Who has never been tempted to peruse one of the celebrity magazines strategically placed at the grocery store checkout line? Or who has never felt the struggle between the flesh and the Spirit over a certain theatrical performance or movie?
In a day when entertainment—both good and bad—vies for our attention on a constant basis, Christians need to put on their “biblical glasses” and use discerning minds.
During next Friday’s biblical worldview forum, which will be held at 11 a.m. in FMA, BJU students, faculty and staff will gather to address issues involving the Christian’s response to entertainment. However, rather than taking only 35 minutes of one chapel service to tackle this topic, as in previous forums, the entire week of chapel services leading up to the forum will center on the topic of entertainment.
The week’s chapel speakers and Friday’s panelists include seminary faculty members Dr. Brian Hand, Dr. Randy Leedy and Dr. Gary Reimers. Throughout the week speakers will address different aspects of entertainment, such as the relationship between entertainment and our culture, the aspect of worldliness in entertainment, the stewardship of time in relation to entertainment and the issue of entertainment in worship.
Dr. Leedy plans to address the relationship between entertainment and culture. He said the present culture’s emphasis on entertainment necessitates a Christian’s discernment. “Many of the pleasures that our culture dangles before our eyes are in reality the baits with which our adversary hopes to capture us,” he said. “Scripture equips us to spot such dangers and avoid the snare in which today’s delight becomes tomorrow’s disaster.”
Avoiding entertainment’s pitfalls while trying to enjoy good entertainment can prove difficult in some situations. To help students with issues ranging from movies to music, students may submit questions to [email protected] until Thursday, and these questions will be taken into consideration as panelists prepare for Friday’s forum.
After evaluating the effectiveness of last year’s forums, Dr. Eric Newton, dean of students, said the administration wanted to improve this year’s format by giving students more time to prepare and think biblically about each topic. By listening to the chapel messages preceding the forum and submitting questions throughout the week, students can take hold of the topic in a deeper way.
According to Dr. Newton, the chapel services will focus on the biblical principles related to entertainment, whereas specific questions will be addressed during Friday’s forum.
Also, BJU’s Student Leadership Development team has compiled resources addressing entertainment and a variety of other topics, which can be accessed by students on BJUSync. This resource, Dr. Newton said, along with prayer and the chapel messages, can help students prepare for Friday’s forum.
The goal of Friday’s forum, he said, is to help students, faculty and staff walk away thinking biblically about the contemporary issue of entertainment. “We are hoping to demonstrate that we want to view and live all life from a biblical worldview,” Dr. Newton said.