On the Shows

Contents

1. 1The writer explains why he is writing: some Christians are defending attendance at the pagan shows, even from Scripture, and he wants to warn the faithful.
2. 2The writer reports the defenders' arguments from Scripture (Elijah's chariot, David's dancing, Paul's athletic images) and says they misread the texts.
3. 3Scripture's images of athletes and music do not license the shows; Scripture forbids some things by modestly leaving them unsaid, and conscience should do the rest.
4. 4All the shows descend from idolatry and are the devil's inventions, so a baptized Christian who attends them goes back on his renunciation of the devil.
5. 5The writer describes the bloodshed and the idle fanaticism of the games, and a Christian who carries the Eucharist through the brothel district on his way to the circus.
6. 6The stage plays and pantomimes teach adultery and shamelessness in public, so a Christian who may not even think of vice cannot watch them.
7. 7Even musical and dramatic performances not tied to idols are too vain for Christians to attend.
8. 8Boxing, wrestling, and athletics are displays of gluttony and shamelessness, and Christians must guard their eyes and ears from them.
9. 9The Christian has better shows in the beauty of creation, which no theater can match.
10. 10The Scriptures offer the Christian the true shows: creation, the flood, the exodus, the martyrs' faith, the raising of the dead, and the devil defeated under Christ's feet.