"The Devil's Vision"

The devil once said to his demons below,

"Our work is progressing entirely too slow.

The Holiness people stand in our way!

Since they don't believe in the show or the play.

They teach that the carnival, circus and dance,

The tavern and honky-tonk with games of chance,

Drinking and smoking, these things are all wrong;

That Christians don't mix with the ungodly throng.

They're quick to condemn everything that we do,

To cause unbelievers to be not a few.

They claim that these things are all of the devil;

That Christian folk live on a much higher level.

Now fellows, their theology, while entirely true,

Is blocking the work we are trying to do!

We'll have to get busy and figure a plan

That will change their standard as fast as we can.

Now I have a vision of what we can do,

Hearken—I'll tell this deception to you;

Then find me a wise, but degenerate man

Whom I can use to help work out this plan.

There's nothing so real as the thing that you see;

The eyes and the mind and the heart will agree.

So what can be better than an object to view?

I say, it will work and convince not a few.

The home is the place for this sinful device;

The people, deceived, will think it quite nice.

The world will possess it—most Christians can't tell

That it's all of the devil, and was plotted in Hell.

We'll sell them with pictures of the latest news

And while they're still looking, we'll advertise booze.

At the soul-damning cigarette also they'll look

Until they forget what God says in His Book.

At first it will shock them, they'll seem in a daze,

But soon they'll be hardened and continue to gaze.

We'll give them some gospel that isn't too strong

And a few sacred songs to string them along.

They'll take in the ads, with the latest of fashions,

And soon watch the shows that stir evil passions.

Murder and love-making scenes they'll behold

Until their Souls will be bitterly cold.

The old family altar which once held such charm,

Will soon lose its place without much alarm.

Praying in secret will also be lost

As they look at the screen without counting the cost.

The compromising preachers, who don't take their stand,

Will embrace this new Vision and think it is grand.

They'll help fool the people and cause them to sin

By seeking this evil and taking it in.

Influence is great, and this you can see;

Just look at my fall and you'll have to agree!

It won't take too long, my demons, to tell

That the Vision of Satan will populate Hell.

Divorce will increase, sex crimes will abound;

Much innocent blood will be spilled on the ground.

The home will be damned in short order, I say,

When this Vision of mine comes in to stay.

Get busy my cohorts, and put this thing out;

We'll see if the church can continue to shout.

The Holiness people who stand in our way

Will soon hush their crying against show and play!

We'll cover the earth with this Devil-vision,

Though we'll camouflage it with the name television.

The people will think they are getting a treat

Till the anti-christ comes and takes over his seat.

He'll then rule the world while the viewers behold

The face of the beast, to whom they were sold.

We'll win through deception; this cannot fail,

Though some Holiness preachers against it will rail."

Anonymous

I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes... Psalm 101:3

It's interesting that an Old Testament verse of scripture is so relevant to today's television. Over the years I have clipped many articles about the evils and dangers of TV from both religious publications and secular newspapers and magazines. Surely it is fascinating that agencies and organizations from the PTA to the FBI have spoken out about the evils of TV. Usually those who speak out will conclude their warning by saying that TV should be regulated or controlled in the home. (They have given up on the networks' ability to clean up their act.)

Please allow me to present a different suggestion. I maintain that TV should be taken out of every decent and God-fearing home. It has been my privilege over the past twenty years to assist many families in disposing of their television sets. Some have sold theirs. Others, not wanting someone else to inherit what is believed to be evil, have destroyed theirs. Hundreds have come back over the years to thank us for liberating them from TV. Many of them became angry when they first heard me preach against TV. Others laughed, but now their house is a home, a home that is a shelter from the evil of this world.

Before you holler "fanatacism", let me point out a few things about TV.

(1) I have never known of anyone controlling his TV set. It always controls him! One man wrote an article about TV and compared it to having a rattlesnake in your living room. I would not be careful with it, I would destroy it!

(2) Television is far worse now than it was when it first came out several years ago! Back then, many preachers preached against it. That was before they backslid and purchased two or three sets for their own home! Let's be honest, television is filthy. I have heard reports recently of young children who wait until their parents are asleep, then sneak in to watch filthy movies depicting bizarre sex acts. By the way, why is it all right for adults to watch filth, yet it's wrong for children to do so?

(3) TV is a great time waster.

Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:16

I wonder how many people who have two or three TV sets have said to me, "But you don't understand, I hardly ever watch it!"? How foolish can a person be, two or three to "never...watch!"? If you cannot bring yourself to destroy your TV set(s), why not sell it (them) and give the money to your church for their missions program?

I'm sure your pastor or missionary could suggest a profitable place for the money to go. Then you could save that nine hours each day that statisticians tell us the average TV viewer spends in front of the TV set. What a waste!

(4) TV will make you insensitive to sin. Statistics tell us that the average child has watched 15,000 murders on TV by the time he is fifteen years old. No wonder we have so many murders being committed.

A recent Newsweek article, "The Random Killers", stated that as many as two - thirds of the estimated 5,000 unsolved homicides in the nation each year may be committed by serial murderers, and FBI director William Webster estimates— conservatively, in the view of many local police: that there are at least thirty serial killers on the loose. The article also stated that every psychiatrist studying crime and every sociologist working with crime and criminals has his own theories on serial murder. Some contend that a whole generation has been numbed by watching thousands of TV murders in which victims do not appear to suffer. One of the serial murders involved a man who surrendered to police after he stabbed his mother, cut off her head, propped it on a hat box and used it as a dart board.

While you may be quick to say that you have no intention of doing anything violent, the truth is that TV will make you insensitive to sin. Neither do adultery and unusual sex acts seem so bad when you see them in your own living room day after day. Instead of recognizing TV shows as being disgusting and stupid to watch, it seems to the viewer a clever thing to watch the wealthy triumph over the poor, the strong over the weak, the beautiful over the less lovely, and so, unconsciously, we have our entire set of values altered while we are enjoying the seemingly innocent entertainment.

(5) Someone says, "But I just watch the good shows." ...I don't believe you. There are almost no "good shows". Check it out. Make a list of the ten commandments and put a check mark by each commandment as it is being broken. The problem is that the unfortunate person who watches TV has watched so much filth that less filth now seems good to him.

(6) The Bible says a person is to have no fellowship with darkness. II Corinthians 6:14-18, Ephesians 5:11-16.

King David of the Bible said, ...I will not know a wicked person. (Psalm 101:4). Those who watch television become intimate with whores, homosexuals, and witches. They invite them into their home every day through TV. Think about it. Most children know all those drug-using athletes and movie stars by name, yet cannot tell the names of the twelve apostles of Jesus. Can you?

He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight. Psalm 101:7

You can't say that if you have TV.

(7) Okay, okay! I hear you. You got it to watch Christian TV. Most so-called Christian TV mocks real Christians who live a life of holiness.

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Hebrews 12:14

So-called Christian TV is worldly and glamorous and its "gospel stars" are a far cry from the walk of sacrifice, humility and dedication God calls us to follow. Most preaching on TV is designed not to offend anyone who might be thinking of sending an offering.

When asked about Christian TV, one well-known minister who works with drug addicts was quoted as saying, "They should shut it down. Turn off all the cameras, release all the men from the pressures we have put them under. They should be stripped of their hero robes, of all the glamour, and be taken outside from the lights. They should go back to the mountain and be broken before God and let God bring them back as He chooses in a purified form. It's all flesh, absolute flesh. I think the depths of their theology is two inches deep."

Why don't you get rid of your TV, and leave that make-believe world, and get really involved in serving God through prayer and witnessing? Do you really have time for both prayer and witnessing and also TV? What could God do with the money your TV adds to your household's utility bill? Isn't it true that watching TV is hard on the viewer's eyes? Could someone be in better health by using his or her TV time elsewhere? Would there be more work accomplished if there were no TV in your household? How would God rather have used the purchase price of your TV?

I have heard so many preach against TV and then conclude their remarks by saying, "I have a TV". Well, I don't! We had one, but we saw the evil and got rid of ours over twenty-five years ago when our children were small. None of us have ever missed it.

Our children, three of whom are married, still do not have a TV.

You will never realize how wicked TV is or how great a hold it has on you until you get rid of it.

The following are a few references to scripture that may give you an insight on television.

Psalm 101:1-8; Proverbs 19:27; 22:6; Romans 12:1,2; I Corinthians 6:9,10; II Corinthians 6:14-18; 7:1; Ephesians 4:17-32; 5:1-21; Hebrews 3:12,13; 12:1,2; I Peter 1:13-17; 4:17-18; II Peter 1:4-11; 2:4-22; I John 2:15-17; 5:1-5; Jude 17- 25; Revelation 21:8; 22:11-15