American Idol

Heavens, what are we, Puritans?

In a society where Christians are constantly losing their credibility and relevancy in a society that is more than eager to leave them on the curb, the *last* thing we want the secular crowd to see us doing is conducting a person inventory to determine whether American Idol is resonating in our hearts, and subsequently changing and affecting us, while far more serious and pertinent issues are at hand.

I am not defending American Idol (I actually detest *most* aspects of the show) nor am I suggesting that Mr. Challies reasoning is wrong. He is quite correct. But… doesn’t this make it sound like we’re just a bunch of pious little church mice?

I don’t think that the secular crowd is going to judge us because we watch American Idol— I doubt that hurts our testimony much at all.

And for goodness sake, to the poster who commented that there might be something sinful in being engaged in a competition… WHAT!?! I am suddenly second-guessing the motives of my heart during a particular game of “go fish” I played the other day… I really wanted to win it. Am I a bad person?

Maybe I am nitpicking. But, in a hurting world where Christians are constantly dropping the ball, is American Idol really at the top of our list of priorities? If so, where does hunger, poverty, Christian hypocrisy, and various other forms of oppression fall in line?

Sounds like we’re majoring in the minors with this one, Tim.

Mr. Challies,

“No, we’re thinking about the Christian life. I don’t think this can ever be a bad thing. Your argument can be used against just about anything. It’s absurd, really. I am not suggesting that someone create a ministry or write a book dedicated to tearing down American Idol. I am merely suggesting that there is something we can think about when we watch this show and others like it.”

First of all, I’m not trying to insult anybody, Tim. I use the name “Puritan” in jest. If that phrase came across as a hostility, I first want to apologize before anyone else tries to use it as an opportunity to engage me in an argument off my main point. So far, it seems that Dr. Mike is the only one who has displayed (1) the willingness to get along and (2) a high enough level of reading comprehension to actually extract my main points from the peripheral distractions in my message.

I agree that there is nothing *bad* about thinking about the Christian life. I know that I’m setting myself up for a slam from a few of you when I say this, but it is possible to be so heavenly minded that we are of no earthly good.

There is certainly something to be said about discernment in media, and it does take individuals like you, Mr. Challies, to point out areas in our lives that we otherwise might have overlooked.

However, there is something else to be said about the individuals who, as Dr. Mike quoted, “strain out gnats and swallow camels.” After all, Tim, using your same logic, maybe we ought not watch America’s Funniest Home Videos, for isn’t that engaging in voyeurism and cruelly laughing at the misfortunes of others?

“I think you might be taking that a bit far, Alex.”

Exactly!!!

Now, Tim, I brought up the fact that there are much larger fish for the Christians to fry, namely the poor, the defenseless, the down-trodden of society. This can be a fairly cliche argument… I don’t see why it is “absurd” (you ought to cross-reference the absurdity of being concerned about the poor with your Jesus notes) but it is a stock argument.

But, is it responsible for you, Mr. Challies, with such a wide audience do display such irresponsibility as to publicly write off my suggestion that there are bigger humanitarian causes than saving the world from minor indulgences in crappy TV shows is an “absurdity,” I cannot help but be reminded of, “whatever you do unto the least of these, you do unto me.”

Mr. Challies, you are not the only one who gets to perscribe accountability, and it is quite frustrating that you try to pick a fight with someone else who has an equally valid point, and write off their claims as an absurdity.

I realize that my use of the name, “Puritan” might have come off as if I were trying to incite an argument, forgive me, I was playing fast-and-loose with my word there, and regret that it may have distracted from my main point.

As you pointed out, calling someone a Puritan is not likely to insult anyone around here (of course, my aim was not to insult anyone, but…) and I am in fact aware that the people around here largely tend to embrace what is known as “fundamentalism.”

I ask this: What is more fundamental than the simple teachings of Christ? Why do we, as Christians, tend to overlook the most basic teachings in regards to poverty, minority, and warnings against Pharasaical self-righteousness?

History buffs will recall that Thomas Jefferson went through the gospels with a razor and sliced out the parts he didn’t like. If it is fair for someone to say that American Idol is, like a droplet of water on a rock, inching us toward moral decay, then it is equally fair to suggest that “majoring in the minors” and straining out the gnats might lead us in an equally dangerous direction.

Bill (WFSEUEB),

It is interesting how, the more time I spend advocating for the poor, the more I find Christians arguing against my efforts.

I enjoy reading Mr. Challies blogs, reading other peoples comments, and throwing my own comments in with the mix because I am a firm believer in discourse.

Intelligent dialogue allows us to test our own ideas out by challenging others. When conducted properly, it is a win-win for all parties involved.

I do welcome criticism. If there is an error in my reasoning, please point it out. Furthermore, if I step out of bounds by making what you feel to be an inappropriate personal comment, then, in the spirit of good debate, call me out on it.

If you have something to add to the debate, I would be willing to entertain your ideas. However, if your only purpose in posting to me is to take the discussion off-topic by challenging whether I should have even written my perfectly valid post in the first place, I am not interested.

Furthermore, Bill, I actually do spend quite a great deal of time blogging in defense of minority interests, whether that be the poor, the underrepresented, or what have you. But I assure you, I make it a point to not only *talk* about doing things for the poor, but to actually take the boots-on-the-ground approach and *do* things for them.

Now, perhaps Mr. Challies occassionally blogs about the poor. I’ve only been reading his blog for a month or so, so you are right— if Mr. Challies blogged about the poor two years ago, I would have no way of knowing about it.

My frustration is not with Mr. Challies himself, but with the Christian church in general, and I am using Mr. Challies blog as a way to bring attention to this issue.

If you consider the amount that Jesus spent teaching about and addressing the needs of the poor (a majority) and consider the amount of time the Christian church spends on similar matters, it can certainly be argued that the church spends a disproportionately small amount of time teaching on, and doing things about, the demographic that Christ seemed predominantly concerned about it.