Conservative Christian Claims and Secular Popular Culture As I have mentioned, both Traditionalists and Progressivists are wary about secular forms of popular culture. Traditionalists argue that most forms of popular culture are inherently evil and therefore to be avoided. Progressivists however, argue that the content must be analyzed for conflicting messages. Secular items of popular culture are forbidden if messages that are antithetical to conservative Christianity are found. This means that Traditionalists and Progressivists may construct claims against popular culture. Both feel that the conservative Christian way of life must be upheld, that it is somehow threatened by the larger culture.
Children are especially at risk since they (1) are exposed to secular popular culture in greater amounts, (2) are seen as weaker in their ability to judge right from wrong, and (3) are seen as the future bearers of the conservative Christian subculture’s way of life. Scriptures in the Bible abound about the worth of children and the necessity of raising them so that they do not depart from the faith: Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate (Psalm 127: 3-5).
What we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord his power, and the wonders he has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands. (Psalm 78: 3-7).
The Essay on American Students Bloom Cultures Children
American children are taught at a very young age that Americans are superior to all other cultures. A familiar notion that has surrounded the thoughts of American minds for centuries is that America is the number one country and more advanced than other cultures. Perhaps the best emphasis was written and discussed by Professor Allan Bloom in his book titled The Closing of the American Mind. "The ...
Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it (Proverbs 22:6).
Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die. Punish him with the rod and save his soul from death (Proverbs 23: 13-14).
The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother (Proverbs 29: 15).
Traditionalists and Progressivists feel a strong need to protect their children from the influences of secular popular culture.
Claims are constructed against secular popular culture based upon the slippery slope and inherent corruption arguments. The Traditionalist Texe Marrs for example explains that some secular books might corrupt the children of Protestant Evangelicals by advocating new age thinking: What evil lurks within the confines of elementary, junior high school, and public libraries? Plenty! Satan is having a field day with our kids, producing books of terror–books for children and teens with only one express purpose: to putrefy and trash mind and soul (Marrs 1989: 175).
And concerning movies and television he points out that The realm of movies and TV is a demonic free-fire battle zone and our children are hapless targets (Marrs 1989:201).
Marrs goes on to argue that an episode of a Mighty Mouse cartoon shows the hero snorting cocaine and that new age themes could be identified in shows such as Pound Puppies, Dungeons & Dragons, Thundercats, He-Man, and My Little Pony (Marrs 1989).
Carl McClain, a conservative Christian author wrote in 1970 that Protestant Evangelicals should not patronize the movies, that if they did, then they could not be a “spiritual force for good, a vital Christian leader or Sunday school teacher” (McClain in Billingsley, 1989: 18).
Progressivists have also made claims against some of the content in secular popular culture. Schultze, a professor of Communications at Calvin College (A conservative Christian college in Michigan) argues that: Television is a potentially great medium that suffers in the hands of sinful users and misinformed critics (Schultze 1992: 12).
The Term Paper on The Impact Of Television On The Film Industry
The advent of television and television shows may have come long after film, but it enhanced film production almost instantly. Television naturally derived from early film since each uses basically the same medium: the motion picture camera. Since film had already set a base in the industry and mastered the new techniques and technology of cinematography, television had the opportunity to learn ...
My theses (sic) is that television can be “redeemed” when producers and viewers alike hold the medium up to standards of spiritual, moral and artistic integrity. I argue that we do not simply need more televangelism or even necessarily more “Christian TV”-if by such a term one means only programs that proclaim the gospel or are produced by evangelicals. Rather, we need a much clearer sense of the many ways that television can glorify God and serve humankind (Schultze 1992: 13).
Schultze argues that the only way to “redeem” television is to use the medium wisely, that, “The technology itself doesn’t bear the full blame.” He suggests that the way Protestant Evangelicals watch, where they watch and why they watch all shape television’s impact on their lives.
He fears that Protestant Evangelicals do not exercise enough judgment in these areas, and that “mindless viewing” will be a direct result. Secular film has also received critical attention. K.L. Billingsley, a conservative Christian script writer for secular stage, film, and television points out that American Christians have never objected to film as film. Indeed, they have always made ample use of the medium for educational purposes. Every popular Christian author or speaker, it seems, has had his own film series. It is commercial, Hollywood fare that has brought objection (Billingsley 1989:17).
This objection has been voiced many times. Stephen W. Paine, former president of Houghton College and of the National Association of Evangelicals wrote in 1957 that
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