Products of Pentecostal Propaganda

[SuzieQue]

What are the effects of the generation that was raised on raidio and raised television - the generation known only by X? Of course, this remains to be seen, but I believe we have a choice. The entire generation stands at a crossroads whether they are people of faith or people that lack faith. Pentecostal propaganda suggests that television ever present throughout the 70s and 80s was a tool of Satan used to promote loose morals and godlessness. I propose that broadcasting was a medium by which many messages were sent to the children's minds of the undefined generation.

It was only by a sitcom that I first hear the words of Martin Luther King Jr's speech, a flashback scene of the Jefferson's wherein they allowed the voice of who I believe to be a modern messenger of God, to stream into my living room in the South and suggest the idea of equality and human solidarity regardless of race. The ears of my spirit stilled to hear the message and later in life when faced with a choice to love or not these words came back to me. Believe me having attended an all white school district, tv and radio were the only things we had to talk about and bat around these ideas of truth and progress.

I believe our generation is better off for having had a national medium of communication both audio and visual that some suggest is inherently evil to educate and question our values. What do you say? Do the Pentecostals have it right? Is the internet now the demonic influence of the new millenium or is it a way to connect and educate ourselves? Is our generation ill defined and apathetic, or will we rise to the occasion and express our beliefs eventually? When will we find our voice? I believe the time is coming soon.

[dizzle]

I do not think this is a distinctly Pentecostal thing. I really don't know what I think - but perhaps this says it in some way. I have friends a few decades younger than I and I feel actually enriched that I had experienced some things they never did and think that they can imagine such as:

only 8 tv channels and choosing between vhf and uhf
endless re-runs of the Little Rascals
no computers
no microwaves
no word processors
an actual card file at the library
most stores not open on Sunday


I am sure I can think of more - not that I don't count the things we have today a blessing, I always want to buy the newest technology, but I know I have a deeper appreciation and lack of appreciation for the way these things affect our lives.

My mother was a book club subscriber. When there was nothing on TV (which was most of the time) I would venture into her area and just read, and read, and read. None of it was particularly deep - I think Flowers in the Attic just came out, but it gave me of love of doing things the mechanical way. I am a legal assistant and when I went to school for my degree on that computerized research was just starting to come out, and I learned through the WestLaw books. I think by knowing how things works that way, I understand the system more than those who only learned online research. I understand the key number system and the beauty of why it was necessary, and the real work in Shephardizing.

Another example is that I used to work at a retailer that was on the cutting edge of that time having a computerized system and I was the office administrator. We had the computer room at 30 degrees, the boot up sequence was a bunch of switches, up, up, down, up, down - the data tapes were about the size of a small Little Ceasars pizza box. I also did the bookkeeping before they computerized it. It was all manual ledgers and double-side reconciling. Then it was computerized. Others at other stores had no clue what to do if the system was down and didn't understand why certain number were put in certain columns and how a ten cent error can actually turn out to appear as a twenty cent difference.

I fear we are just learning to hit this, push this button, and don't know why. My two partners here will attest to my frustrating them with wanting to know not just HOW to do something but WHY it is done that way so I may apply my knowledge.

So I guess in a way I agree with the Pentecostals.... but I suppose a lot of generations thinik so, but this is a time of greater change I think than any

[SuzieQue]

I guess since I don't work any more I am thankful for the computer but I never really have known the people to which I am writing and believe I've gone about in a very offensive manner to them. There has been a degree of fear and anger in my posting and knowing that I am not very knowledgeable about computers has been a disadvantage.
The last job I held was at a nursing home, assistant to the business office manager, but seeing the goings on there and getting to know the residents I was certified as a CNA and tried to fill in the gaps in care. This situation also led to frustration and a feeling of helplessness to change anything. Dang, I've dumped a lot of negative energy on the web in the last year, I can only hope that any effects of it are nullified.
Why am I telling you this I don't know???
Maybe your avatar suggests discouragement. Misery loves company. Oy well you can always yank this post.
You do have a point with the push button instant gratification idea. Short attention spans and such. The mennonites suggest moderation I think they are right. Just can't seem to put that into practice.

[dizzle]

I guess since I don't work any more I am thankful for the computer but I never really have known the people to which I am writing and believe I've gone about in a very offensive manner to them. There has been a degree of fear and anger in my posting and knowing that I am not very knowledgeable about computers has been a disadvantage.
The last job I held was at a nursing home, assistant to the business office manager, but seeing the goings on there and getting to know the residents I was certified as a CNA and tried to fill in the gaps in care. This situation also led to frustration and a feeling of helplessness to change anything. Dang, I've dumped a lot of negative energy on the web in the last year, I can only hope that any effects of it are nullified.
Why am I telling you this I don't know???

Because it is good to get to know other people? I have found nothing you said offensive - and a lot of people don't know much about computers so you are not alone. Can I politely suggest you may be reading into responses some offense that wasn't there? It happens a lot online.


Maybe your avatar suggests discouragement. Misery loves company.

You would not know this but my avatar is there in relation to the words under my name "Good-bye Allan" - a member of this forum recently died of cystic fibrosis and my avatar is intended to show my sadnes and pay my respects.

[SuzieQue]

Because it is good to get to know other people? I have found nothing you said offensive - and a lot of people don't know much about computers so you are not alone. Can I politely suggest you may be reading into responses some offense that wasn't there? It happens a lot online.



You would not know this but my avatar is there in relation to the words under my name "Good-bye Allan" - a member of this forum recently died of cystic fibrosis and my avatar is intended to show my sadnes and pay my respects.
No, I am sorry I did not know what it was about. You have my sympathy along with the other twebbers.

[Bill the Cat]

No, I am sorry I did not know what it was about. You have my sympathy along with the other twebbers.
I am a pentecostal, and I tire of the sweeping generalization that we are all like the stereotype: Men in shirt and ties with flat tops and women in high neck shirts and ankle length skirts with braided hair down past their knees. Heck, I wear shorts to church and my wife wears pants...:shocked: There are many brands of people who fall under "Pentecostal" who have many different ideas about things. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater because a few hyper-sensitive people who just happen to be labeled Pentecostals believe everything is the Devil... Only Foozball is, Bobby Bouchet...:lol:


Not all Pentecostals think the Internet is the Devil. I work on computers for a living, and I have to have internet access to do my job effectively. But there are dangers like porn and gambling sites that infest the internet and provide unrestricted access to anyone old enough to click a mouse. My 4 year old son loves to play the little games at pbskids.org but I would not think of letting him on the internet without being in the room. He can't spell many words, and if he mistypes, he could end up seeing things that a child should not see. Granted, he is 4, but the same goes for my 11 year old daughter. It, like television, must be monitored. But that isn't a factor of being Pentecostal, it is just a good parenting skill.

[SuzieQue]

I am a pentecostal, and I tire of the sweeping generalization that we are all like the stereotype: Men in shirt and ties with flat tops and women in high neck shirts and ankle length skirts with braided hair down past their knees. Heck, I wear shorts to church and my wife wears pants...:shocked: There are many brands of people who fall under "Pentecostal" who have many different ideas about things. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater because a few hyper-sensitive people who just happen to be labeled Pentecostals believe everything is the Devil... Only Foozball is, Bobby Bouchet...:lol:


Not all Pentecostals think the Internet is the Devil. I work on computers for a living, and I have to have internet access to do my job effectively. But there are dangers like porn and gambling sites that infest the internet and provide unrestricted access to anyone old enough to click a mouse. My 4 year old son loves to play the little games at pbskids.org but I would not think of letting him on the internet without being in the room. He can't spell many words, and if he mistypes, he could end up seeing things that a child should not see. Granted, he is 4, but the same goes for my 11 year old daughter. It, like television, must be monitored. But that isn't a factor of being Pentecostal, it is just a good parenting skill.
Pentecostal was chosen for alliterative effect, but when I was young and visited Pentecostal and AOG churches it was actually part of their doctrine. Obviously, it wasn't followed by everyone who attended. Secularly speaking there are many people who think that our minds went to the dogs watching television ( I can't blame tv but eh well another time). I just think we can glean a lot that was good from the media and music of the era.

Why did my generation get the X label anyway? Was it because they didn't know a thing about us except that we were a little different than the previous? X implies illiteracy, nothingness - I just think we have more to offer than we are given credit for Colonel Sanders. :lol: I love my generation and now you know that.

[dizzle]

No, I am sorry I did not know what it was about. You have my sympathy along with the other twebbers.

Thank you. Sometimes I have sad avatars for other reasons as I suffer from clinical depression, but this time it was for a sad event which this site has experienced three times now.

[shunyadragon]

What are the effects of the generation that was raised on raidio and raised television - the generation known only by X? Of course, this remains to be seen, but I believe we have a choice. The entire generation stands at a crossroads whether they are people of faith or people that lack faith. Pentecostal propaganda suggests that television ever present throughout the 70s and 80s was a tool of Satan used to promote loose morals and godlessness. I propose that broadcasting was a medium by which many messages were sent to the children's minds of the undefined generation.

I believe our generation is better off for having had a national medium of communication both audio and visual that some suggest is inherently evil to educate and question our values. What do you say? Do the Pentecostals have it right? Is the internet now the demonic influence of the new millenium or is it a way to connect and educate ourselves? Is our generation ill defined and apathetic, or will we rise to the occasion and express our beliefs eventually? When will we find our voice? I believe the time is coming soon.

TV, like all modern and ancient mediums of communication, is value neutral. Scapegoats are common among people who have difficulty living with change and the modern world. Living in the past and longing for the good old days that did not exist is not very realistic nor healthy.

[dizzle]

It all depends on how you define value and neutral. There isn't a greater value to reading than other mediums?

[shunyadragon]

It all depends on how you define value and neutral. There isn't a greater value to reading than other mediums?

I would define value and neutral simply as they are used today. Virtually all forms of media have been condemned from time to time in history, from book burning to the foolish condemnation of radio by some when it first became popular. As far as comparing different media with reading, I would prefer to see a Shakespear play performed by the best actors than to read it. Seeing it may be on TV, a movie theater or on the stage.