Thanks to the wonders of the modern world you’ll find that people in the West have more leisure time than ever before. It is not surprising then that the entertainment industry has grown hugely over the last few decades. What with digital TV, the internet, films, music, computer games we live in a world saturated with entertainment. On average an individual in the UK spends five hours a day in leisure activities (reading, sport, TV, films, gaming, music, etc).
The question is: should a Christians entertainment habits be different from a non-Christian? Or to put it another way: how should Christians be entertained?
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Most of us who mix in Christian circles could, if pressed, named a Christian clique (if you can’t you’re in one!). In fact there’s a whole stereotype built up around them, the Holy Huddle, the Gospel Grouping, the Kingdom Kollective…ok, I jest, but there is more than a large element of truth in what I say. Christians seem to have a gift for being ‘cliquey’.
Before I begin I should add that I’m not saying it’s wrong to have a group of close friends. But it is wrong for them to be your only friends. This will hopefully make more sense as I go on. And I’m not just speaking about a Christian/non Christian divide. No, Christian cliques will often exclude other Christians as well which is particularly damning – we are, after all, brothers and sisters in Christ, citizens of heaven, co-heirs in Christ, members of God’s household, one in Christ. The reaction to my last post on ‘This Little Light’ was mixed. Some liked what I had to say, other didn’t, some felt guilty and one person told me I was a rubbish Christian. It might have been more effective if he/she had had the courage to leave a real name. Someone else complained I’d watched an old video so I watched the new one and realised that a) selling the ‘gospel’ through back flips were still there b) the morality/good works gospel was even more evident and c) it was still resoundingly pathetic and d) it was three times more ethnically diverse.
Anyways, I thought to try and clear the air a bit and in an effort to persuade people just how shallow ‘This Little Light’ is I’d look at a contemporary song that was also successful. Say hello then to ‘East to West’ by Casting Crowns. Just as a quick point – this is far from the best Christian song I could have chosen. There are many others which are even better. But I chose ‘East to West’ because it was released recently (2007), was a success (25th in US charts) and is by a popular Christian band. God moves in mysterious ways. Just last week I was writing about the dangers of Wishy Washy Christianity and then this week I just happen across the song ‘This Little Light’ by the band LZ7. Unfortunately, I couldn’t ask for a better example of Wishy Washy Christianity. Here, watch it…
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