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Lead Us Not Onto
Temptation Island
by Melvin Rhodes
The
premise is simple. Four "committed" couples are flown to a tropical island
and immediately separated, sent to opposite ends of the island. There they mix with
attractive members of the opposite sex especially chosen for their temptation value.
During the following two weeks, each of the original eight people must go on five
dates with the hired tempters.
Cameras are there to record it all in weekly episodes. Adding to the voyeuristic
interest is the producer's use of videotapes sent back from the other end of the
island so each islander can see his or her partner's behavior, in some cases provoking
anger and jealousy.
Temptation Island is the latest hit television series in the United States, boosting
its network's ratings to a record high for a single show. Many people probably watch
it just to see the scantily clad sexy young adults who are the stars of the program.
Most viewers are soon hooked on the series, watching to see which couples stay faithful
and which do not.
New twist on selling sex
The series is controversial, condemned by parents, profamily organizations and religious
groups. Seldom mentioned is that the couples participating in the series are not
married but were living together before they journeyed to "Temptation Island,"
which is really Ambergris Caye, off the coast of Belize in Central America.
Whatever the intentions, the effect of the show is to encourage promiscuity. Soap
operas have done this for years. The difference is that most people realize soaps
are fiction, but this show is fact. It portrays a promiscuous way of life as exciting
and fun. It legitimizes the destruction of relationships purely for sex.
The irony is that the participants are obviously searching for meaningful long-term
relationships, just like everyone else.
The program does great harm in this area, not just for those on the show but for
its viewers. With a constant emphasis on physical appearance and pleasure at the
expense of everything else that's involved when two people commit themselves to each
other for life, loving relationships are made far more difficult if not impossible.
This is the point we have come to at the beginning of the 21st century: All too many
people in Western countries seem incapable of remaining in a committed lifelong
and loving relationship, even though most people profess to want one. They have
little idea how to achieve their desired goal. Shows such as Temptation Island
only make it more difficult.
Prophesied obsession
The constant emphasis on sexual adventure that is a daily feature of television programs
and movies is a startling reflection of the apostle Paul's prophecy about society
"in the last days." "For men will be lovers of themselves," he
wrote. They will be "boasters," "proud," "unloving,"
"without self-control," "lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of
God" (2Timothy 3:1-4).
Of course, people have always broken God's laws that define morality, but the rampant
pursuit of sensual pleasures with so little regard for the consequences seems to
have reached unprecedented levels in the modern West.
No recent precedent points to where these trends may lead. Almost all cultures down
through history have had marriage customs and laws to protect the unique relationship
of marriage. Although divorce under certain circumstances was permitted in ancient
Israel, Jesus said this was anything but the ideal (Matthew 19:8). This had not been
God's intention, although He permitted Moses to allow divorce "because of the
hardness of (their) hearts."
Few have a concept of fidelity, defined in Collins Standard Reference Dictionary
as "faithful devotion to duty, obligations or vows." This includes the
marriage vows. The Bible, God's instruction book for mankind, gives us the Ten Commandments,
which include the Seventh Commandment, "You shall not commit adultery."
Adultery is sexual relations with someone other than one's spouse. While the Seventh
Commandment specifically prohibits a married person from having sex with someone
who is not the person's spouse, in principle it covers all forms of sexual sin.
Paul writes in 1Corinthians 6:18, "Flee fornication" (King James Version).
He comments that "he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body"-a
warning of the possibility of sexually transmitted diseases and of the anguish of
broken relationships.
A contestant in the Temptation Island show cried when he saw pictures of his
partner's intimate involvement with another man on the other side of the island.
Why would anyone want to hurt the one he loves? When this kind of sin is repeatedly
indulged in with various partners, eventually people are devoid of feelings and find
it almost impossible to form a lasting relationship.
In 1Thessalonians 5:22 Paul tells us to "abstain from all appearance of evil"
(King James Version). This includes the popular practice of living together, even
if not sexually active. It gives the appearance of fornication, which is condemned
in the Scriptures.
Changing times and definitions
With the rapid decline in morality that has affected Western countries since the
sexual revolution of the 1960s, even definitions of words have changed. An 1828 dictionary
barely mentions sexual activity in its definition of promiscuous: "Mingled;
consisting of individuals united in a body or mass without order; confused; undistinguished
...; common; indiscriminate; not restricted to an individual; as promiscuous love
or intercourse ..."
The Collins dictionary (1982) emphasizes the sexual application of the word: "showing
little or no taste or care in choosing; specifically engaging in sexual intercourse
with many persons casually; without plan or purpose; casual."
A new definition was cited by the Centers for Disease Control in announcing AIDS
figures on World AIDS Day in December 2000.
Yes, Television Is Getting Sleazier A just-published study from the Henry J. Kaiser
Family Foundation shows that, yes, sexual content in television |
© 2001-2022
United Church of God, an International Association
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Keywords: temptation television, influence of sexual temptation
Sexual temptation: