***lv chap. 6 pp. 62-65 How to Choose Wholesome Entertainment***
Chapter6 - How to Choose Wholesome Entertainment
"Do all things for God's glory."-1 CORINTHIANS 10:31.
Q1,2. What choice do we need to make regarding entertainment?IMAGINE that you are about to eat a tasty piece of fruit but then notice that a part of it is rotten. What will you do? Well, you could eat the entire fruit, even the bad part; you could throw away the entire fruit, including the bad part; or you could cut the bad part out of the fruit and enjoy the good part. What choice will you make?
2 In a way, entertainment is like that fruit. At times, you want to enjoy some recreation, but you realize that much of the entertainment available today is morally bad, even rotten. So, what will you do? Some might tolerate what is bad and swallow whatever entertainment this world has to offer. Others might avoid all entertainment to make sure that they will not be exposed to anything harmful. Still others might carefully avoid entertainment that is harmful but occasionally enjoy that which is relatively wholesome. What choice should you make in order to keep yourself in God's love?
"What choice should you make" would have been better rephrased to "What choice will you make" as the Christian should be encouraged to make his own decisions based on his conscience and Christian principles rather than being told what to do
Q3. What will we now consider?3 Most of us would select the third option. We appreciate the need for some recreation but want to limit our entertainment to what is morally sound. Therefore, we need to consider how we can determine what is wholesome and what is not. First, though, let us discuss what effect our choice of entertainment can have on the worship we render to Jehovah.
"DO ALL THINGS FOR GOD'S GLORY"
Q4. How should our dedication affect our choice of entertainment?4 Some time ago, an elderly Witness who was baptized in 1946 observed: "I have made it a point to be present at every baptism talk and to listen carefully, as if it were my own baptism." Why? He explained, "Keeping my dedication fresh has been an important step in remaining faithful." You will doubtless agree with that sentiment. Reminding yourself that you promised Jehovah you would use your entire life to serve him motivates you to endure. (Ecclesiastes 5:4; Hebrews 10:7) In fact, meditating on your dedication will affect your view not only of the Christian ministry but also of all other areas of life-including entertainment. The apostle Paul underlined that truth when he wrote to Christians in his day: "Whether you are eating or drinking or doing anything else, do all things for God's glory."-1 Corinthians 10:31.
"I have made it a point to be present at every baptism talk and to listen carefully, as if it were my own baptism." - Wonder what he thinks of the change of the baptism questions, namely:
Pre 1985:
(1) Have you recognized yourself as a sinner and needing salvation from Jehovah God? And have you acknowledged that this salvation proceeds from him and through his ransomer, Christ Jesus?
(2) On the basis of this faith in God and in his provision for redemption have you dedicated yourself unreservedly to Jehovah God, to do his will henceforth as that will is revealed to you through Christ Jesus and through God's Word as his holy spirit makes it plain?
After 1985:
(1) On the basis of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, have you repented of your sins and dedicated yourself to Jehovah to do his will?
(2) Do you understand that your dedication and baptism identify you as one of Jehovah's Witnesses in association with God's spirit-directed organization?
"Keeping my dedication fresh has been an important step in remaining faithful." - Dedication and faithfulness to God or to the "commands of men" imposed by the leadership of the WTS?
"meditating on your dedication will affect your view...of the Christian ministry" - Another plug for the ministry in an article discussing entertainment!
How many witnesses know about this information about house-to-house?
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/bible/165144/1/COMMENTS-YOU-WILL-NOT-HEAR-AT-THE-WT-STUDY-09-07-08-HOUSE-TO-HOUSE-MINISTR
Q5. How does Leviticus 22:18-20 help us to see the implicit warning behind Romans 12:1?5 Everything you do in life is related to your worship of Jehovah. In his letter to the Romans, Paul used a forceful expression to impress this truth upon fellow believers. He urged them: "Present your bodies a sacrifice living, holy, acceptable to God, a sacred service with your power of reason." (Romans 12:1) Your body includes your mind, your heart, and your physical strength. All of these, you use in serving God. (Mark 12:30) Paul speaks of such whole-souled service as a sacrifice. That expression contains an implicit warning. Under the Mosaic Law, a sacrifice that was blemished was rejected by God. (Leviticus 22:18-20) Similarly, if a Christian's spiritual sacrifice is tainted in some way, it will be rejected by God. How, though, could that happen?
Who was Paul talking to according to WTS? If it's the anointed then how do these words apply to the great crowd?
"...if a Christian's spiritual sacrifice is tainted in some way, it will be rejected by God" - So they speak for God again! Where is the forgiveness of sins on the basis of Christ's ransom sacrifice? Only God decides this based on a person's heart not some corporate lawyer of the WTS.
Q6,7. How could a Christian taint his body, and what could be the consequences?6 Paul admonished the Christians in Rome: "Do not...go on presenting your members ["parts of your body," New International Version] to sin." Paul also told them to "put the practices of the body to death." (Romans 6:12-14; 8:13) Earlier in his letter, he had given some examples of such "practices of the body." Regarding sinful mankind, we read: "Their mouth is full of cursing." "Their feet are speedy to shed blood." "There is no fear of God before their eyes." (Romans 3:13-18) A Christian would blemish his body if he used his "members," or body parts, for such sinful practices. For instance, if a Christian today deliberately views such depraved material as pornography or watches sadistic violence, he is "presenting [his eyes] to sin" and is thus tainting his whole body. Any worship that he renders amounts to a sacrifice that is no longer holy and is unacceptable to God. (Deuteronomy 15:21; 1 Peter 1:14-16; 2 Peter 3:11) What a high price to pay for pursuing unwholesome entertainment!
[his eyes] - Why do they always add to the Bible?
7 Clearly, a Christian's choice of entertainment has weighty consequences. Surely, then, we want to choose entertainment that will enhance, not taint, our sacrifice to God. Let us now discuss how we can determine what is wholesome and what is not.
"ABHOR WHAT IS WICKED"
Q8,9. (a)Entertainment can be broadly divided into what two categories? (b)What forms of entertainment do we reject, and why?8 In broad terms, entertainment can be divided into two categories. One includes entertainment that Christians definitely avoid; the other is made up of entertainment that Christians may or may not find acceptable. Let us start by considering the first category-entertainment that Christians avoid.
9 As noted in Chapter 1, some forms of entertainment highlight activities expressly condemned in the Bible. Think, for example, of Web sites as well as movies, TV programs, and music that have sadistic or demonistic content or that contain pornography or promote vile, immoral practices. Since such degraded forms of entertainment portray in a positive light activities that violate Bible principles or break Bible laws, they should be shunned by true Christians. (Acts 15:28, 29; 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10; Revelation 21:8) By rejecting such unwholesome entertainment, you prove to Jehovah that you truly "abhor what is wicked" and consistently "turn away from what is bad." That way, you have "faith without hypocrisy."-Romans 12:9; Psalm 34:14; 1 Timothy 1:5.
Where is the mention of Jesus and the principles he taught?
Is this the WTS example of "faith without hypocrisy"?
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/176262/1/BREAKING-NEWS-WATCHTOWER-IS-STILL-A-MEMBER-OF-UN-SOURCE-SAYS