of person, and exiting the comfort zone is, out of character for one such as me. Unfortunately all too often the comfort zone is crowded with distraction of all sorts, and the world creeps in, if not of my own doing, through those in my own household. However, I see another working in and through me to cling to Christ as the center of my life, to contend for the faith.

 

[High Fidelity]

Is it ok to watch Benny Hinn on TV. Or must it be youtube:

At that point, it doesn't really matter. Watching Benny Hinn is beyond fruitless; it's dangerous, no matter the medium you indulge in his nonsense.

 

[Jonathan Leo]

I serve a 360 God, 360 degrees because He’s all around me lol

 

[Kenny'sID]

When I had a falling out with Comcast I went out and got a nice antenna and found that even this far out I was able to get plenty of channels, some with a great HD picture. I took what was a temporary set up down so I could get something more permanent set up.

That was 3 or 4 yrs ago, and I still haven't bothered to set up and antenna. I think I thought I needed it, but guess not....wasn't even a conscious decision, and there is no TV where I am without a good antenna. Maybe it's because the net fills that time and I do subscribe to Amazon/Netflix with basically no commercials. All the commercials are now on the net though, so I just ignore them, and am somewhat discriminatory about the movies I watch.

Is that any better than watching TV, maybe not but it's all in what we make of it/how we use it. And that's not to say Network TV is good by any means, so I do get the OP has a great point.

Frank Zappa's, "I'm the Slime"

 

[Blade]

You do understand Mark that what is SIN for you does not mean it sin for others. Now.. if you have a TV and you want to watch evil bad things.. they DUH turn it off. But.. the BIBLE? its not your word. You are no ones God. And He will NEVER ask you about what you think about others. Its how YOU LIVE your life. Its you work out your own salvation.

These people these children you are talking to .. belong to a GOD.. there HIS KIDS. And if you or me think we can say what ever we want to His kids even though we know JESUS AS LORD.. so what? You and me are NOT there god. So what GOOD did yous see in them? And the verse is "I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.".

So.. then that verse.. GOD is talking to YOU. Then you best do it. My brother.. we have all power over the enemy NOT MAN. We can not control man. And if GOD does not do what your doing. Why are you? We are FREE. It HAS TO BE a free choice. How can you not see this? See the best the good 1st. And have faith that the Father is BETTER BEST at this and that WE get no say here. He does not need us .. He chooses to use us.

But what I do what I watch.. I dont answer to ANY MAN but my Father. I am not here to please man..this is written. To many people are busy bodies..in love I say this

 

[DamianWarS]

“I will pronounce my judgments on my people because of their wickedness in forsaking me, in burning incense to other gods and in worshiping what their hands have made.” – Jeremiah, speaking the Word of the Lord (Jeremiah 1:16 NIV)

“And the people bowed and prayed, to the neon god they made.” – Paul Simon, The Sound of Silence

“And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all.” – Demetrius (Acts 19:26 NIV)

“Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.” – The Apostle John (1 John 5:21 NIV)

what about the smaller in stature but more powerful "intel inside" god or perhaps the even smaller hand held model that makes phone calls too.

 

[Apologetic_Warrior]

what about the smaller in stature but more powerful "intel inside" god or perhaps the even smaller hand held model that makes phone calls too.

Love my 8" Fire god that I can download and read my entire Logos library on! Can read on it while sitting on the white throne in the bathroom too, but not for long, wife or son almost always distract nonstop in one way or another.

 

[mathinspiration]

Everyone has their own idols. I prefer mine to be green, papers with images of dead American presidents or some Crazy Deist Quaker nut called the Franklin guy.

 

[Fish14]

Might be. Would you usually rather talk about your hobbies than talk about Jesus? If given an equal chance to talk about your hobbies or Jesus, which would you rather talk about?

Or to think about it another way, which are you more interested in learning more about?

What I think is wrong or right is irrelevant. Here is what I fail at: I know for a fact that I've never spent five minutes reading scripture without getting at least a "Hmmmm" out of it. In other words, reading scripture has never proven to be wasted time for me.

But I've spent many an hour in a television program and realized afterward that was an hour wasted that I'll never get back.

If I've never found scripture a waste of time, but I've frequently found television a waste of time, isn't it illogical that I'd turn on the television at all for entertainment rather than reading scripture? What an idiot I am. When am I going to get my mind transformed?

Consider your habits and judge for yourself: What are you really giving priority in your life, and how does Jesus rank among your priorities?

I admit that God is not always on the top of my priority list. I will try to keep God there and only after Him comes things I have to do, hobbies etc., and see what happens.

 

[thesunisout]

I stopped watching television, but that doesn't mean it is a sin to watch it. There is good programming, although it is far outweighed by the bad these days. Watching television would be a sin if it taking precedent over your walk with the Lord. If you'd rather watch TV than spend time with the Lord that is a good sign it is an idol in your life.

 

[SolomonVII]

I find that the product of television has improved in quality exponentially since the days when what we watched were basically all from the same three big networks. The typical product of Hollywood and movies is often rather stale and predictable compared to the television series that streaming has brought into our homes.
When it comes to good food, and pleasant company of all kinds, and entertaining ideas, and enjoyable sensory and intellectual experiences of all kinds, the question of idolatry does tend to be raised.
It is a real question if Christianity need be fully ascetic in its very nature. Maybe the only true Christians that ever existed were the desert fathers and those ascetics that cut themselves off from all the pleasures that Mammon has to offer us.

I recently watched a series on Netflix on the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski. Leaving aside for the moment his misanthropy, his anti-technology mindset and asceticism did have an appeal for many people, even as they went about their own lives in modern society with varying degrees of guilt over their addictions to the conveniences that technocracy has to offer, for allowing themselves to sell their soul for the marvels of technology.

He made this instrument once for a young boy that admired him, and the instrument went something like pling, pwang ting. He stood by the window of the boys birthday party, about to go in when he saw that one of the presents was one of these modern electronic music boards that could make virtually any musical sound that you wanted to make from it.
It was really hard to understand what he was feeling as he walked away. Was it shame, or disgust with himself, or regret, as he contemplated how his life of pure simplicity turned out? He obviously did love the boy, and he did recognize that his little hand made twanger was in the end rather a useless expression of what he felt for the boy and his mom.
Whatever it was that he was feeling, it was not happiness.

We live in a world where almost everbody is able to receive all the pleasures that modern technology has to offer, even more than a billionaire of a mere hundred years ago would have had access to. It wasn't even much more than a hundred years ago when a rich kid in the White House could die of infection because of lack of technology to treat such things.
Maybe rejection of the siren song of technology and an austere ascetic lifestyle without even the 'pwing pwang tong' of a simple musical instrument is the real Christian answer. Even if so, it is not that ultimate Christian answer. Life of a misanthrope, life without Love, is not much more than that pling twang ting cymbal sound.
Maybe it is not the 54 incher that is the real problem here.

 

[MyGivenNameIsKeith]

Hmmm, isn't a computer like a television? Remember to self examine

I am kind of right there with ya. It is an interesting fact that gematria, the numbers/letters thing for greek uses the letter vav as a 6. Vav is pronounced as either a v or a w. Thus 666 could be pronounced WWW. Seeing as how it is worldwide, and dominates everyone's life, it is quite troubling.

 

[Gregory Thompson]

I am kind of right there with ya. It is an interesting fact that gematria, the numbers/letters thing for greek uses the letter vav as a 6. Vav is pronounced as either a v or a w. Thus 666 could be pronounced WWW. Seeing as how it is worldwide, and dominates everyone's life, it is quite troubling.

That number sequence only displays once in scripture, and it relates to the amount of gold Solomon made every year, there is a high probability that the original beast was mammon related. Taking the sea creature/land beast sequence and correlating it to a "new creation" paradigm, it would indicate that today we have many beasts, and "the man" would be the next thing to be revealed ... probably pointing to the beast standing up as a man in Daniel ... perhaps as an AI .. but more likely something unexpected as the Hollywood fulfillment is a distraction.

 

[Apologetic_Warrior]

Wife and I watched on Netflix "The Case for Christ" the other night based on Lee Strobel's book and it was surprisingly well done.

 

[MyGivenNameIsKeith]

That number sequence only displays once in scripture, and it relates to the amount of gold Solomon made every year, there is a high probability that the original beast was mammon related. Taking the sea creature/land beast sequence and correlating it to a "new creation" paradigm, it would indicate that today we have many beasts, and "the man" would be the next thing to be revealed ... probably pointing to the beast standing up as a man in Daniel ... perhaps as an AI .. but more likely something unexpected as the Hollywood fulfillment is a distraction.

Ezra 2:13 The children of Adonikam, six hundred sixty and six.
(Adonikam means "the Lord is risen up.")
1 Kings 10:14 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold,
2 Chronicles 9:13 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and threescore and six talents of gold;
Revelation 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Numbers 3:40 And the LORD said unto Moses, Number all the firstborn of the males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names.
In essence, the number of the beast is accounted for in a census, hence, the number of a man.
Sort of like a Social security number
600-.............60-.......0006,
six hundred, sixty, and six.
creepy right?
It is known to be an active number.
Anyways...as per the OP, let us choose not to serve the technology, the Tv, the internet, or what have you.

 

[MyGivenNameIsKeith]

Wife and I watched on Netflix "The Case for Christ" the other night based on Lee Strobel's book and it was surprisingly well done.

It was good, I agree. I also liked "God is Not Dead, and God is Not Dead 2"

 

[Apologetic_Warrior]

It was good, I agree. I also liked "God is Not Dead, and God is Not Dead 2"

My wife really enjoyed the first one, not sure we've watched the second, but she also enjoyed the music, especially the Newsboys tracks.