{"id":11475,"date":"2018-12-20T12:33:27","date_gmt":"2018-12-20T20:33:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/?p=11475"},"modified":"2019-01-08T08:28:03","modified_gmt":"2019-01-08T16:28:03","slug":"who-is-the-guest-in-our-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/2018\/12\/who-is-the-guest-in-our-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is the Guest in Our Home?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TVby Athanasia Trudy –
\nWhen we turn on the television, we open our mind\u2019s door, inviting into our home guests from Hollywood; script writers, actors and activists alike fill our screens and minds with what they say should be normalized\u2026.all in the name of “compassion, tolerance, and love.” <\/strong><\/p>\n

A recent article by Rod Dreher in The American Conservative entitled \u201cSurviving the Cultural Tsumani\u201d got me thinking about the cultural indoctrination that occurs in television programming. While watching old television reruns of cop shows, I was struck by how script writers introduce situations that are far outside the cultural norm and offensive to many of their audience members. Yet, 10 or so years later that which was taboo and abnormal has become normalized.<\/p>\n

The CBS police drama, S.W.A.T.<\/em> aired in 2017.\u00a0 In a recent episode, the bisexual police officer, Chris rekindles her interest in a former flame only to discover Kira is engaged to Ty.\u00a0 Chris finds herself invited to be the \u201cthird\u201d in the relationship.\u00a0 Chris\u2019s main concern is her fellow officer\u2019s reactions.\u00a0In the ensuing dialogue Kira is pleased with the non-judgmental reaction of Chris\u2019s team member, Deac, saying, \u201cPeople are surprisingly tolerant when you give them a chance.\u201d\u00a0 Ty\u2019s response to Chris\u2019s concern of her position being viewed as \u201ctemporary\u201d is that \u201c\u2026it’s better this way, don’t you think? I mean, this way you don’t have to worry about your relationship with each of us separately.\u201d <\/p>\n

script writers introduce situations that are far outside the cultural norm and offensive to many<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Here we have a young woman who is confused about her sexuality being invited into a polyamorous relationship. The promise of the Sacrament of Marriage is painted as \u201copen\u201d and \u201cfluid\u201d to include a third person for sexual intimacy. Frankly, it was stomach-turning.<\/p>\n

In 2016 Law and Order: SVU<\/em> had an episode in which a man who was living life and surgically transitioning to be a woman (popularly termed \u2018transgendered\u2019) was viciously murdered. \u201cHer\u201d boyfriend, an up and coming rapper, was a person of interest and during his interrogation vigorously denied \u201cbeing gay\u201d because of his \u201clove for her\u201d. The Sargent instructed her detectives to be less intolerant, to be more compassionate and understanding of those like the victim because that is who they are and deserve to be treated well. Yes, everyone deserves to be treat well and violence is never a solution; however, note the mental and emotional confusion of the both characters.<\/p>\n

In the new NBC medical drama New Amsterdam<\/em> the resident psychologist, Dr. Iggy Frome, is a \u201cmarried\u201d homosexual with adopted children from Bangladesh. In one episode the script writers tug at our heartstrings; at the hospital gala Dr. Frome tearfully explains to his daughter, Sameera, that his parents want nothing to do with their grandchildren because \u201ctwo gay dads and their Muslim children aren\u2019t worthy of love\u201d. As she plays with a napkin at the table, she wonders if there is something wrong with their family only to have the scene conclude with the touching father explaining to his daughter that their family is special because it is a chosen family.<\/p>\n

more and more TV Christmas ads with same-sex couples with children<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Now that the Christmas season is upon us, television ads have increased with the purpose of luring the shopper with wonderful gift suggestions. In one ad a woman tells the off screen sales clerk, \u201cMy wife will love this.\u201d I thought I misheard the commercial. I’ve seen more and more TV Christmas ads with same-sex couples with children. It is now the norm.<\/p>\n

When everyone was raving about the new 1996 TV show Everybody Loves Raymond<\/em>, my friends thought I was nuts because I refused to watch it. After all, it was \u201chilarious\u201d. Watching a husband be denigrated and made fun of by his mother and wife was not something that amused me. My friends thought I was overreacting. I believed then, and I still believe, it was the indoctrination of lessening the importance of men in the family and society.<\/p>\n

script writers, actors and activists fill our screens and minds with what they say should be normalized<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When we turn on the television, we open our mind\u2019s door, inviting into our home guests from Hollywood; script writers, actors and activists alike fill our screens and minds with what they say should be normalized\u2026.all in the name of “compassion, tolerance and love.” THEY are in OUR home as guests. Who dictates what happens in our home? The guest? Or us? We have choices.<\/p>\n

When the wind was blowing in just the right direction, the not-so-great smell of the local turkey farm floated through my home\u2019s open screened door and windows, I didn\u2019t open them wider with a smile on my face. I wrinkled my nose and closed them until the wind changed direction.<\/p>\n

In Saint Peter\u2019s first sermon as recorded by Saint Luke in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles (2:36:40), the hearers of his words declaring Jesus as Lord and Christ believed and asked, \u201cMen and brethren, what shall we do?\u201d This same question confronts us today regarding the Hollywood guests we invite into our home on a regular basis. Saint Peter\u2019s prescription for the sickness then continues to apply, \u201cRepent,\u201d \u201cbe baptized\u2026for the remission of sins and receive the Holy Spirit,\u201d and \u201cBe saved from this perverse generation.\u201d In other words, separate yourself from the perversity of the people around you and live a life (through confession and receiving of the Holy Mysteries) that hones your skills to hit the mark of being like our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

What are we Orthodox Christians doing to counter the voices that say \u201cnormalize the abnormal\u201d?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

What are we Orthodox Christians doing to counter the voices that say \u201cnormalize the abnormal\u201d? Are we closing the door and redirecting our attention to that which has the sweet smell of incense? At the nightly family dinner table, are we parking our cell phones at the front door and countering the cultural voices with conversation that will help right the upside notions of marriage, sexuality and perversity? Are we setting aside football and soccer practices, gymnastic competitions and all else that competes for our time to attend Divine Liturgy every Sunday? What are we doing to teach our boys to be the Bridegroom and the girls to be the Bride?<\/p>\n

We should be singing:
\nBlessed are You, O Lord; teach me Your statutes.
\nBlessed are You, O Master; make me to understand Your commandments.
\nBlessed are You, O Holy One; enlighten me with Your precepts.<\/p>\n

\"TV<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Athanasia Trudy – When we turn on the television, we open our mind\u2019s door, inviting into our home guests from Hollywood; script writers, actors and activists alike fill our screens and minds with what they say should be normalized\u2026.all in the name of “compassion, tolerance, and love.” A recent article by Rod Dreher in … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":497,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37,43,95,176,78,15,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture-war","category-family","category-homosexual-indoctrination","category-lgbt-activism","category-media-bias","category-moral-issues","category-orthodox-christianity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/497"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11475\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}