Saturday, October 18, 2014

Entertainment as childish?

     A co-worker referenced a television show he watched when he was very little and how much he enjoyed it back then.  I had never heard of the show so that evening I Googled it and found some episodes on YouTube.  The smaller children and I watched a few minutes of one episode, which they thoroughly enjoyed.  It was so enjoyable to watch them watch the show and be so overjoyed at its silliness.  The show was very 70's and corny.
     This situation brought about some ideas.  As you may have figured out by now, I like to dig up and question our presuppositions.  My thought was this: 
     Could it be the case that the reason our desire for a change in the content of the material that we find entertaining is that entertainment should be strictly a juvenile activity?  In other words, is entertainment something that we leave behind as a childish activity, like playing "Hopscotch" or "Duck, Duck, Goose"?
     It very well could be that I am completely off base and that some entertainment is perfectly legitimate.  But when I look at the teachings of the early church fathers, I don't see any room for entertainment, trifles or sensory titillation.
     I would love to hear some feedback on this.  Something more than, "Well I think it's ok...". 
So  question is, "Is entertainment an activity that we leave behind as we grow up?"

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