I think most people have seen/heard of a new series with Jason Lee called My Name is Earl. Personally, I like Jason Lee and I laugh very hard every episode. For those who don't know what the premise of this show is I will briefly explain. Earl was your all around thug who did a lot of bad things in his life until he won the lotto and then got hit by a car. In the hospital he saw Carson Daily talking about Karma and how you do good and good things happen to you. "Ding" Earl makes a list of bad things he has done, starts to fix them, and sure enough good things start to happen for him.
I'm not to fond of this Karma thing. But I'm not sure if this is a good show or a bad show to watch. Last night while watching they may have crossed the line. Earl and his brother Randy are in a bind and brother says, "why don't you try to call on Karma?" Earl "that's stupid, it won't work". Brother, "Just try it". Earl, "Fine...karma. See it didn't work". Brother "Louder". Earl "KARMA". And thus they were saved and brother looks up to the sky and says "thank you Karma". I dropped my jaw.
This is the question I pose...Is this show something good or bad? Obviously there is the fact that people are looking at this and saying to themselves, hey maybe if I do good things, good things might happen to me. This would be good for society. BUT, they are doing it in the name of karma. Who?! That's right karma. Are they trying to 'deitize' Karma? I know the only name I call on is Jesus. So I want some feedback, should I keep watching a show that never mentions God but walks way way way around it with Karma?
12 comments:
i missed last nights episode we were watching hitchikers guide to the galaxy. good movie if you haven't seen it.
okay back on topic. there are not alot of shows out there right now that are worthy of our time and attention. on that note earl is purely a stupid, timewaster. which i think most shows are. now whether it crossed a line , dunno,obviously it's not going to be a good reputation of Christianity but it's not filth. it is very much a true picture of someone searching in a depraved world. also a good representation of where alot of people are at spiritually clueless. i think it's a borderline show. could very easily fall into my catergory of filth, rubbage,not even worthy of a time wasting slot. that's my take.
I don't know if the karma issue is more problematic than any other issues in the program. I haven't seen Earl (not much of a tv-watcher), but I would judge it according to the scripture Louie mentioned in his post re: profanity, inappropriate jesting, etc. I read this from a recent review in Plugged In Magazine: "To pay back his first debt to society, Earl hires a call girl to service an old grammar school classmate he used to terrorize. The man refuses to sleep with the prostitute. Because he's virtuous? No, because he's homosexual. So Earl escorts him to a gay bar to find true love. Along the way Earl gets drunk, swears, and drags the institution of marriage through the mud. With his mission accomplished, he triumphantly marks "bullying" off his list and heads into episode two. How does karma react? It rewards him by letting him find that lost lottery ticket with three matching scratches."
Sounds like it might fit the category of Paul's admonition that Louie mentioned. I agree with Noel's take.
I also am not much of a TV watcher... I have one show a week I watch (The Amazing Race) and occasionally I add an episode of Law & Order. I therefore have not seen Earl... But from the sounds of it, I would have to say you shouldn't watch it if it causes you to turn away from God. So if you have a history of being tempted by other belief systems, then stay away. For example, someone who struggles with temptation in the area of witchcraft would probably best be served to stay away from Harry Potter. But if you don't struggle with temption toward the system involving Karma, you're probably fine to watch it if you absolutely MUST watch TV. In reality there are probably much better things we could be doing with the time we spend watching TV, but that is an entirely different issue to be addressed at another time.
i agree w/Jeni in that I would advise you to avoid stuff that becomes a temptation or problem...it just makes sense, and it could very well be the Spirit of the Lord nudging you in this case. However, I personally draw a line on things that are clearly "ungodly" even if they're entertaining to watch or read.
I think our logic is flawed if we simply tell ourselves we can open up our lives to certain things as long as they don't "bother" us. For example...I don't struggle with the temptation to murder anyone...does that mean its "OK" for me to watch slasher films and play Doom all day?...unclear thinking methinks.
denden... I would not say it's okay to do either of those things all day, but I would say that it's probably not a big deal if you do them once in a while. I personally wouldn't do it, but I wouldn't condemn someone who did.
i like zombie movies - and the first episode of earl was great tv, in my opinion. i wonder if this might be considered a problem. my wife and i wer bothered more by the second episode of earl which blatantly poked fun at Christianity and we haven't watched since.
my bigger beef is the misrepresentation of karma (i know meat feels me on this) as something more along the lines of the Christian "reap what you sow" instead of something that determines what you are reincarnated as.
...wait just a second, let me pull this darned log out of my own eye first.....ahh...that's better.
Now...in my opinion, wrong is always wrong, whether it's a little or a lot. Some people choke on absolutes...as a Believer...I depend upon them. The Biblical directive to "abstain from every form of evil" is not a statement of condemnation, but one of freedom and Truth.
Never during my watchings of Earl did I ever feel tempted to live a life of karma...I know the truth. My question is for the average non-christian, not living that great of a life, would watching Earl help society as a whole? Would it then be easier to direct those type of people to God after they consiously made a decision to live a cleaner life?
Romans 14
The Weak and the Strong
1Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 2One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. 4Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
9For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. 10You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. 11It is written:
" 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord,
'every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will confess to God.' "[a] 12So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
13Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way. 14As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food[b] is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. 15If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. 16Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. 17For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.
19Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.
22So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
From what I've heard about Earl, the program's karmic teachings are all mixed up with relativistic or no morality and are far from the original understanding of karma. I seriously doubt if many people will be impacted to make meaningful changes to their lives as a result of watching this program. If anything, they will be lured into the modern culture's pop mindset of mixing a bit of eastern/new-age philosophy with relativistic morality.
Want to hire a hooker or fix up a gay friend at a gay bar? No problem. It's all in a good cause. Warm and fuzzy feelings and humor equate to mixed-up morality in the guise of goodness.
One of the biggest charges against Christians by our culture is that of moral rigidity, i.e., we have no right to pass judgment on anyone else's lifestyle. This attitude is a by-product of years of conditioning to moral relativism: "my opinion is just as good as your opinion and what's right for me doesn't have to be right for you." There is no objective measure of truth. Karma's interpretation and application in western society is decidedly relativistic.
This perspective of "if it FEELS okay to me, it's my business and who are you to question my choices" is insidious, pervasive, and terribly difficult to break through.
I believe that watching Earl will likely further influence people down this path of deception. Then, when Christians try to engage others in meaningful discussion of issues of objective right and wrong, they will perceive us as narrow minded and rigid instead of "speaking the truth in love." Most people in our culture would be aghast if someone spoke to lifestyle issues of objective right and wrong the way Paul, James, and John did in their epistles.
wow, this post heated up since i've been away. way to pick em dave!! first santa and now earl.
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