On "Eight is Enough" the oldest son lived with his wife before they were married, and the middle son made a girl pregnant out of wedlock. If I am not mistaken, the son on :'Family" was arrested for being at a "gay" bar. And "James at Sixteen" lost his virginity. These television programs were advertised as "family shows." And the people of the world had the audacity to declare that such entertainment is good because it presents controversial issues in a "sensitive" way. The only decent way to present fornication, adultery, and homosexuality is to condemn them openly and boldly.

The primary source of education in this country is not the schools. The number one baby-sitting institution is not the daycare center. The first form of casual information children have is not their peer group. All of these things are provided by television. Parents, what are your children learning as they watch the television? Are they learning to love the Lord with all their heart, fear God, keep Christ's commandments, do good unto all men, abhor that which is evil, and live a righteous life? Or are they learning about Boy George, who shot J.R., "Falcon Crest," and the exploits of the cast on "Dynasty"?

This is not intended as a blanket condemnation of television. I have a television set in my house and use it, occasionally. We can keep informed on the world about us via the news. We can relax by watching the few decent shows left. There are programs which help children learn basic educational skills in a fun manner. And some churches of Christ have even used the television as a means of preaching the gospel. But there is much on television that is ungodly and immoral. And too many of us are letting this moral garbage flow into our living rooms almost constantly, with little or no supervision whatever, where it is filling the minds of impressionable children with things that really are not fit for adults to watch. Brethren, we need to wake up, smell the bacon, and exercise our option of using the off switch. "Now it is high time to awake out of sleep. . . . The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light" (Rom. 13:11-12).

Guardian of Truth XXIX: 19, p. 586
October 3, 1985