How Does One Remain Fully Catholic While Watching T.v? .

[havok579257]

[quote name='kujo' timestamp='1338440046' post='2438497']
It's so annoying when Catholics hold Stephen Colbert to such a high standard. How many times do you muff up the visage of our Lord in your daily life? Do you think you may have given a bad impression of Catholicism in your deeds or words once or twice in your life?

I get that he's a "public person" and all. But seriously, if you think there's anyone out there who formulates their vision of faithful Catholicism based on the over-the-top persona you see at 11:30 p.m. on Comedy Central, I just don't know what to tell you.
[/quote]

well there are people who formulates their opinions on catholics on whatthey hear on msnbc. 99% of catholic women use contraceptives. only 1% of women are trying to get pregnant or are pregnant or are not using birth control. stupid logic but people believe it. for a time the only cable news channel i had access to was msnbc so it was on alot. you would not believe what they say about catholics. so i have no doubt people get their catholic views from colbert just like they get their news from stewart.

[kujo]

[quote name='havok579257' timestamp='1338443893' post='2438546']
well there are people who formulates their opinions on catholics on whatthey hear on msnbc. 99% of catholic women use contraceptives. only 1% of women are trying to get pregnant or are pregnant or are not using birth control. stupid logic but people believe it. for a time the only cable news channel i had access to was msnbc so it was on alot. you would not believe what they say about catholics. so i have no doubt people get their catholic views from colbert just like they get their news from stewart.
[/quote]

Disagree. Again, I have a hard ti[color=#282828]me believing that large groups of people [/color]for[color=#282828]mulate their views on Catholicis[/color][color=#282828]m based on a satirical character played on a co[/color][color=#282828]medy network.[/color]

[havok579257]

[quote name='Basilisa Marie' timestamp='1337975918' post='2434805']
Showing today's television to a priest from any past or future time period is completely irrelevant to this situation. You say people are afraid of giving up their tv shows. I'll counter by saying that people who unilaterally write everything off are afraid of making complex moral judgments themselves. While I definitely agree with what you're saying about society as a whole and the general direction of television, Catholics in good standing [i]aren't [/i]society as a whole, and thus make moral judgments differently than Average Secular American Person.

People might watch something that depicts sinful activity in a positive (or neutral) light because they may find other reasons to watch the show. Maybe there's only one scene of gratuitous sex, but the rest of the movie is about some good message. Maybe you watch something like "A Game of Thrones" because you appreciate the story, and fast forward through the gratuitous nudity. Maybe you like Harry Potter because of its positive messages about friendship and self-sacrifice, and carefully explain to your kids the dangers of real magic. Some things don't have any redeeming qualities, sure, and should probably be avoided. But you can't just automatically exclude something because there's a depiction of sinful activity in it. We have to critically examine things, and figure out if we believe there are enough redeeming qualities to justify partaking in it. As lay people we can't just reject everything from our culture automatically and only interact with Catholic art and Catholic people. That's all I'm saying.
[/quote]

a priests opinion on tv viewing is not irrelevent. its only irrelevent to moral realativism. again why is something 100 years ago not ok to watch but today is?

i don't consider any movie moral with gratuitous sex scenes in it. I would never consider showgirls ok for a catholic to watch. although that's what you seem to be arguing. that movies with gratuitous sex scenes, excessive sex scenes, heck even things like broke back mountain can be watched and nothing is wrong with it. i disagree. no matter what you say, what you watch, what you do in life, what read all has an effect on you. positive or negative it has an effect. can't really see where watching full sex scenes in movies can have a positive effect on you.

also interacting with society as a catholic can be done without watching sinful tv shows. this is another arguement i have seen for watching anything on tv. last i checked a catholic can get along fine and interact perfectly fine with society without watching any tv. tv is not the end all be all of human interaction. if that was the case before tv no one must have been able to interact with anyone.

the factis at the end of the day peoplein general are to afraid to give up the things they are addicted to. america is addicted to sinful tv shows. people don't want to give them up,they would rather justify why its ok to watch it.

just ask yourself a simple question, would Jesus give this shows/movie a thumbs up? if not, then why watch it. if its not something Jesus would want to watch or give approval to, why do the opposite?

[PhuturePriest]

I watch the Colbert Report and The Daily Show all the time. In fact, I just watched both of them. Though I think they are nice and are hilarious (Colbert more so), I'm obviously not a raging liberal.

[kujo]

[quote name='FuturePriest387' timestamp='1338444696' post='2438554']
I watch the Colbert Report and The Daily Show all the time. In fact, I just watched both of them. Though I think they are nice and are hilarious (Colbert more so), I'm obviously not a raging liberal.
[/quote]

Not yet! Give the[color=#282828]m ti[/color][color=#282828]me![/color]

[havok579257]

[quote name='kujo' timestamp='1338444361' post='2438552']
Disagree. Again, I have a hard ti[color=#282828]me believing that large groups of people [/color]for[color=#282828]mulate their views on Catholicis[/color][color=#282828]m based on a satirical character played on a co[/color][color=#282828]medy network.[/color]
[/quote]

how many people base their views on things in life because of what rush, racheal maddow, msnbc personalities , fox personalities and so on said?

there was a report out years ago that said young people got their news from john stewart. that's where young people were going to get there news.

you can disagree but the report proves my point.

[kujo]

[quote name='havok579257' timestamp='1338444891' post='2438557']
how many people base their views on things in life because of what rush, racheal maddow, msnbc personalities , fox personalities and so on said?

there was a report out years ago that said young people got their news from john stewart. that's where young people were going to get there news.

you can disagree but the report proves my point.
[/quote]

The report proves that a large degree of A[color=#282828]merican citizens for[/color][color=#282828]mulate their points of view on the Ro[/color][color=#282828]man Catholic Church, and on what it [/color][color=#282828]means to be a good Catholic, based on the antics of a single Catholic co[/color][color=#282828]median? I [/color][color=#282828]must have [/color][color=#282828]missed that on the conclusion page.[/color]

[color=#282828](FYI, the report you speak of is actually a bunch of reports, which state that the a certain percentage[/color][color=#282828] of [/color][color=#282828]people surveyed reported hearing about a certain news event or political issue on The Daily Show, as opposed to other progra[/color][color=#282828]ms on [/color][color=#282828]more traditional "news networks." Note [/color][color=#282828]that this is not the sa[/color][color=#282828]me as saying [/color][color=#282828]millions of young A[/color][color=#282828]mericans regurgitated the sa[/color][color=#282828]me opinions and co[/color][color=#282828]m[/color][color=#282828]mentary espoused by Jon Stewart et. al., and that The Colbert Report was not directly [/color][color=#282828]mentioned.)[/color]

Edited May 31, 2012 by kujo

[havok579257]

[url="http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-207_162-603270.html"]http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-207_162-603270.html[/url]

here's your link talkinng about young people get their political news from stewart and snl. yes snl for news. but sure, no one would ever get a viewpoint from colbert when they have much more reliable sources for news such as snl.

[Basilisa Marie]

[quote name='havok579257' timestamp='1338444592' post='2438553']
a priests opinion on tv viewing is not irrelevent. its only irrelevent to moral realativism. again why is something 100 years ago not ok to watch but today is?

i don't consider any movie moral with gratuitous sex scenes in it. I would never consider showgirls ok for a catholic to watch. although that's what you seem to be arguing. that movies with gratuitous sex scenes, excessive sex scenes, heck even things like broke back mountain can be watched and nothing is wrong with it. i disagree. no matter what you say, what you watch, what you do in life, what read all has an effect on you. positive or negative it has an effect. can't really see where watching full sex scenes in movies can have a positive effect on you.

also interacting with society as a catholic can be done without watching sinful tv shows. this is another arguement i have seen for watching anything on tv. last i checked a catholic can get along fine and interact perfectly fine with society without watching any tv. tv is not the end all be all of human interaction. if that was the case before tv no one must have been able to interact with anyone.

the factis at the end of the day peoplein general are to afraid to give up the things they are addicted to. america is addicted to sinful tv shows. people don't want to give them up,they would rather justify why its ok to watch it.

just ask yourself a simple question, would Jesus give this shows/movie a thumbs up? if not, then why watch it. if its not something Jesus would want to watch or give approval to, why do the opposite?
[/quote]

No, it's not only relevant to moral relativism. Your argument has an underlying assumption that we always need external authoritative guidance when determining what is moral. I counter by saying that to someone with a well-formed, well-educated conscience, one doesn't always need to consult a priest to find out whether or not watching a show would be harmful to a person's well-being. It can be helpful, but it's not necessary. Furthermore, many priests often disagree about whether or not a show is "okay" to watch. So a particular priest's opinion on a show is only relevant when an individual is looking for guidance because they're not sure. It's irrelevant to our argument right now. Unless Fr. Cappie wants to join in, of course.

Cultural norms change over time. In 1912 it would have been scandalous for me to go on a date alone with my boyfriend and wear pantaloons or a skirt to my knee. We also live in a society where Catholic culture is VERY different now than it was in 1912. In 1912 most Catholics lived together in areas called "ghettos" and only associated with each other, more or less. One was completely immersed in a Catholic culture. It's not that way anymore, so I argue that lay Catholics have an obligation to interact with the culture in positive ways, and not just unilaterally reject it. I'm NOT saying that things are better now than back then, or that it's great that more immoral things are on tv than they were 40 years ago.

You wouldn't be watching the movie for the sex scenes. You're watching it for another reason, and fast forward through the sex scenes if they're an occasion of sin for you. There's a big difference. Intention is an important part of Catholic moral thought.

Yes, you don't need to watch tv. But if you do, you've got something easy to talk to your coworkers about, build better friendships with them, and thus become a more effective light of Christ. For example (since it just won't leave this thread), if you know a coworker likes the Colbert Report, you could watch it as well, and start up a conversation about it in which you could point out the things you liked and didn't like about it and explain why.

No, we aren't talking about America. We're talking about Catholics that take their faith seriously. And Catholics that take their faith seriously can make complex moral judgments about what is okay to watch, if they truly feel it has redeeming qualities. We don't need to be treated like children who can't think for themselves and believe everything they see on tv is true.

Last time I checked, Jesus didn't seclude himself away from the nastier bits of his society. He went out and had dinner parties with the worst of them, met them where they were and showed them a better way. I think it's easier for us to imitate his actions than pretend to know his thoughts.

[BG45]

[quote name='kujo' timestamp='1338445124' post='2438559']
The report proves that a large degree of A[color=#282828]merican citizens for[/color][color=#282828]mulate their points of view on the Ro[/color][color=#282828]man Catholic Church, and on what it [/color][color=#282828]means to be a good Catholic, based on the antics of a single Catholic co[/color][color=#282828]median? I [/color][color=#282828]must have [/color][color=#282828]missed that on the conclusion page.[/color]

[color=#282828](FYI, the report you speak of is actually a bunch of reports, which state that the a certain percentage[/color][color=#282828] of [/color][color=#282828]people surveyed reported hearing about a certain news event or political issue on The Daily Show, as opposed to other progra[/color][color=#282828]ms on [/color][color=#282828]more traditional "news networks." Note [/color][color=#282828]that this is not the sa[/color][color=#282828]me as saying [/color][color=#282828]millions of young A[/color][color=#282828]mericans regurgitated the sa[/color][color=#282828]me opinions and co[/color][color=#282828]m[/color][color=#282828]mentary espoused by Jon Stewart et. al., and that The Colbert Report was not directly [/color][color=#282828]mentioned.)[/color]
[/quote]

I must go tell years worth of stats courses that they were wrong now it seems. Correlation does imply causation is what I'm getting from this thread, though not from you. Here I was always taught correlation does not imply causation!

Wishing I could prop you.

[r2Dtoo]

[quote name='havok579257' timestamp='1338445137' post='2438560']
[url="http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-207_162-603270.html"]http://www.cbsnews.c...162-603270.html[/url]

here's your link talkinng about young people get their political news from stewart and snl. yes snl for news. but sure, no one would ever get a viewpoint from colbert when they have much more reliable sources for news such as snl.
[/quote]
You're watching snl? What, what, what are you doing?

Edited June 10, 2012 by r2Dtoo

[r2Dtoo]

[quote name='kujo' timestamp='1338445124' post='2438559']
The report proves that a large degree of A[color=#282828]merican citizens for[/color][color=#282828]mulate their points of view on the Ro[/color][color=#282828]man Catholic Church, and on what it [/color][color=#282828]means to be a good Catholic, based on the antics of a single Catholic co[/color][color=#282828]median? I [/color][color=#282828]must have [/color][color=#282828]missed that on the conclusion page.[/color]

[color=#282828](FYI, the report you speak of is actually a bunch of reports, which state that the a certain percentage[/color][color=#282828] of [/color][color=#282828]people surveyed reported hearing about a certain news event or political issue on The Daily Show, as opposed to other progra[/color][color=#282828]ms on [/color][color=#282828]more traditional "news networks." Note [/color][color=#282828]that this is not the sa[/color][color=#282828]me as saying [/color][color=#282828]millions of young A[/color][color=#282828]mericans regurgitated the sa[/color][color=#282828]me opinions and co[/color][color=#282828]m[/color][color=#282828]mentary espoused by Jon Stewart et. al., and that The Colbert Report was not directly [/color][color=#282828]mentioned.)[/color]
[/quote]
Well, I've never actually meant anyone who formed their views of Catholics on him. Conservatives, yes, but not Catholics. Forming your view of conservatives based off of him his just as stupid, but we live in stupid times.

[Not A Mallard]

^_^

[img]http://i1.kym-cdn.com/profiles/icons/big/000/103/202/boromir1.jpg[/img]

ONE DOES NOT SIMPLY

REMAIN FULLY CATHOLIC WHILE WATCHING TV

[Tab'le De'Bah-Rye]

[quote name='Not A Mallard' timestamp='1339356713' post='2443202']
^_^

[img]http://i1.kym-cdn.com/profiles/icons/big/000/103/202/boromir1.jpg[/img]

ONE DOES NOT SIMPLY

REMAIN FULLY CATHOLIC WHILE WATCHING TV
[/quote]

possibly one is only half catholic than while watching t.v. no,except the news when you pray for all the suffering which you only get half the story on anyway? Adoration of the holy host is reality and t.v. isn't , thats what another priest told me. And hey that guy looks like my long lost good looking brother.

Edited June 13, 2012 by Tab'le Du'Bah-Rye

[Tab'le De'Bah-Rye]

[quote name='havok579257' timestamp='1338443893' post='2438546']
well there are people who formulates their opinions on catholics on whatthey hear on msnbc. 99% of catholic women use contraceptives. only 1% of women are trying to get pregnant or are pregnant or are not using birth control. stupid logic but people believe it. for a time the only cable news channel i had access to was msnbc so it was on alot. you would not believe what they say about catholics. so i have no doubt people get their catholic views from colbert just like they get their news from stewart.
[/quote]

have you considered since than, leaving the t.v. on croutons, that you may have an addiction that you would watch almost anything, like a junkie will shoot up almost anything.

[sixpence]

Well I don't exactly know how to remain Catholic while watching TV; however, my Dad's approach is to constantly say things like "that person talks bad, I don't like it" or "this is a bad show" while my mother may be watching some sitcom where people are sinning left and right. She most likely counters "just because I'm watching other people do it, doesn't mean I will want to!"
When I was younger I would agree with my mom and just wish my dad would stop interjecting comments while I was trying to watch something. Now, however, I tend to agree more with my dad. It seems very wrong to enjoy watching someone else do or say something sinful (even if they are fictional, you are still supporting the activity).

[Tab'le De'Bah-Rye]

[quote name='Basilisa Marie' timestamp='1338561177' post='2439323']
Cultural norms change over time. In 1912 it would have been scandalous for me to go on a date alone with my boyfriend and wear pantaloons or a skirt to my knee. We also live in a society where Catholic culture is VERY different now than it was in 1912. In 1912 most Catholics lived together in areas called "ghettos" and only associated with each other, more or less. One was completely immersed in a Catholic culture. It's not that way anymore, so I argue that lay Catholics have an obligation to interact with the culture in positive ways, and not just unilaterally reject it. I'm NOT saying that things are better now than back then, or that it's great that more immoral things are on tv than they were 40 years ago.


[/quote]


Cultural norms may change but the law of GOD doesn't . For me T.V series and movie watching is condoning anothers sin or partaking even if it is just fantasy based loosley on reality. Theres so much sin on there and i have enough to deal with in reality than to also soak myself in it by watching t.v. or movies, which than if induldging to much in those i fail to address the sin in reality.

Edited June 14, 2012 by Tab'le Du'Bah-Rye

[havok579257]

[quote name='Tab'le Du'Bah-Rye' timestamp='1339568721' post='2444218']
have you considered since than, leaving the t.v. on croutons, that you may have an addiction that you would watch almost anything, like a junkie will shoot up almost anything.
[/quote]

what?

[Tab'le De'Bah-Rye]

[quote name='havok579257' timestamp='1339685051' post='2444615']
what?
[/quote].

What to you too, are you a junkie? i knew this post would open up a can of woopass , this is great, i think t.v may be one of the pillars of satans latest attacks to draw us away from holyness. Even for those outside of the church are consumed by the funeral pyre of false light that takes us away from brainstorming/thinking sollutions to our problems personal and communal, family time, evangelisation, prayer,and plain old talking,the list goes on and on,there are 1000 more examples as to why we need not watch t.v and movies or seriously reduce the amount we induldge ourselves in.

Edited June 16, 2012 by Tab'le Du'Bah-Rye

[Tab'le De'Bah-Rye]

should we bring out the scales of justice and way up the pro's and con's to shed a bit of light on the debate. I will asap do my pro's and con's about it but can't right now coz i got to hit the hey hey hopeing for a new day.