Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Shuffle Off To Bethlehem
When I was reading Postman's book Amusing Ourselves To Death, I read chapter eight about how church was changing in the Age of Show Business. Church went from traditional ways like a preacher with sermons and with an organ playing to having bands and paying to be in the church and being on television. I have not heard of a church that you had to pay before you are allowed in. How is that right? How can a church charge you an entrance fee? Church is supposed to be welcoming to all people, even homeless. Postman says," It is a perfect television sermon-theatrical, emotional, and in a curious way comforting, even to a Jewish viewer."(116) What I think that he's saying is, that the type of Church on television does not preach to only a certain type of group. Church can be comforting to all types of religions such as Jewish people. Church has evolved to being more entertaining than religous in this era. I could understand why people would want to put Church as a television program. Many people do not go to church for their own reasons and all they would have to do is watch it on tv to make themselves not feel bad about going to Church. I don't think that is right.
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4 comments:
I think charging people for an entrance fee for church is sad and crazy. It's sad to see what the world has come to now with religion and crazy that in how much the church has changed. Whereas I haven't seen a church where you had to pay to get in, I don't doubt it a second. But, I don't see anything wrong with having bands to play worship music. It's in the way we worship and it's just up to speed in our society. I can see why some churches want to be on TV. They want to promote their church and when people are flipping through channels on a Sunday morning, they might stop and watch the service.
This was probably my favorite chapter in the entire book. It was simply genius.
If someone doesn't have the will to go to a traditional church then they are not as religious as they thought or felt they were.
Whoever thought that church on television would be equal to traditional preaching was in denial. In a sense, they were ridiculing religion for making it into entertainment.
"Everything that makes religion a historic, profound and sacred activity is stripped away; there is no ritual, no dogma, no tradition, no theology, and above all, no sense of spiritual transcendence."(117)
It's obvious that paying to attend a certain church is just ridiculous. That goes against everything the Bible stands for. But church on television is ok with me. Although some people don't go because of selfish reasons, others don't go because they can't. For instance, sick or bed written people who have no choice might want to attend a church service but can't.
Television could be a resource.
Hey ChaCha, this chapter was very interesting to me. I was able to understand it without re-reading it. :) What caught my attention was the fact that church in general isn't the same, people don't take religion as serious anymore. I dont understand how one can charge another just to get into church. That is nonsense, I could see if they were having something special at the church to help raise money but in that case they're not.
In response to your comment Cierra, what if the person that is watching a sermon on television is sick or handicap and has the desire to go to a traditional church but can't? Does that mean they're not as religious as they thought or felt they were?
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