So, what's your tolerance with entertainment?

[Ostria]

I'm gonna assume being new in the world of Jehovah, my tolerance with what i watch/read/listen to is probably higher than most, however i noticed that ivr started feeling weird watching certain things i watched before. For example i enjoyed the first season of Good Omens, and started watching season two the other day and didnt really get far before i felt meh with it. However I jumped back in the middle of season two of "Evil", however i think my curiosity of what in the world is even going on in that show is trumping the badness of it. Idk whats gojng on, i just know that Ben Linus from "Lost" got some issues

 

Though even before now, shows that got too too dark i didnt enjoy (like supernatural after the first few seasons, then how they portrayed 'God' was not really a fun watch). 

 

But ive lso been a firm believer of as long as you know what you're watching is just entertainment you should be fine (cue everyone quoting the scripture of you get out what you put in or something similar). I mean as long as you know that Satan isnt a sexy dude witb a British accent that runs a night club in Los Angeles, youre not gonna be easily convinced that hes just misunderstood and think that he's a cool dude. 

 

However there are some people that go hardcore with anything that may/does contradict the bible, like the satanic panics of the 80s, 90s, and 00s; with D&D, Pokemon, and Harry Potter respectively, some would find all or some of these fine. 

 

Ive been told by some people that ALL anime is bad and demonic, and i will agree that some anime do not need to exist (Im looking at you BnP (if you know what im talking about, great, you can be apart of the exclusive club, dont bring in anymore members that dont know 😂)). However theres a lot of anime out there that is virtually harmless.

 

Ive had some fomer friends that decided they couldnt be friends with me due to some of the stuff i liked (had one that ditched me for liking family guy, not sure if i mentioned my old friend Tsuki in a past post but meh. And another girl change classes when she found out i was reasing a book that involvee vampires (no, it wasnt twilight))

 

The sister im studying with tells me i should not listen to secular Christian music because they profit from it and that i should only listen to Christian music from the jw website (i mean my favorite song for the past four years have been "Love we Share" by Bizzle, and i wont lie, you may catch me swaying and dancing to some kirk franklin ("Lean on Me" be having me sobbing like a kid at a doctor's office getting a shot)

 

So.... If you made it through my word salad. How do yall feel about this?

[New World Explorer]

Well, I know how I feel about vampires …

When choosing entertainment we have pressure to partake from the table of demons and the table of Jehovah. 
Bible principles should guide us in this matter. 
What is alarming is the fact that you’re loosing friends over your choice of entertainment, if that was me I would always choose  a friend over “entertainment” 

Perhaps they have different views on matters but statement about vampires alarmed me as well. 
You might not like my response, but from time to time  it’s good for us to evaluate how we fare when it comes to our choices of entertainment. 
Just as a spiritual exercise please take time to consider Bible Principles against Vampires entertainment. 
I am sure you will find this very beneficial. 
 

 

 

[BLEmom]

It might be helpful to review some information on matters of conscience. 
Here is one resource 

https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2018446

 

There are several important things to consider when making decisions on entertainment.  

How does Jehovah feel about the subject matter?  It’s not our ‘feelings’ or decisions of others that is most important. It’s how Jehovah views it. The best way to know that is by personal study, research and requesting wisdom in prayer. 

Is our conscience properly trained?  Sometimes we make decisions without proper research or spiritual outlook. We may feel something is “ok” based on faulty reasoning.  On th other hand, sometimes we can be over righteous and judgmental. We get a balanced view through the same things-personal study and research and sometimes minding our own business. 😉

Another thing to consider is how our decisions affect others. Remember that while some things may be “lawful” they are not always “advantageous “. 
1Cor 6:12. We don’t want to put our rights above benefiting our relationship with others. 
 

[Tortuga]

34 minutes ago, Ostria said:

ve had some fomer friends that decided they couldnt be friends with me due to some of the stuff i liked

If these are spiritual mature friends, then please talk to them about why they are avoiding you. Hopefully they will help you choose better entertainment.

[Ostria]

4 minutes ago, New World Explorer said:

Well, I know how I feel about vampires …

When choosing entertainment we have pressure to partake from the table of demons and the table of Jehovah. 
Bible principles should guide us in this matter. 
What is alarming is the fact that you’re loosing friends over your choice of entertainment, if that was me I would always choose  a friend over “entertainment” 

Perhaps they have different views on matters but statement about vampires alarmed me as well. 
You might not like my response, but from time to time  it’s good for us to evaluate how we fare when it comes to our choices of entertainment. 
Just as a spiritual exercise please take time to consider Bible Principles against Vampires entertainment. 
I am sure you will find this very beneficial. 
 

 

 

 

Well the vampire thing was a girl in a class i knew for a few days. The book series i was reasing wasnt that grrat, i think i read the first five books, but that was back in 2009-2012 or so). As for the family guy girl. We were friends for many years, she used to be wiccan and had a crush on me but i didnt ditch her. Thr second she became christian she ditched me first chance she got 😂😭

[Ostria]

3 minutes ago, Tortuga said:

If these are spiritual mature friends, then please talk to them about why they are avoiding you. Hopefully they will help you choose better entertainment.

No one was a girl i knew for a few days back in 2009, the other was a girl i knew for years but havent talked to her since around 2013, but we met back during AOL3.0 in the late 90s

 

Edit: neither girl that i know of were Witnesses

Edited July 23 by Ostria

[hatcheckgirl]

Loving your refreshing honesty and questions, Erin 🫶. It’s a progressive journey, isn’t it? There are some things we see first off that are definitely against Jehovah’s laws and principles. Then we have things that may not be bad in themselves at the time, but looking back in hindsight, we can see that it wouldn’t be pleasing to Jehovah.

 

The struggle is for us not to judge others, but not be too lax and look like the world. We want to be different and hate what is bad from Jehovah’s viewpoint. Like I said, as we mature in the truth, we learn to make better decisions. So none of us should look down or judge anyone, because Jehovah knows how we are travelling spiritually speaking. He looks at the heart, and that we are trying our best. But, hey, we all have stuffed up and made mistakes. 💜

[Ostria]

50 minutes ago, hatcheckgirl said:

Loving your refreshing honesty and questions, Erin 🫶

Ngl probably gonna stop thrm and just go witb the flow ajd stwy neutral lol.... Yall dont need to know everything about me and get the wrong impression 🤷🏿‍♀️.

[1MKnight]

1 hour ago, Ostria said:

Ngl probably gonna stop thrm and just go witb the flow ajd stwy neutral lol.... Yall dont need to know everything about me and get the wrong impression 🤷🏿‍♀️.

 

My personal rule is: don't talk about movies unless someone else brings it up lol. Some get offended if you say you watch something with dragons. Everyone's got different consciences. There's quite a lot of stuff I don't indulge in only because I know it would stumble others, despite the fact that I genuinely believe it's totally fine with Jehovah. (and no, you're not going to be able to coax it out of me lol)

[hatcheckgirl]

Exactly 👍

[New World Explorer]

6 hours ago, Ostria said:

Ngl probably gonna stop thrm and just go witb the flow ajd stwy neutral lol.... Yall

How do I ask Google to translate this sentence? LOL 

[Dages]

6 minutes ago, New World Explorer said:

How do I ask Google to translate this sentence? LOL 

I'm not going to lie, I'm probably going to stop them and just go with the flow and stay neutral ?

Edited July 24 by Dages

[New World Explorer]

23 minutes ago, Dages said:

I'm not going to lie, I'm probably going to stop them and just go with the flow and stay neutral ?

Thank you David Google.... 🤣

[Mike047]

This is a subject where many seem to set a graduating scale of what is acceptable to watch, and what is not. Here is an example of some supernatural style films that were popular in the UK over the past decades:

 

At what some called the 'least objectionable' level was considered to be - 'Mary Poppins' popular in the US, UK and elsewhere, downgrading witchcraft to what might seem a bit of family fun.

 

Another similar, but slightly darker film was -  'Bedknobs and Broomsticks' an animated film about a trainee and incompetent witch, again downgrading spiritistic arts, and turning them in to 'harmless' family fun.

 

More darker was - Harry Potter, with the earliest films seen as 'lighter', and the latter films as 'darker'  J. K. Rowling sought to make fun of spiritistic practices and sought to make magic, fun. The films are said to have capitalised on that, and it became ta large part of a genre.

 

More dangerously dark was - 'The Exorcist'. A brother in a local congregation to where we lived some years back went to see this film because it had been widely advertised, and suffered from mental health problems afterwards.

 

Other have also been 'graded', and sometimes our brothers and sisters have chosen to overlook activities that we know Jehovah hates.

 

No doubt some of you have heard similar accounts across a whole range of genres. It demonstrates that we can either excuse ourselves or accuse others, but in all of that we need to remember why Jehovah removed other nations for their dark practices, and what he will yet do in the future.

 

 

 

 

[Ostria]

8 hours ago, New World Explorer said:

How do I ask Google to translate this sentence? LOL 

😂 im sorry, got a new keyboard and my finger patterns still aint got it down and im really bad at double checking 🤣

[computerwiz]

At one convention it was said:

 

"Would you laugh at someone who is dying of cancer?   Then why are you laughing at shows with homos & adulterers whom we know will not inherit God's kingdom?"

 

Or something to that effect.    The point is, if we HATE what Jehovah hates, then we will not be entertained by it.  We will strongly avoid it, not even giving it a chance.  If there's a particular food that you HATE, how often do you willingly subject yourself to it?  One would be thought of as crazy if they were constantly eating something they HATE.

 

Something to think about...  🤔

 

Ephesians 5:3, 4 - Let sexual immorality and every sort of uncleanness or greediness not even be mentioned among you, just as is proper for holy people; 4 neither shameful conduct nor foolish talking nor obscene jesting—things that are not befitting—but rather the giving of thanks.

 

Ephesians 5:10 - Keep on making sure of what is acceptable to the Lord.

[ChrisW]

My husband always says "I went and saw _________, but I wouldn't recommend it"   But he tells that to people we are very close to. We are very private about what we watch because some may not feel the same way about some things as we do.  I like old TV classics Hitchcock, The Twilight Zone. But some shows were a little strange. When I was younger I had a couple of older sisters say something to me and my sister about what we watched. It just made me very cautious about who I talk to about it because they immediately went to my parents to "tell" on us. But my parents watched what we watched. I'm very sensitive about demonic things and violence has more of a negative physical effect on me than I think anything.  We all have to be very careful. I never want to offend our God. It really doesn't matter how I feel about it.

[Qapla]

It's interesting when it comes to entertainment and what people like/don't like and what they watch and what they criticize.

 

I knew a brother who was serving as an elder. He and his wife were regular pioneers. They both held that the movie "Star Wars" was absolutely wrong for JW's as it was, according to them, "The most violent movie ever made" and, due to violence, it should not be watched. At the same time, their favorite movie was "The Outlaw Josey Wales" - a movie where 138 people are violently killed with the hero that killing 55 of those people.

 

Sadly, that brother and his wife are no longer with us, illness and imperfection took its toll, and they are both awaiting the resurrection.

 

Edited July 24 by Qapla

[cme]

"0" toleration.

[Ostria]

3 hours ago, cme said:

"0" toleration.

So you're strictly a jw.org media devourerererereeeerr... Devo... De... (Googles) devourer (disclaimer: using that term in a positive wwy, as in the only form of media they part take in/eat/etc is stuff from the jw site). Because nothing in the world is fully safe, even kid shows are leaning into the whole LGBT thing now. I mean you could say you stick to the classics shows, but even thry could be seen as bad. I mean would Jesus yell at Gilligan the way Skipper does? As Qalapa mentioned people will critisize and theres gonna be someone out there that will pick apart everything in existence if given the chance

[hatcheckgirl]

We grow in our reasonableness over time. Looking back, it’s a tricky balancing act and we want to do the right thing by our conscience, but not be judging others by their choices. We are really only “0” tolerance on things to do with 1 Cor 6:9-10. We have been washed clean of these sordid things and want to maintain a clean relationship with Jehovah.

 

But you are right, we cannot totally escape. Yes even the classic shows have immorality, violence to some degree, or spiritistic tones. Your sensitivity to what Jehovah hates gets honed over time, and as you mature spiritually, you use your “powers of discernment trained to distinguish both right and wrong” and make better decisions.

 

So, none of us should impose our expectations on others. There are good articles to research that balance the principles of not judging others while we ourselves maintain a good conscience before God. Above all, we don’t want to stumble others regarding our choices, so sometimes it is wiser to keep that info to ourselves. Here is the balance:

 

1 Cor 10: 29-32 “I do not mean your own conscience, but that of the other person. For why should my freedom be judged by another person’s conscience?  30 If I am partaking with thanks, why am I to be spoken of abusively over that for which I give thanks? 31 Therefore, whether you are eating or drinking or doing anything else, do all things for God’s glory.  32 Keep from becoming causes for stumbling”.

[Mike047]

It would be interesting to see a graph of the way our levels of tolerance and acceptance have changed over the decades. Around 20 years or so back, we had a talk at one of the elders schools with just such a chart, and it revealed the changes over the previous decades. The standards were shown to have dropped, and it may well be true that our standards have dropped even further since then. 

 

Not surprising, then, that our brothers in the GB provide continual reminders of moral and spiritual standards that are crucial; and that enable us to stand apart from other people around the earth.

[1MKnight]

4 hours ago, Mike047 said:

It would be interesting to see a graph of the way our levels of tolerance and acceptance have changed over the decades. Around 20 years or so back, we had a talk at one of the elders schools with just such a chart, and it revealed the changes over the previous decades. The standards were shown to have dropped, and it may well be true that our standards have dropped even further since then. 

 

Not surprising, then, that our brothers in the GB provide continual reminders of moral and spiritual standards that are crucial; and that enable us to stand apart from other people around the earth.

 

I've actually been thinking about conducting such a survey for a while now. Perhaps I should start working on it. 

[Ostria]

On 7/25/2024 at 9:17 AM, 1MKnight said:

 

I've actually been thinking about conducting such a survey for a while now. Perhaps I should start working on it. 

That would be cool, and actually  what my original post was asking about tbh

[fix it shop]

On 7/26/2024 at 2:23 PM, Ostria said:

That would be cool, and actually  what my original post was asking about tbh

That would be neat ! How about comedy - " It's a Mad ,Mad ,Mad ,Mad World !