A NECESSARY REPEATED WARNING

Whenever the world offers us a new invention, especially one that is particularly attractive, we must remember that the powers of darkness invariably try to employ it to draw us away from the true religion, and try to destroy us in both soul and body.

It is an undeniable fact that television brings the world right into our home. It has been correctly stated that the general public is eager to see everything which appears on the screen, and has developed an extreme fondness for watching boxing matches, plays, ballets, etc., on television. When we have a television set we have the theater right in our own house.

Like our fathers, who were always definite in their statements, we today also take a firm stand regarding anything we consider contrary to God’s Word. In this connection the Consistory and myself heartily endorse the declaration made by the Synod on this subject.

The declaration reads as follows:

“The Synod condemns the use of television in the home, judging it to be in conflict with the Word of God and with the confession of faith made in the presence of God in the church. The Synod judges unanimously that rigorous measures must be adopted to cope with the conformity to the world as regards television, since it can lead to nothing other than great detriment to the family. The Consistories are to admonish with patience and forbearance, but upon continued failure to heed their admonition, to proceed with censure.”

Compare this statement with the equally emphatic declaration of our fathers in the 35th Lord’s Day of our Heidelberg Catechism with regard to the images in the Roman Catholic Church: “We must not pretend to be wiser than God, Who will have His people taught, not by dumb images, but by the lively preaching of His Word.”

If we are to condemn image-worship from the bottom of our heart, still more the use of television in our homes. The man of sin is revealing himself more and more, and people’s consciences are being seared as with a hot iron. Television programs as a rule recognize only the public’s craving for pleasure and entertainment, without any regard to what God’s Word declares, without any regard to the needs of sinful man in a state of misery, and without any regard to the brevity of the precious time allotted to man in his day of grace.

I repeat, modern inventions are employed by the powers of darkness to draw our generation away from the reading, meditation and regard for the Truth, thus destroying man in both soul and body.

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