World News and Trends: Reality television hits new lows
Perhaps America's most bothersome Achilles' heel lies squarely in the area of its sore neglect of the values set down in the pages of the Bible.
So-called reality television programs seem to be in the process of gradually replacing the usual fictional fare on television. Somehow the viewing public thinks it needs to see real policemen in the dangerous act of arresting actual violent criminals or highway patrolmen corralling genuine reckless speed demons on the road.
Far more damaging, however, is the appetite for viewing scenes involving, as an example, real wives battling their husbands' mistresses on live TV with a moderator walking around with a microphone in his hand. Many other unspeakably repugnant exercises in human depravity could also be mentioned.
Once the public decides to go down this road, it will take an increasing amount of sleaze to satisfy viewers' base appetites. Remember King Solomon's observation that "the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing" (Ecclesiastes 1:8). Human beings tend never to be satisfied. When their attention is focused on depravity, the path downhill is swift and sure.
Human beings, made in the image of God, are asked to perform debasing stunts on television-some even involving public nudity-just to win prizes. Apparently five reality-TV shows have reached the top-20 list in popularity. Some of their scenes defy the imagination and should offend the sensibilities of any nation that calls itself Christian.
More than any other time in her history, America needs the support of the Ten Commandments-to rediscover their meaning as well as to rekindle the fear of not keeping them-to receive God's forgiveness made possible by Christ's sacrifice. A good start on an individual basis would be for every American to request a free copy of our 80-page booklet titled simply The Ten Commandments. Every home in the country should have a copy. Nothing threatens our national security more than our casual disobedience to the royal law of God. (Source: USA Today.) GN
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: January - February 2003
Course Content
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
