You are here:
Jehovah`s Witness/TV Shows
Advertisement
Question
Hi Brenton,
Can JW's watch TV shows such as Bewitched and I dream of Jeanie?
Thanks
Hello,
Thank you for your question
A lot of people feel that JWs have a lot of rules that we must adhere to. There area only a few “rules” that are direct Bible “laws” such as murder, stealing, sex outside of the marriage bonds, apostasy,etc that we follow. All other matters are guided by Bible principles and our own conscience as well as considering the conscience of others, so that we do not upset or stumble some one with our actions.
So, there is no rules regarding watching TV shows, but principles to keep in mind and it is up to each JW to judge which TV shows they personally will or will not watch.
Personally I enjoyed those two shows when they were shown on TV here in Australia. (They haven’t been on here in some time). There are some TV shows that are on now that I personally would not watch and I think they are called “Medium” and “Ghost whisperer” or something like that. As well as another show that was about, I think from the adverts for them, 3 female witches.
The difference for me is in the way they were portrayed. For the two that you mentioned, there were no real “mystical” and or violent and or Satanic story lines to them. My children could tell that these shows were for fun and not “devil” related. As for the other shows I mentioned, I never saw any shows but the scenes that were shown to advertise them I considered improper.
The same with Harry Potter. From the shorts I would not watch the movie but a friend of mine (an elder, he lived in a small “outback” community) read the first book and let his son read the book and went to see the movie and enjoyed them. I do not judge him for that as that was his conscience and it did not upset me that he went. However other JWs heard about at it got back to him that he had seen one of the movies, and the JWs were a little upset about that so when the next lot of books and movies were released, he did not go to see them. He personally did not see much wrong with it as to him it did not portray “spiritistic” matter, but, so as not to stumble others he decided it best not to see the movie or read the books.
I hope this has answered your questio
Related Articles
Answers by Expert:
Brenton Hepburn
Expertise
I AM one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and I am always learning. I am NOT an expert in the full sense of the word but I can answer questions on the reliability of the NWT,, the so called mind control problems,,so called prophecies,,,,how being a JW affects the individual and relatives and general practices and history of Jehovah’s Witnesses. >>WARNING<< Please be aware that as at 31 December 2011 there are at least 4 people here who ARE NOT practicing JWs. By all means ask these ones questions. Depending on the question you will get an honest answer, but generally the answer you get will mislead you often because they do not give ALL the relevant details. The following men are not practising JWS ..Derrick Holland ..Ben Erdman..Robert Jones>..Ken the Apostate These ones will, at times, may appear to not have an agenda against JWs., and will at times give answers that are not correct in regard to JW teachings and practices. If you are after a answer from one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, please read some of the answers that the various experts have published before choosing someone. If you want to ask one of the NON JWs a question, that is fine, BUT if you want a balancing view after asking one of the NON JWs, ask a JW the same question.PLEASE ALSO NOTE: Some experts are NOT always the most courteous, and their answers may offend, so it IS IMPORTANT to chose an "expert" that YOU feel will best suit YOU . . . . .
Experience
I have been a publisher since 1964. When I first went on the internet I found a lot of negative information dealing with Jehovah’s Witnesses covering prophecy, mind control and what many said was a very bad translation of the Bible known as the NWT. It shook my faith. After may hours researching these topics I could see why some felt that way, but, I was also able to explain why there were these misleading views. I can now set matters straight for anyone that has negative information about Jehovah’s Witness to show them that such information is at best misleading and at worst dangerous lies.
Education/Credentials
I have been a student of the Bible for many years, am trying to teach myself Biblical Greek.
Was a public tax accountant for many years untill SEP 2009 when I gave it up due to health problems.
©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.