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But evil is interesting

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humble soul

humble soul

On Sabbatical from Rome
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Notice how popular some movies or TV series are . The ones that involve lots of sin are the most popular.
Godfather
The Sopranos
Breaking Bad
and documentaries that go in depth to uncover lies and deceit and abuse of power
evil cults
Serial killers ........
Are we fascinated by sin? Is goodness and decency boring?
Do we encourage more sin by our fascination with it?
 
I just watched a doco on Rupert Murdoch.
Godfather part 4??
Power, power, power and more power....
But it was a fascinating documentary.
 
It's because they reach out to the "desires of the flesh" instead of the "fruits of the spirit" as we can read about further in Galatians 5.

We are all sinners and many times sin can be appealing. It's on the tv so we're watching and we feel we're not doing anything bad, and for some it gives a sense of fulfillment. I feel like everything we watch has a spirit about it and sometimes it's not good.

Many of these things listed here I have never seen. That doesn't mean I haven't indulged in things that I shouldn't be watching, but the point stands - we must pursue the fruits of the spirit and push aside the desires of the flesh.
 
i try to remind myself to guard my heart. having said that, wickedness, straight up evil...sells. maybe not to big segments of the Christian community, but to most other people...big time.

other than that, if I remember correctly, tension and conflict are built-in to most forms of literature. even in kids books, somebody steals a cookie or tells a white lie, or...blah blah blah. factor in the...well, we live in a harsh, harsh world...people want and/or need some form of escape, plus...

again, it sells. sometimes, though, i wonder if a lot of popular media is popular because...there's such powerful forces behind making it popular, rather than its some sort of democratic process by which what people actually wants becomes more popular. i dunno. doesn't really matter that much, i guess. im pretty much watching comedy central and game show network, myself. not always the most uplifting, edifying material, but...

non-violent, fluff. good times...
 
Look at the Bible then. There are lots of stories about sin, aren't there?
Are they the most interesting ones? From a spiritual pov, they might be too. Big sin can lead to big repentance.
St. Paul, at one stage torturing Christians and killing them. Full of hatred. Then , blinded by the light, he changes.
I guess the ones who stay evil in the Bible are less interesting? The Egyptian Pharaoh stays hard hearted. Yet his evil, makes the story more dramatic. Perhaps we like to see him come to justice?
Nebuchadnezzar. Was he the evil Assyrian king? His evil adds to the story.
King Herod.
Betrayal of Judas.
The Pharisees and Scribes who contribute to the arrest of Jesus.
Without these characters, the greatest story ever told might be just a story.
If we were all perfect, Jesus wouldn't need to save us.
I remember an atheist work colleague of mine saying to me once "it was only God who gave the devil a bad name". Is that such a stupid, disrespectful thing to say?
Also it was said that the evil in us, is the interesting part. I'm not sure I agree with that, but it is food for thought.
 
not that I love or even like evil. Especially when power over a weaker person is used. Bullying, harassment...when people use their leverage to intimidate or humiliate. And make themselves look better in the eyes of society.
But we can't remove evil from the world completely. That would be a utopia where happiness doesn't necessarily exist imo.
A certain amount of evil is required to run the world. Earthly kingdoms. Kindness can actually kill.Or bore them to death.
Take a sin like arrogance. A rock singer or some other performers need swagger. Overconfidence. To own the stage. It might be a case of poor role modelling to teen-agers.
Performing arts needs lots and lots of confidence. No point being humble on the stage. You are in the limelight. The audience want you to deliver. ...
 
Too true! Satan is cunning. He knows our weak points and works very hard to drag as many as he can down to hell with him. He mixes a bit of truth in with a lot of lies.
He knows how to draw people to him adding fun and excitement to evilness. It is addictive and once he gets a proper hold of a person it is impossible to be free from him , until God intervenes. God gives us freewill but the followers of satan can be robbed of it if he possesses them. God will still help if they call out for Him.
But will they?

The recordings of evil can warn us against sin and just how far er can be lost.
If satan hadn"t have fallen from Grace would there have been any need for Jesus to go through all that heartache pain and suffering, seeing that there would have been no tempter? Or would we still have sinned?
 
Stories whether fiction or real life involve drama and that makes for exciting, dramatic tales.
That many also involve the forbidden fruit of illicit sex, or the vogerism of watching either semi or full nudity and sex all adds to the thrill of watching.

As to whether stories involving goodness are boring, depends on the tale and how it is told.
Most missionary stories hide the drama of there daily lives..
Ponder missionaries often travelled through grackles Forrest/ jungle to make contact with hostile natives, how do you live mong a people who's language you don't speak and learn that language, while also not angering them so they kill you, how many near death experiences do they have.

Try reading about John Patton missionary to the cannibals.
 
Tessa said:
If satan hadn"t have fallen from Grace would there have been any need for Jesus to go through all that heartache pain and suffering, seeing that there would have been no tempter? Or would we still have sinned?
Click to expand...
Jesus was Plan A before Satan, before The Fall, from before the foundations of the world ( Ephesians 1:3-6, Revelation 13:8)

God has no Plan B: no contingency plans.

Pretty cool thought if one takes the time to mull it over.
 
Scripture is not like reading a novel. Some stuff just offends modern sensibilities, especially the ot. Not that it is wrong, just...I think it's easier to dig deeper as a Christian, rather than an unbeliever.
 
I used to be obsessed with crime shows before I was born again. I still watch them sometimes. I watch them because I am no longer surprised what humans are capable of.

The Hallmark channel is not real life, so that doesn't appeal to me.

I like realness with a positive outcome, cause God can take coal and make diamonds.

How can we help other humans if our heads are stuck in the sand? That is just how I feel.
 
humble soul said:
That's what atheists might say about Christians
Click to expand...
Stuck in the sand people are the types that said this about Jesus:

Luke 7:34-35 "The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners". But wisdom is proved right by all her children."
 
I think goodness and decency is usually interesting in the face of evil. Without evil present, I'm not sure.
 
humble soul said:
I think goodness and decency is usually interesting in the face of evil. Without evil present, I'm not sure.
Click to expand...
Dude, it is interesting without evil present. I picture myself already in heaven........doing what I do now, except the things that cause heartache are not there. I can 100% say, I am good with living an eternity feeling loved, secure and being who I am supposed to be.
 
I consider "dude" name calling. But you are just being friendly right? This is just another internet thread. I'm not going to fall for pointscoring.
 
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