Under this heading Andries Knevel was interviewed recently by R. Ubels (Nederlands Dagblad, 13 April 1991) about his new book, The World in the Home. The Christian Family and Television (De Wereld in huis. Met Christelijk gezin en televisie). Because this work was published in Dutch and thus not accessible to the majority of our readers, it will be good to give some attention to the main ideas Knevel raises.

Television and Secularization⤒🔗

Knevel contends that the chief impetus of secularization in conservative Dutch Protestant churches is the television set. According to his research the lifestyle of the average orthodox Protestant Christian has become practically identical to that of the average un-churched Dutchman. That lifestyle includes watching television far too indiscriminately and too often.

• The television screen exerts an enormous and often unconscious influence on the viewer.

• Research has shown that T.V. images linger incredibly long in the minds of those who watch.

• Because of the nature of most programming these images have a largely negative impact.

• Christians who watch T.V. night after night are drinking in what the world has to offer and usually unwittingly are moulded according to the standards and goals of this present age.

Programs that are often considered innocent, such as informative shows, are not so blameless for the manner of posing questions and the approach that is taken is already decisive for one's outlook. The mindset that is behind the programs investigating moral issues like euthanasia, abortion, and environmental concerns is usually purely secular without taking God and His will into consideration, Indeed there is no such thing as a purely objective and neutral program. The corroding effect of watching such shows week after week and year after year cannot be underestimated.

Knevel considers that the greatest danger lies in the so-called entertainment programs that do not pretend to be totally innocent. These "family" shows often appeal to our old nature and sinful heart. Knevel writes that television producers may perhaps know the human heart better than the average preacher. In practically all these shows a lifestyle is exhibited that is absolutely not in accordance with the Christian faith. While Scripture speaks of chastity and restraint, these programs display the opposite. The constant watching of such shows can only erode the influence of God's Word in the viewer. Slowly but surely the norms of Scripture take second place. Game programs also are not innocent. The prizes offered arouse materialistic desires that can so captivate that materialism becomes part of one's lifestyle.

The "soap operas" are also harmful. As Knevel put it:

We are by nature inclined to enjoy programs in which God's commandments are flaunted. As producer you can best have your characters transgress all God's commandments for then the success of the series is assured.

What is wrong with watching an interesting series for relaxation or entertainment even if sin is involved one may ask. You do not necessarily identify with these characters do you? Knevel responds:

If the sins that are openly committed in some of the series took place in the congregation then the consistory would be at the door! Is it then good to be entertained by that!? Of course not for that goes against what we believe.

Indeed, how can a Christian be entertained by sin and apparently enjoy it? And then listen approvingly to sermons on Sunday that condemn these very evils?

What to Do?←⤒🔗

Knevel is not against everything that T.V. offers. He does not want to forget, for example, that religious broadcasting of the Word has been instrumental in working conversion. He does, however, want to challenge the rather naive way in which many Christians use their television set. If one is responsible and selective, then one can watch very little T.V.

I do not think that anyone will want to argue that Knevel's analysis of uncritical television viewing by Christians in the Netherlands does not apply or has no relevance to the North American scene. I fear that the uncritical viewing of television has in far too many cases made a rather devastating inroad into our families. There are, for example, probably very few teachers in our schools who have not been amazed at discovering the amount of television viewing done by their pupils. Homes, where children are fed a steady diet of T.V., are not unknown. And of course where the children are, the parents are often not far behind. The history and statistics of soaps, movie stars, and sports are sometimes better known than those of the church or ecclesiastical life.

Knevel tells the true story that a family after considerable deliberation finally purchased a television. The box in which it was delivered carried the message: "With this (product) you bring the world into your home." On reading this, the father promptly asked that the T.V. set be taken back, for he said, "I do not need to have the world in my house." That may be a drastic solution, but it should not be one that is dismissed out of hand. It may very well be that fathers and mothers should say more often, "Let's get rid of that thing. We don't need it, especially as a growing family." The television set has an undisputed place in most of our homes. Knevel's work raises a big question mark whether that place should go unchallenged. Television is certainly dispensable.

Of course curtailing the usage of television or getting rid of it altogether is only the negative part of the solution. Something positive has to take its place, namely a concerted effort to develop a distinctively Christian and Reformed lifestyle. Without a hunger for the Word and for a life of fellowship with our Lord and Saviour, no amount of criticism of television will bear any positive lasting fruit and provide long term dividends. Sometimes I get that horrible sinking feeling that the media, especially television, does more mind moulding and attitude shaping in our circles than could have been imagined thirty years ago, while the influence of the Sunday proclamation seems to be waning. A desire to be fed from the Word is needed. Recently someone, who had gone through a church struggle and joined a Canadian Reformed congregation, told me that it was his custom to ask for the tapes of the sermons he heard on Sunday so that he could listen to them again during the week. He found that a most enriching practice. Drinking daily from the fountain of the Word is necessary to maintain one's life as a Christian. And it is only when there is a healthy, vigorous appetite for the Scripture which gives the Bread of Life that one's eyes can be opened for the disgusting junk food that T.V. most often offers.

It is actually worse than junk food for the mind. It is poison for it offers the shallow and deceptive glitter of life without God. May our eyes be open to this reality, for the worldly use of television is far from being an imaginary danger in our midst. May the secularization that the T.V. markets so well and persuasively be kept out of our homes for ultimately it brings death, life without God.