January 26, 2009
Personal note:
I wrote the following as a bulletin insert in 2004 just before the Super Bowl.
"... The half-time show of Super Bowl 2004 will be hosted by MTV,
notorious for its use of filth to appeal to youth. And, as if MTV's filth
is not enough, viewers can elect to watch the 'Lingerie Bowl' featuring scantily-clad
models as they get "down and dirty" for a game of tackle football.
..."
Last year's ads were for the most part toned down. The word is that they
will be (for the most part again this year.) What is the reason for this apparent
toning down? Is it because multitudes have expressed their displeasure to
the companies that have used eroticism to market their products? I think this
accounts for at least part of the reason. At any rate, I wrote the following
and used it as a bulletin insert in 2004. It is a word to the churches that
applied then it still does today. What do you think?
Superbowl Sunday and the Church
What began as the championship game between two competing football leagues
in 1967 has since become an American entertainment extravaganza.
The transition from championship football game to cultural event was engineered
by the corporate world as it realized, and continues to realize, the tremendous
marketing opportunities afforded by broadening the appeal of the event. With
its broadened appeal, many churches saw the Super Bowl as a great opportunity
for evangelism and have hosted Super Bowl parties for this purpose.
However, the television event has become, especially in recent years, a spectacle
of sin. Half-time shows are increasingly marked by the display of overt sexuality.
Many advertisements feature the same theme, as well as condone the sexual
objectification of women, illicit sexuality, rampant materialism, and indiscriminate
alcohol consumption.
The half-time show of Super Bowl 2004 will be hosted by MTV, notorious for
its use of filth to appeal to youth. And, as if MTV's filth is not enough,
viewers can elect to watch the "Lingerie Bowl" featuring scantily-clad
models as they get "down and dirty" for a game of tackle football.
As Super Bowl 2004 approaches, we must ask ourselves: Is it possible for a
church to align itself with the Super Bowl in its evangelical efforts without
aligning itself with the general godlessness of the event? Can the churches
hosting Super Bowl parties effectively screen out the immorality associated
with the game? Or, is this inherently an unholy alliance?
As we answer this question one thing is certain. As Christians, we are called
to be a "salt" and a "light." We are not called to conformity.
It must be different with us. It would be easy to retreat from this difficult
world altogether. Many questions and situations would not have to be faced.
However, Christ's command to his church is not to leave the world, but to
go out into it with the light of the Gospel.
In this approach, which takes so many different forms for so many different
churches, one thing is certain: the church must influence the world more than
the world influences the church. If the latter occurs, all evangelical efforts,
regardless of their good intent, will ultimately fail.
"The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye
be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil,
thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in
thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters:
for he will either love the one and hate the other; or else he will hold to
the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."
[Matthew 6:22-24]
=================
To donate online:
http://americandecency.org/folder.php?f=donate
=============================
American Decency Association
Bill Johnson, President
P.O. Box 202
Fremont, MI 49412
ph: 231-924-4050
http://www.americandecency.org
