The Sunday, August 19, 2012 AD episode of America’s Funniest Home Videos (AFV) began with the usual introduction of Tom Bergeron.
However, the intro was unusual in that when the curtains came up, Tom was seen sitting in full lotus position, including hand positions and all. Feigning surprise at the audience’s appearance, he said that he was just meditating.
And the crowd went…wild?!?!
And the media went…investigate?!?!
And the Atheists went…on lecturing tours?!?!
And the watchgod groups went…condemned?!?!
Protests!
Boycotts!
Calls for his resignation or firing!
Wait!
What?
If you are thinking, “So what, what is the big deal?” Congratulations, you have just discovered exactly to what extent you have been desensitized.
So what, he said that he was meditating after exhibiting a meditative posture?
Okay, alright, here is a thought experiment. AFV is a prime time, family hour, family oriented, broadcast TV show. Now, imagine if the curtain revealed him kneeling with clasped hands and a bowed head. Imagine if he had stated, “I was in prayer before the Lord Jesus.”
Now you get it!
The media and blogosphere would be ablaze with outrage, condemnation, socially acceptable anti-Christian prejudice and hate speech, etc.
He displayed a posture and expressed a concept of Hindu, Buddhist, New Age and by any other name occult meditation before a family audience. He told an audience which according to national statistics is Christian, that he practices Eastern mysticism.
Does he, in the private life? Irrelevant. Point is that, as Ravi Zacharias put it (in Jesus Among Other Gods, p. Introduction-vii):
We are living in a time when sensitivities are at the surface, often vented with cutting words.
Philosophically, you can believe anything, so long as you do not claim it to be true.
Morally, you can practice anything, so long as you do not claim it is a ‘better’ way.
Religiously, you can hold to anything, so long as you do not bring Jesus Christ into it.
If a spiritual idea is eastern, it is granted critical immunity; if western, it is thoroughly criticized.
From every orifice, our culture is saturating us with anti-Christian and pro-occult/New Age, by any other name, messages: in the form of media, pop-culture, songs, movies, public school “education,” cartoons, TV shows about funny home videos, etc., etc., etc.
Children, in particular, are susceptible to this for various reasons.
For example, they look up to Tom Bergeron and will accept his messages.
Children’s books, movies, comics, cartoons, etc. are saturated with messages which glorify immorality and encourage occult practices. Some are at least open and honest enough to admit it. For example, Philip Pullman admits that his children’s books/movies such as “The Golden Compass” most certainly have a motive beyond entertaining kids as he has stated that his books are about “killing God” and that he seeks to “undermine the basis of Christian belief”—see:
Atheism’s Sales Pitch to Children
And
Philip Pullman the Atheosbishop of Canterbury
This is simply another example to the point that putting on the “mind of Christ” (2nd Corinthians 2:16) entails the employment of a worldview and we are not to suspend our worldview even, and especially, during such times when we seek to merely kick back and enjoy “mindless” entertainment with our families.