The Hypocrisy of Acting

[Theogenes]

I am interested in people's thoughts regarding a topic I've been thinking about for a while.
I've heard that the greek word for acting or actors in ancient Greece is the same root word for "hypocrisy". Basically pretending to be something or someone you're not. Is it deception to do so or a variant of deception??
Now, is it wrong to support an industry, to the level we do in our society, that is based on deception?? We give more money to Hollywood than anywhere else. I understand that the Puritans didn't care much for the Theater - too worldly. I wonder what they would say about Hollywood/movies/TV??
I think I could guess correctly.
So, not considering the blatant immorality and blasphemy which we see a lot of, what about the foundational hypocrisy and perhaps deception that acting is based on???


Jim

 

[VirginiaHuguenot]

There have been a few threads where this issue was discussed. Some of my previous comments are below:

Originally posted by VirginiaHuguenot
I respect J. Parnell McCarter and often agree with his opinions. But on this issue I disagree.

Acting is not a violation of the ninth commandment per se, although consideration ought to be given by actors to the overall goal of the dramatic performance as well as to specific acts performed.

The Westminster Assembly could have said acting was unlawful in its exposition of the ninth commandment in the Larger Catechism, but did not. It did condemn "lascivious stage plays" with reference to the seventh commandment. It would also condemn "passion plays" with reference to the second commandment. Those kinds of distinctions are important, and Biblical, rather than a blanket condemnation of acting.

The third commandment critique is interesting. I'd have to consider that further. When I see rehearsed prayers to God uttered in movies I do wonder about that.

"Chariots of Fire" is one of my favorite movies precisely because it shows an honorable and courageous treatment of the fourth commandment.

I am aware that the actor who played Eric Liddell was a sodomite. Nevertheless, I can commend his acting while deploring his personal conduct which lead to his death by AIDS.

I know that many Puritans were opposed to acting and drama. It their day, like in Hollywood today, there was much to criticize in terms of the acting culture. But their age also produced Shakespeare and Spencer among others. Beza, for example, wrote a play about the sacrifice of Abraham (1550). I believe we ought to look for the good (by common grace) to be found in dramatic art and acknowledge Christ's lordship over all the arts, which are to be redeemed for his glory.

Source: http://www.puritanboard.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=10924

Originally posted by VirginiaHuguenot
The "theology of entertainment" is a very good question, one which I have wrestled with too. It is important, I think, on the one hand, to avoid legalism. The Westminster Larger Catechism, for example, in its exposition of the Seventh Commandment, notes that "lasicivious stage plays" are thereby prohibited. It does not, however, go so far as to say anywhere in the Catechism that all stage plays (movies not yet having been invented) are prohibited. In other words, drama or acting, in the writings of the Westminster Assembly, are not identified as unlawful. Some Puritans and Presbyterians (Increase Mather and Samuel Miller come to mind, plus a certain European Presbyterian denomination today I know of which bans people from the Lord's Supper who watch movies) have argued that stage plays are always connected with immorality and appear to leave no room for Christians to have any invovlement with them as spectators or actors. Others -- I noted in a separate recent thread how Theodore Beza wrote a play about Abraham, for example (meant for production outside the church) -- do not go that far. Some fundamentalist writings that I have seen claim that acting is inherently a violation of the Ninth Commandment because it involves pretense. I don't agree. I am inclined to see warrant for drama in the parables of Scripture. I see imagination and creative storytelling (in oral, written and dramatic form) as a noble art that can and should be honoring to God (and like everything else can be abused as we see in Hollywood today). The dramatic portrayl of sin need not be sin in itself; however, great caution must be used in such instances. I agree with the need to avoid provocations unto sin, as the Catechism states. Sex scenes should be verbotten. Romantic love can be portrayed, but kissing between actors and actresses can lead to trouble. In Pure Country, George Strait, a married man, refused to play his role unless he could refrain from kissing the female co-star. In ye olden times, the role of women in acting performance was severely curtailed or prohibited. Violence can be portrayed in ways that are not gratuitous and convey the honor of a warrior, I think. Bad language is something that I don't think should be part of a dramatic performance. However, as I have noted in a separate thread, it's hard for me to say that certain words can never be spoken in any context. Finally, much more could be said about the distinction between entertainment and recreation. The latter is more profitable, I believe. We should consider how we spend our time. Vegging out in front of movies may not always be the best use of time. One should always evaluate their motives for why they can set aside a chunk of time to watch a two hour movie but they can't find time for private or family worship. Having said that, there is much good that one can find in certain movies. Chariots of Fire, Gods and Generals, and Luther are some examples that come to mind. Braveheart and The Patriot are two remarkable movies which may contain excessive violence and some other objectionable scenes, but also much that is good and praiseworthy. Let us not go too far and bind the consciences of others with respect to movies. And yet let us proclaim the need for drama, its actors and spectators to all submit to the Lordship of Christ in every way. Philippians 4.8, Romans 12.1-2, and 2 Cor. 10.5 are among many verses which ought to guide us in these matters.

http://www.kuyper.org/main/publish/books_essays/article_17.shtml?page=6 [fixed link to Abraham Kuyper, Lectures on Calvinism, Calvinism and Art]

http://spindleworks.com/library/vanrongen/drama_school.htm

[Edited on 3-1-2005 by VirginiaHuguenot]

Source: http://www.puritanboard.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=8119

Originally posted by VirginiaHuguenot
I would agree with Adam that The Passion is not a movie for children or adults to see because it is a Roman Catholic, 2nd-commandment-breaking movie, issues of violence for young viewers aside.

The issues of what principles should guide us with respect to:

* how much time we spend watching movies; and
* what kind of movies we watch

are very important in the life of a 21st century American Christian family, and I think they have been well-discussed in the threads which you may seen already:

http://www.puritanboard.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=8326

http://www.puritanboard.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=8119

You will find a variety of views and practical applications on this Board relating to movies. I think everyone would look to the Phil. 4.8 principle that Adam appropriately cited.

My own view, as noted in one of the threads, is that movies per se are lawful recreation when taken in moderation and for purposes of edification. There are few movies that lack any objectionable content and most movies have occasion to portray sin in some manner. The classic B&W movies of yesteryear are more likely to be wholesome than today's movies. Chariots of Fire, Luther, Gods and Generals, and Henry V, for example, rank very high on my list of appropriate movies. I also enjoy Hitchcock movies, Bogart in African Queen and Casablanca and Jimmy Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and a lot of other movies that show characters wrestling with moral issues. I enjoy Braveheart and The Patriot for historical, patriotic drama. I enjoy The Lord of the Rings and The Matrix for fantasy-action allegory. The Mask of Zorro and The Man in the Iron Mask are great movies of action-adventure and redemption. Singin' in the Rain, Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz are some great old color classics. I could go on with specific examples, but I find something greatly redeeming and edifying in each of the above. That's my

Source: http://www.puritanboard.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=8666

Originally posted by VirginiaHuguenot

Originally posted by VirginiaHuguenot
William Bates, British Puritan, lived from 1625 to July 14, 1699. He participated at the Savoy Conference on behalf of the Presbyterians, and he preached at the funerals of Thomas Manton, Richard Baxter and David Clarkson.

His name appeared in the news this week. He was the owner of the first folio edition of Shakespeare's plays which is being auctioned later this year for something over £2.5m.

Update: the book is scheduled to be auctioned on July 13, 2006 for an estimated £3.5m. It was purchased from William Bates by Daniel Williams, who was one of those who preached a funeral sermon for Matthew Henry.

Source: http://www.puritanboard.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=14142

See also: http://www.puritanboard.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=8326

 

[Peter]

Very interesting topic and one I am quite perplexed by. My conscience has been pricked and I have struggled with this issue for several months now, though I have not given it very much serious study. Right away, let me say I still do watch drama from time to time stoping on a T.V. channel and wasting time. Its something I wrestle with like I wrestle with many sins.

The problem I have with movies is not the 9th commandment. I don't see anything wrong with pretending or story telling per se (though I do not exclude that possibilty). There are a number of other things that are unsettling about movies to me:

(1) We watch movies as a form of recreation. Lawful recreation should refresh us and make our minds and bodies more suitable for our general and special callings. Remember, all our ends and everything we do must be subordinate to God's glory 1 Cor 10:31. Our play must make us better at work and at religion which end is to manifest God's glory. In our culture of entertainment play has become an end in itself. But, to the point, do movies refresh us, do they improve us or are they a waste or worse yet? In my experience and from my observation of others, movies cause only mental and physical atrophy. The vast majority of movies are vain dribble that dissipates the mind. It ruins concentration; it creates an appetite for excitement that makes meditation, study and spiritual duties dull; it fills your memory with useless trivia at the expense of true knowledge; it makes our bodies fat and lazy, etc. Its a waste of time. One movie every year might not be so damaging but still if its not doing anything positive then its not 'redeeming the time.'

(2) It corrupts our morals. If the Puritans could condemn the plays of Shakespear & Marlow, & if the early Church and even the most virtues heathens could condemn the Greek Stage, how can we stand to watch the nauseating filth of Holywood? If any one can say that after day after day, week after week of watching that sh!t its not imbibed into their thought and behavior they're not being honest. You might say some of it has a good message and that its not all that bad but I think its pretty hard to even find a kid's movie that doesn't take the Lord's name in vain or use oaths. Shouldn't hearing the Lord's name blasphemed even once immediately kill all our mirth and dampen all the joy of the movie? If not then we don't see the evil of sin. And why go, why even begin the movie if we know its going to happen? Burrough's says that in company witnessing another swear ought to kill the mood of the party worse then if someone took out a knife and stabbed himself in the chest but we go on continuing in our joy and worse are more joyful because it happened. Further, consider the great evil in sitting down to be entertained by an act of SIN. Watching something for pleasure, for sport that is sin or that is a depiction of sin. This is hardly, 'abstaining from all appearance of evil'. Even if presented in a christian worldview, to find fun and sport in the depiction of sin is far from the attitude of Paul who thought it a shame to even speak of the unfruitful works of darkness.

There are a miscellany of other considerations that should deter us from watching movies, such as the wicked, liscentious actors and filthy Jew producers whose corrupt lifestyles and anti-christian agendas we subsidize with our money, but in the main the above two points are my problems with movies/dramatic preformance. Part of the reason I haven't done as much reading on the subject as I'd like is that its been so hard to find anything. There's scarcly anything on the web and nothing to my knowledge in print. I did come accross one webpage though and I highly recommend Samuel Miller's sermon on theater attendence. Puritan William Pyrnne wrote probably the definitive work against theater, the "Histriomastix." Next, the Anglican Bishop Jeremy Collier's book "Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage." If anyone has any knowledge of these books, or others, beyond what is easily found on the interent please share.

[Edited on 7-14-2006 by Peter]

 

[BaptistCanuk]

Forgive me if I repeat anyone because I didn't read through the entire thread yet. I just wanted to say that it's not wrong to try out different aspects of one's personality. That is what teenagers do right?

Hypocrisy isn't pretending to be something you are not. Hypocrisy is being one thing in front of one crowd and another thing in front of another crowd. Right?

 

[BaptistCanuk]

Oops. Double post.

[Edited on 7-13-2006 by BaptistCanuk]

 

[satz]

I think the concerns that can be raised with regard to television and movies are probably best summed up by Peter's post above. I honestly don't think there is any problem with hypocrisy or deception because in the context of a performance the audience knows and the actor is very upfront that this is a performance. Given that, i don't see how acting is hypocrisy anymore than storytelling is lying.

 

[satz]

Hi Peter,

I would be grateful if you could elaborate more on how you came to these conclusions? I think (if i remember correctly) they are from the Samuel Miller article you referred to above? Whilst i understand that recreation must be strictly controlled in its quantity and type, I just don't really see how one would come to these specific conclusions from the bible.

Lawful recreation should refresh us and make our minds and bodies more suitable for our general and special callings.

Our play must make us better at work and at religion which end is to manifest God's glory.

[Edited on 7-13-2006 by satz]

 

[satz]

If anyone has any knowledge of these books, or others, beyond what is easily found on the interent please share.

I currently do not consider drama or movies sinful per se, but if you are interested i think the protestant reformed church denomination has quite a few articles on drama. I'am not sure how find them again now, but quite a few were on the online version of the Standard Bearer.

 

[Augusta]

Originally posted by Peter
Very interesting topic and one I am quite perplexed by. My conscience has been pricked and I have struggled with this issue for several months now, though I have not given it very much serious study. Right away, let me say I still do watch drama from time to time stoping on a T.V. channel and wasting time. Its something I wrestle with like I wrestle with many sins.

The problem I have with movies is not the 9th commandment. I don't see anything wrong with pretending or story telling per se (though I do not exclude that possibilty). There are a number of other things that are unsettling about movies to me:

(1) We watch movies as a form of recreation. Lawful recreation should refresh us and make our minds and bodies more suitable for our general and special callings. Remember, all our ends and everything we do must be subordinate to God's glory 1 Cor 10:31. Our play must make us better at work and at religion which end is to manifest God's glory. In our culture of entertainment play has become an end in itself. But, to the point, do movies refresh us, do they improve us or are they a waste or worse yet? In my experience and from my observation of others, movies cause only mental and physical atrophy. The vast majority of movies are vain dribble that dissipates the mind. It ruins concentration; it creates an appetite for excitement that makes meditation, study and spiritual duties dull; it fills your memory with useless trivia at the expense of true knowledge; it makes our bodies fat and lazy, etc. Its a waste of time. One movie every year might not be so damaging but still if its not doing anything positive then its not 'redeeming the time.'

(2) It corrupts our morals. If the Puritans could condemn the plays of Shakespear & Marlow, & if the early Church and even the most virtues heathens could condemn the Greek Stage, how can we stand to watch the nauseating filth of Holywood? If any one can say that after day after day, week after week of watching that sh!t its not imbibed into their thought and behavior they're not being honest. You might say some of it has a good message and that its not all that bad but I think its pretty hard to even find a kid's movie that doesn't take the Lord's name in vain or use oaths. Shouldn't hearing the Lord's name blasphemed even once immediately kill all our mirth and dampen all the joy of the movie? If not then we don't see the evil of sin. And why go, why even begin the movie if we know its going to happen? Burrough's says that in company witnessing another swear ought to kill the mood of the party worse then if someone took out a knife and stabbed himself in the chest but we go on continuing in our joy and worse are more joyful because it happened. Further, consider the great evil in sitting down to be entertained by an act of SIN. Watching something for pleasure, for sport that is sin or that is a depiction of sin. This is hardly, 'abstaining from all appearance of evil'. Even if presented in a christian worldview, to find fun and sport in the depiction of sin is far from the attitude of Paul who thought it a shame to even speak of the unfruitful works of darkness.

There are a miscellany of other considerations that should deter us from watching movies, such as the wicked, liscentious actors and filthy Jew producers whose corrupt lifestyles and anti-christian agendas we subsidize with our money, but in the main the above two points are my problems with movies/dramatic preformance. Part of the reason I haven't done as much reading on the subject as I'd like is that its been so hard to find anything. There's scarcly anything on the web and nothing to my knowledge in print. I did come accross one webpage though and I highly recommend Samuel Miller's sermon on theater attendence. Puritan William Pyrnne wrote probably the definitive work against theater, the "Histriomastix." Next, an the Anglican Bishop Jeremy Collier's book "Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage." If anyone has any knowledge of these books, or others, beyond what is easily found on the interent please share.

[Edited on 7-13-2006 by Peter]

Peter, my conscience is pricked in this same way. I will check out the links you gave. I struggle with the same thing.

I haven't made any definitive judgements on it because it is hard as you said with very few sources on the subject. I do think that as I study more and my conscience just gets more and more acute that I will eventually lose all desire for that kind of entertainment. Maybe that is how it works. It's not a command it is just where your conscience eventually takes you.

It is few and far between that I see a movie with nothing in it that makes me say ugh! I normally would have seen the new X-Men movie, Superman Returns, Cars, and the new Pirates movie by now. I haven't seen any of them and don't have any plans to yet. The desire is just leaving and I am normally a huge movie fan. I know that I will have to hold my nose through parts of all of them and I am not in a hurry to do it.

[Edited on 7-13-2006 by Augusta]

 

[Peter]

Originally posted by satz
Hi Peter,

I would be grateful if you could elaborate more on how you came to these conclusions? I think (if i remember correctly) they are from the Samuel Miller article you referred to above? Whilst i understand that recreation must be strictly controlled in its quantity and type, I just don't really see how one would come to these specific conclusions from the bible.

Lawful recreation should refresh us and make our minds and bodies more suitable for our general and special callings.

Our play must make us better at work and at religion which end is to manifest God's glory.

[Edited on 7-13-2006 by satz]

Mark, thanks for the info about the Prot. RC. I will check out their website. I'd be happy to elaborate this point a bit.

1. God did not make us party animals. Homo-ludens. The end we were created for is God's glory. All other ends must be subordinate to this chief end.
2. God didn't make us working animals either but he has called us to a life of toil and providentially put us in a vocation Gen 3:19 'In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread' 1Th 4:11,11 'study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.' 2Th 3:12. God has also called all of us to live a life of holiness and communion with him 1Pe 2:9 'But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light'
3. Our play is to be subordinate to these 2 ends,viz our general and our special or civil calling. The reason God gives us recreation is to make us better at working and worshipping.

Henry Scudder,

6. In all recreation you must propose the right end; the nearest and immediate end is to revive your weary body and to quicken your dull mind; but your highest and principle end is, that with this refreshed body and mind, you may better serve and glorify God.

The Christian's Daily Walk 45

I dont see how movies do this. I see only how they make us unfit for our duties.

 

[Peter]

Traci, thanks for sharing your experience. I have to admit also, part of the reason I've put off studying the issue is that I'm afraid of what might be the conclusion. I'm not a huge movie fan but I do enjoy it now and then but worse for me is that I don't want to labeled a precisionist or a fanatic or a fundy. I wish I could pray with sincerity for God to show me my secret faults.

[Edited on 7-14-2006 by Peter]

 

[Theogenes]

Thanks for all your comments!
Jim

 

[BaptistCanuk]

They did a lot of partying in the biblical days though. They did it for God's glory and in obedience to him but they still had a celebration (feasts, etc.).

 

[LadyCalvinist]

Like Peter I have struggled with what standards I should use to watch movies and television, or if I should watch at all. I have read of Christians who decry the sex and profanity (quite rightly too) that are in too many movies, but recently I have become aware that the worlview of the artist, that is what the artist is trying to say about reality, is just as important. Much of what Hollywood has put out since the 60's is radically humanistic and anti-Christian. Hollywood all too frequently glorifies rebellion and sin.

So what to do? I try to look for movies that show Christianity in a positive light, or at least in some way, promote virtue; I like Father of the Bride movies, for this reason.

It is difficult, but it is possible to find movies that are edifying.
Ben-Hur,
Quo Vadis,
Tender Mercies,
Stanley and Livingstone (old movie with Spencer Tracy about Stanley's search for the missionary David Livingstone)
A Man called Peter (about the life of Pesbyterian minister Peter Marshall)
Treasure of Sierra Madre (a parable about the destructiveness of greed)
When Worlds Collide (1950's sci-fi classic loosely based on Noah's Ark)
Forbidden Planet (another classic 1950's movie about total depravity, although they didn't call it that)
as well as the movies Andrew mentioned above, are some of the movies that I as a Christian can watch in good conscience.

I agree also that we need to consider how we use our time. I know I have spent thousands of hours in front of the television and 2/3 I could have done without and now regret watching. No one on their death bed, wishes that they had watched more television. Increasingly, I try to watch documentaries or old movies if I watch at all.

P.S. I hate to admit this, but I like Sister Act

[Edited on 7-14-2006 by LadyCalvinist]

 

[BaptistCanuk]

"I hate to admit this, but I like Sister Act."



I myself prefer "Nuns on the Run".

 

[srhoades]

I just finished Theology in Dialogue by John Gerstner. He specifically addresses this issue in the form of white lies. He takes the position that if one is expecting to be decieved, like acting or an illusionist, it is not a violation of the commandment. He takes the position to the logical conclusion that if we were never to decieve anyone, then we wouldn't camoflauge our military in an attempt to evade our enemy. Both sides expect to be decieved by the other.