Quotes &
Excerpts from
The Root of the Righteous
(Christian Publications, 1955)
by A. W. Tozer
"...the
present inordinate attachment to every form of
entertainment is evidence that the inner life of
modem man is in serious decline. The average man has
no central core of moral assurance, no spring within
his own breast, no inner strength to place him above
the need for repeated psychological shots to give
him the courage to go on living. He has become a
parasite on the world, drawing his life from his
environment, unable to live a day apart from the
stimulation which society affords him.
"...there are millions who cannot live without
amusement; life without some form of entertainment
for them is simply intolerable; they look forward to
the blessed relief afforded by professional
entertainers and other forms of psychological
narcotics as a dope addict looks to his daily shot
of heroin. Without them they could not summon
courage to face existence.
"No one with common human feeling will object to the
simple pleasures of life, nor to such harmless forms
of entertainment as may help to relax the nerves and
refresh the mind exhausted by toil. Such things if
used with discretion may be a blessing along the
way.
"That is one thing. [But] The all-out devotion
to entertainment as a major activity for which and
by which men live is definitely something else
again.
"The abuse of a harmless thing is the essence of sin.
The growth of the amusement phase of human life to
such fantastic proportions is a portent, a threat to
the souls of modern men. It has been built into a
multimillion dollar racket with greater power over
human minds and human character than any other
educational influence on earth.
"And the ominous thing is that its power is almost
exclusively evil, rotting the inner life, crowding
out the long eternal thoughts which would fill the
souls of men if they were but worthy to entertain
them. And the whole thing has grown into a veritable
religion which holds its devotees with a strange
fascination, and a religion, incidentally, against
which it is now dangerous to speak.
"For centuries the Church stood solidly against every
form of worldly entertainment, recognizing it for
what it was—a device for wasting time, a refuge from
the disturbing voice of conscience, a scheme to
divert attention from moral accountability.
"For this she got herself abused roundly by the sons
of this world. But of late she has become tired of
the abuse and has given over the struggle. She
appears to have decided that if she cannot conquer
the great god Entertainment she may as well join
forces with him and make what use she can of his
powers.
"So today we have the astonishing spectacle of
millions of dollars being poured into the unholy job
of providing earthly entertainment for the so-called
sons of heaven. Religious entertainment is in many
places rapidly crowding out the serious things of
God.
"Many churches these days have become little more
than poor theaters where fifth-rate "producers"
peddle their shoddy wares with the full approval of
evangelical leaders who can even quote a holy text
in defense of their delinquency.
"And hardly a man dares raise his voice against it.
"The great god Entertainment amuses his devotees
mainly by telling them stories. The love of stories,
which is a characteristic of childhood, has taken
fast hold of the minds of the retarded saints of our
day, so much so that not a few persons manage to
make a comfortable living by spinning yarns and
serving them up in various disguises to church
people.
"What is natural and beautiful in a child may be
shocking when it persists into adulthood, and more
so when it appears in the sanctuary and seeks to
pass for true religion.
"Is it not a strange thing and a wonder that, with
the shadow of atomic destruction hanging over the
world and with the coming of Christ drawing near,
the professed followers of the Lord should be giving
themselves up to religious amusements? That in an
hour when mature saints are so desperately needed
vast numbers of believers should revert to spiritual
childhood and clamor for religious toys?
"Remember, 0 Lord, what is come upon us: consider,
and behold our reproach. . . . The crown is fallen
from our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned !
For this our heart is faint; for these things our
eyes are dim."
"...you shall be holy to Me, for
I the Lord am holy and have
separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine." Leviticus
20:26