Author David Farland suggests that we crave immersive imaginary experiences to which our subconscious minds may respond to in some degree as though they were real, because our subconscious minds are unable to differentiate reality from imagination.

A captivating and entertaining story is one that resolves a meaningful conflict. As the conflict in the imaginary world (that is, the story) builds up, some threshold point is reached where the human biofeedback mechanism is triggered and the body, in its effort to handle this imaginary stress, creates some endorphin-like substance to counteract it. As the story draws to its conclusion and the imaginary conflict is resolved, the feel-good substances are released and the viewer feels relieved. This emotional exercise helps the body manage the day-to-day stresses, as minor problems seem to diminish in intensity and even major ones appear less daunting.

This principle applies not only to reading for entertainment, but also to other forms of entertainment such as spectator sports, participative sport, board games and even gambling.

Thus far, we have attempted to define entertainment and why human beings seek it. This context is important to provide a Christian understanding of and response to entertainment, and the role it plays among our youths. Whether the entertainment we seek provides an escape from the hard realities of life or whether it actually is a reflection of our own individual realities, I would like to suggest that entertainment not only provides personal relaxation and leisure, but also plays a significant role in human and community development.

The development of human civilisation through the ages has been dependent on creativity – the ability to think out of the box, to come up with fresh, new, extraordinary, and yet workable ideas and inventions that are the hallmark of quantum-leap advances. The fact that creativity has been at the heart of every single significant step forward in human development should not come as a surprise – after all, the very first sentence in the Bible talks about God as Creator of the Universe. Creativity is clearly a pre-requisite to creating something truly new.

In discussing creativity, we are excluding the warped use of creativity for bizarre and destructive purposes.

But why is it that many have failed to develop this aspect of their potential, that the majority lack that spark of creativity, satisfied merely "to go where others have gone before", instead of "to go where no one has gone before"?

I believe the answer lies in the general trends in modern entertainment. To draw an analogy from the world of sport, there is a ‘spectator mentality’ present in most entertainment today, as opposed to the ‘participant mentality’ prominent in entertainment of yesteryear. Take children’s play for example. Parents used to be able to tell their children to "go outside and play" – with little else other than their imaginations and their friends. So trees became hideouts, broom handles became horses, badminton rackets became guitars. Children were able to improvise, to make do with whatever they had and to invent whatever else they required. Today’s parents, in contrast, feed their children with more toys.

Storytelling is another favourite all-time entertainment; what has changed is the form it takes. The oldest form of storytelling was just that – telling stories. As the storyteller unfolded the plot, each listener would play out the scenes in his mind. Often, the listeners’ interjections would fuel the storyteller’s imagination, causing the story to evolve into a sort of living organism.

With the invention of writing stories and the printing press came books, and a new form of storytelling entertainment: fiction novels and short stories. While these more explicitly described characters, places and events in the author’s imagination, they nevertheless still engaged the reader’s own imagination.

The invention of the moving picture added yet another external shell to the world of storytelling. With television and movies, viewers are now fed an exact replica of the producer’s imagination, resulting in everyone receiving an identical mental image of the story. My vision of the Mines of Moria may have been different from yours before The Lord of the Rings came to our screen, but now everyone’s vision is exactly the same as Peter Jackson’s. The proposed next step in the world of film technology is to introduce smells. What else is there left to imagine?

Music is one of the oldest forms of entertainment, and along with dance, is one of those mentioned in Scriptures in the context of entertaining guests and strangers at feasts and banquets.

It is interesting to note the difference between more ‘primitive’ musical forms in contrast with newer more ‘advanced’ forms of music. Folk music is by its very nature meant to be for the people, by the people. It does not require high levels of musical skill, but instead corporate participation. People play, sing and dance, rather than watch and listen. This active participation not only builds community spirit, it also develops individual character and participants learn to express themselves through their instruments, voices and bodies.

The invention of recording technology and mass distribution avenues such as radio and music CDs meant that even the limited ‘community experience’ of physically going to a concert hall is now replaced by an even more passive form of individual listening, at its most extreme form in total isolation through a pair of headphones.

These examples serve to effectively illustrate the trend in modern entertainment towards mass forms that require minimal creative input from its participants. The fact that entertainment today is geared towards the masses has resulted in a general mindlessness in modern society. In fact, we live in a society that has been prepared to receive mass direction – a potentially dangerous situation open for exploitation by manipulative marketers.

Young people are impressionable, and are at that stage in life where they are searching. They are also one of the main consumers of modern mass entertainment.

Today’s youths, unless properly nurtured by their parents in their childhood, are being fed a diet of passive forms of entertainment not requiring much imagination or creativity: television, pop music, computer games, and the movies. It is easy for the scrupulous and unscrupulous alike to promote their own hidden agendas through these entertainment forms.

The Church needs to be aware of these trends and to address these issues, for this modern passive entertainment mentality has not only invaded our personal and family lives, but also crept into the Church. It is present when we see

I am not saying here that church has to be boring and that Christians should utterly shun all forms of modern entertainment. To be able to respond to the challenges facing our youths, we need to understand trends in modern entertainment, especially the trend towards decreasing imagination, creativity and an ability to think for oneself.

The Church should not be influenced by such trends. Christians were never meant to be pew warmers, but participants. If Sunday Service means going to church Sunday after Sunday only to listen to great sermons and enjoy great music, then we have to examine why we go to church in the first place. Joe E. Furr sums it well when he said:

The assembly should not substitute audio-visual stimulation and sensational excitement for genuine worship. Bright lights and hyper emotions should not replace the delight we have in the Word of the Lord. If we need fast, loud music, stimulating videos and liturgical dancing to get people to church, then we are abusing the assembly. If this is "entertainment", then the church should not be entertaining.

How do we, as a Church, respond to the present situation? Firstly, we need to return to the realisation that we are all born creative beings with active imaginations. Instead of allowing modern lifestyle to dull our minds, the Church should take the leadership in nurturing and developing this God-given ability to imagine and create something new, all the time subjecting this to the Word of God.

The Church has the responsibility also to redeem all forms of entertainment for the glory of God and for use in the proclamation of His Good News. Within the moral framework of His Word, creative entertainment should be encouraged and developed.

Our youths should be taught how to evaluate the entertainment they seek, and how to weed out the good from the bad. Development of the imagination needs to be encouraged, again all the time subjecting it to the moral framework of God’s Word.

There is still so much to do, but it does need to be done.

(Dr Ang holds degrees in physics, percussion performance and computer music applications. She is currently a consultant to several projects including NAFA Singapore, Unesco and London College of Music. This article is a contribution of the NECF Malaysia Research Commission, of which Dr Ang is a member of.)