America Worships Sex, The Supernatural, Death

“Come on, now — America doesn’t worship that! Why do you say such a stupid thing?”

That’s how one of my acquaintances challenged me when I made that statement. I began naming various television programs and theater presentations. (I don’t watch any of them.) But he cut me off and exclaimed that Americans do NOT worship those things — they merely like to watch them.

He became visibly upset because … well, let’s look at the word “worship” before we proceed.

Merriam-Webster Online defines worship as: “honor or reverence for a divine being or power; great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion; a celebrity worshipped by her fans.” Hmmm …

You ever hear of a “teen idol”? People idolize movie stars, rock groups, rappers, sports figures, etc. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, to idolize someone is idolatry. And what does the Bible say about idolatry? You better read it.

Back to the dictionary. Logos New Bible Dictionary says in part: “Worship. Originally referred to the action of human beings in expressing homage to God because He is worthy of it. Nowadays, however, ‘worship’ is used for any kind of interaction between God and His people.” And my observation is: some worship is quite shallow.

Let’s put all that into a simple narrative. Adoring reverence or [adoring] regard for a person or thing is worship. And if that ‘object of worship’ is not Almighty God, it is idolatry.

As I mentioned, my acquaintance became quite upset with me. He emphatically affirmed that he was a strong Christian, and that watching sex, murder, gore, and supernatural [demonic] movies is not harmful in any way. That it doesn’t harm society in any way. It is merely entertainment.

I pointed out movies such as: American Horror Story, The Bachelor, Castle Rock, Death in Paradise, The Flash, Grey’s Anatomy, Ghost Wars, Harlots, Housewives, Lucifer, Modern Family, Scandal, Supernatural, The Walking Dead, A Wicked Offer, The Exorcist, Scream Queens, Sex and the City, The Vampire Diaries, Westworld, Will & Grace.

I never watch them, but I’ve seen many commercials while watching the news and The Weather Channel.

He told me he enjoys watching many of them, and proceeded telling me storylines in order to verify their redeeming qualities.

When I asked him how much time he invested reading the Bible, he tossed out the statement, “I read it when I have time.”

That revealed his priorities in life and his objects of worship. He has time to feast his mind on abject evil, demonic activity, and nudity — all of which hinders or negates true worship — but doesn’t have much time to enrich his life with the Word of God.

The simple fact is: we feast on what we adore, and it becomes part of us. The computer-world has it right: GI-GO. Garbage In – Garbage Out. I am appalled at what our Christian world approves and makes part of their lives! The Bible affirms it as sin.

There is a huge dichotomy — call it hypocrisy — related to all this. Our society generates nationwide outcries when someone commits mass-murder. Society abhors pornography (publicly, anyway). Society is currently having an outrage over sex scandals related to public figures. Public shootings, murder, rape, all draw brief public outrage.

Doesn’t anyone ever stop and think? Doesn’t anyone realize that what is happening in real life is a manifestation of what is being produced in Hollywood? We idolize all that hellish behavior on television and on the big screen! Society — including Christians — feast on it.

James 1:27 says, “Religion that God accepts as pure and without fault is this: caring for orphans or widows who need help, and keeping yourself free from the world’s evil influence.”