Question: Do you believe we should avoid sin? Is TV & the internet sinful? Do you have one or both? TV and the internet are as sinful as the tree of knowledge. How do you accept this as a believer?
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Turning Off Sin
- Thread starter ParentofChildren
- Start date
We have both and I struggle. My wife and I have began giving away media we can not in good conscious share with our children. We seek to model the right choices, and want them to be able to turn away from temptation.
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Anyone who thinks either is sinful needs to attend bible study because obviously they are just a medium for information. The Internet is the greatest tool for knowledge humanity has ever had, it just so happens that the rise of Atheism correlates to the spread of the Internet. Because of this some less intelligent folks are saying that it's evil which is ridiculous, the church has failed to give these seekers an adequate answer to their question and the Internet gives them a realistic honest answer.
The internet is the greatest tool on earth but the church has done a spectacularly horrible job in utilizing it to change hearts and minds, all they do is complain and sound bitter which results in more people ignoring the good stuff on the Internet.
The internet is the greatest tool on earth but the church has done a spectacularly horrible job in utilizing it to change hearts and minds, all they do is complain and sound bitter which results in more people ignoring the good stuff on the Internet.
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C
CelticRose
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I have to agree with BasedTonyEver. Both TV & the internet are just tools & thus not inherently either good or evil of themselves. What we do with them ~ well that's another matter. To dismiss them out of hand makes Christians look like ignorant fools.
They can be used in constructive ways. There is a great deal of biblical information available on~line, including translation comparisons, word by word translations, sermons from the best preachers of all denominations, lovely, encouraging, Christian blogs & a great deal of useful information that can make our Christian walk more satisfying.
Or you can do the other thing ~ because we ourselves desire the sin. Can't blame tv or the internet for that.
They can be used in constructive ways. There is a great deal of biblical information available on~line, including translation comparisons, word by word translations, sermons from the best preachers of all denominations, lovely, encouraging, Christian blogs & a great deal of useful information that can make our Christian walk more satisfying.
Or you can do the other thing ~ because we ourselves desire the sin. Can't blame tv or the internet for that.
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- Aug 3, 2004
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We live in a fallen world. Sin is all around us - greed, selfishness, misuse of power, injustice, oppression in many guises. We can't avoid that, but we need not buy into doing wrong.
John
NZ
John
NZ
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C
CelticRose
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Agreed ~ but it is not the technology itself that is wrong, only what we do with it. If you do not see that we have no grounds for discussion. It is people who are sinful, not objects.
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Luther073082
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They can be used sinfully and they can encourage sin but neither are sinful in and of themselves.
Personally I think it's also a bad idea to try and hide away from the world. Children have to grow up understanding just how sinful the world really is before they try to make their way through it as adults.
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ProudMomxmany
slightly insane mom of many
TV and the internet are not inherently good or evil. The material accessed can be good or evil. SO...if one is watching TV, one should be discerning enough to keep the junk out of your home. AND...if one is using the internet, again, one should be discerning enough to use self control and avoid the evil rubbish that can be accessed.
When my children were younger, we set limits for them. As they got older, we told them that we expected them to use good judgment. If they did not, their privileges for both would be curtailed or ended. If they did, they had nothing to worry about. We never saw any reason to be hypervigilant once they reached a certain age, as we trusted that they had learned enough to understand right and wrong and understand the guidelines and rules of the house.
The younger ones are still monitored. However, even when they are at their siblings' houses, they know the rules.
When my children were younger, we set limits for them. As they got older, we told them that we expected them to use good judgment. If they did not, their privileges for both would be curtailed or ended. If they did, they had nothing to worry about. We never saw any reason to be hypervigilant once they reached a certain age, as we trusted that they had learned enough to understand right and wrong and understand the guidelines and rules of the house.
The younger ones are still monitored. However, even when they are at their siblings' houses, they know the rules.
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All good thoughts, and no simple answers.
How many places in the Bible does it say flee from sin?
That which enters the eyes affects the heart?
The internet is full of tempting sin images & connections. Doesn't screen time also take us away from family and friends. Would less or no TV & 'net mean more time with spouse, children, etc... Internet virtualizes everything and pulls us away from Gods creation. Thoughts?
How many places in the Bible does it say flee from sin?
That which enters the eyes affects the heart?
The internet is full of tempting sin images & connections. Doesn't screen time also take us away from family and friends. Would less or no TV & 'net mean more time with spouse, children, etc... Internet virtualizes everything and pulls us away from Gods creation. Thoughts?
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akmom
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I understand where you're coming from. Personally, my family chose to eliminate TV. It is not inherently evil, but we just found that most programming is stuff we wanted to avoid and certainly wanted our kids to avoid. Even so-called "good" channels had a lot of stuff I didn't like. Some of the children/teen programming has a strong emphasis on dating and self-image, and even though it is not explicit or wrong, I felt like it really sent a message that teen life is all about dating. And it's not. Also, many of the commercials were totally unsuitable, such as pharmaceutical ads that are all but explicit, and just the general "you must have this" theme. This is how television is funded and it's all part of facilitating the global economy - which is not inherently bad - however, spending a lot of time watching TV means you are getting groomed for consumerism. And there's more to life than that.
We have found Netflix to be a great resource, because we can control what our children watch without ads. There is plenty of wholesome and Christian TV and movies on there. We watch a lot of documentaries as a family, lots of "Mythbusters" and other history channel and discovery channel specials.
Internet is great. I honestly have never found it a source of temptation, but I'm a woman. It's a great place to communicate with friends and family using pictures and video (social networking, instant messaging), a good place to share ideas with others, an instant source of news and information. I've gotten 90% of my recipes from the Internet, and we've grown healthier as a family because of it. I've learned a lot of DIY tricks from YouTube. I even have a subscription to an educational site for my very young children, which teaches them to type and use the mouse and other computer skills they will need in this era. If you are finding yourself drawn into temptation via Internet, keep yourself accountable by having it in a public area.
I agree with others, that if you entirely ban technology because of the possibility of temptation, you aren't equipping your kids to handle the world we live in. It's better to navigate these things under parental guidance first!
We have found Netflix to be a great resource, because we can control what our children watch without ads. There is plenty of wholesome and Christian TV and movies on there. We watch a lot of documentaries as a family, lots of "Mythbusters" and other history channel and discovery channel specials.
Internet is great. I honestly have never found it a source of temptation, but I'm a woman. It's a great place to communicate with friends and family using pictures and video (social networking, instant messaging), a good place to share ideas with others, an instant source of news and information. I've gotten 90% of my recipes from the Internet, and we've grown healthier as a family because of it. I've learned a lot of DIY tricks from YouTube. I even have a subscription to an educational site for my very young children, which teaches them to type and use the mouse and other computer skills they will need in this era. If you are finding yourself drawn into temptation via Internet, keep yourself accountable by having it in a public area.
I agree with others, that if you entirely ban technology because of the possibility of temptation, you aren't equipping your kids to handle the world we live in. It's better to navigate these things under parental guidance first!
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Niffer
So...that just happened.
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Mm... I'm with AKMom on this one.
When Hubs and I were first married, we couldn't afford cable, so we watching movies mainly.
5 years later and we still don't have cable, but have bought Netflix which we love. (Although I still think I'm a bit too addicted to it.)
We tried to live without internet, but Remi's a comp. tech and needs it for work and school, so cutting it out wasn't really an option for us.
Peace,
~ Niffer
When Hubs and I were first married, we couldn't afford cable, so we watching movies mainly.
5 years later and we still don't have cable, but have bought Netflix which we love. (Although I still think I'm a bit too addicted to it.)
We tried to live without internet, but Remi's a comp. tech and needs it for work and school, so cutting it out wasn't really an option for us.
Peace,
~ Niffer
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