The Media

There are now over one billion TV sets in use around the globe. MTV - music television - reaches over 257 million homes in 68 countries on 4 continents. STAR TV (Satellite Television Asia Region) has the potential to reach 3 billion people from Israel to India, representing two-thirds of the world's population. Some see this as a great opportunity for education and reasonable entertainment. Others are worried. One famous commentator has written as follows:

Tens of millions ... now see the entertainment industry as an all-powerful enemy, an alien force that assaults our most cherished values and corrupts our children. The dream factory has become the poison factory.

Clearly there is an 'issue' for us to think about as Christians. Over this July and early August period in the mornings we are thinking about a number of issues as we run up to the Millennium. This morning or subject is the Media. And to help us have some focus on this enormous subject and to get a biblical perspective on some of the elements in this issue, I want us to look at 2 Corinthians 2. 14-17. And my headings are first, THE CONTEXT, secondly, PEDDLING FOR PROFIT, and thirdly, SPEAKING WITH SINCERITY. First, THE CONTEXT Look at verses 14- 16:

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. {15} For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. {16} To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?

You're to picture a Roman General having a 'triumphal procession' after the conclusion of a war. And these great processions included captives who would be executed at the end of the procession. But there were perfumes that were strewn along the path of the procession. And this special smell reminded the victors of victory; but it was a constant reminder of impending death to the captives. So Paul uses that as a picture of his own situation and the situation for every faithful Christian who seeks to live and witness to Christ. And remember, Paul has been going through a tough time. Earlier in the epistle, in chapter 1 verse 8, he had written ...

... about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.

But what does he say here? Look at verse 14:

thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ.

He says 'always'. So that means when things were going hard for Paul not only when they had eased up. Are you going through a difficult time at the moment? Are you depressed by the way the media is going? Do you feel assaulted by the bias, on the one hand, and the decadence, on the other? Well, Paul would teach you to realize that at the very time you are going through a difficulty or being depressed by all that is going on, 'God is leading you in triumphal procession in Christ.' Christ is the victor. His victory was won at Calvary. So, these verses would, first, encourage you to start your thinking about the media from a position of confidence. Don't say - 'isn't everything dreadful.' Say, 'Christ is bigger than all the media moguls, including Greg Dyke. So let's seek to establish more of his rule and claim back lost territory.' Secondly, these verses show that you are the one who today has to pass on the knowledge of Christ - in respect of the media or anything else. Look at the second half of verse 14:

and through us [God] spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him [Christ].

Paul is referring first of all to himself and his helpers, like Titus. But once the Corinthians knew about Christ, they were the ones to pass on that knowledge. And as you and I have been taught about him and come to know him, so we are the agents through whom God 'spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ.' And if you are faithful to Christ, at your work or in your home, and if your are a Christian in the Press or Radio or TV, there will be an effect, whether you like it or not. Like a strong after-shave or a strong scent, people will notice. But, thirdly, when you are out there in the world, there will be both positive and negative effects. Verses 15 and 16:

For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. {16} To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.

Other believers will be encouraged - it will be 'the fragrance of life' to 'those who are being saved'; but 'to those who are perishing' it will be ' the smell of death.' It is not fashionable to say so, but there is a dividing line in the world and even in the church; there are sheep and goats; wheat and tares; faithful disciples and those who are perishing like Judas. Nor can you judge by superficial appearances. Those who oppose Jesus Christ don't look like Dracula! C.S.Lewis says somewhere that it is people dressed in suits who oppose the gospel and all it means. They shave or they wear smart make-up. They are literate and eloquent. They are pleasant company. But they have rejected Jesus Christ. Anyone like that this morning? You are rejecting Christ and you know it. Why not by faith turn to him? Then you will find that Christians are not 'the smell of death' but 'the fragrance of life'. You say, what does that 'smell of death' practically mean for media issues? It means that as a Christian you will represent God's judgment on much that many in the Media personally want and of which they approve. And people don't like to be told they are wrong. That is why they won't want you around. It is a fact that many in the Media are less sympathetic to the Christian faith and Christian values than the rest of the population. There was a 1985 American study that contrasted 3000 members of the public with 2,703 journalists. The results were that while only 49 per cent of the public were in favour of abortion, 82 per cent of the journalists were. While as many as 74 per cent of the public wanted worship or prayer in state schools, only 25 per cent of the journalists did. Nor was this skewed by saying, it is all a matter of education. When business executives were compared with journalists, 76 per cent of the executives thought adultery was wrong, but only 47 per cent of the journalists did. Only 13 per cent of the executives said they had no religious faith but 50 per cent of the journalists said they had none. So that is the context of for Paul and for us - Christ has triumphed. If you trust him you are in his triumphal procession. But there will be a lot of people, like those captives in the Roman processions, who will not thank you at all for Christ's triumph. They like their sin too much. So they will oppose you. And quite a number of them will be in the Media. Let's move on. Secondly, PEDDLING FOR PROFIT How have we got to where we are? Look at verse 17a:

Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit.

Paul is implying that there are 'many who do peddle the word of God for profit'. That probably means they tamper with it. The picture is of someone making a profit by adding water to the wine, if they are selling wine, or of some other fraud. Paul is talking about distorting or diluting God's truth. So how has God's truth been diluted through the Media? And it has been diluted. There was a day in the 19th century, in Britain and American, when the Media, such as it was, was significantly Christian. In New York in the last century at one point there were 52 magazines and newspapers that called themselves Christian. The most famous was the New York Times. This was founded by a bible-believing Presbyterian in 1851 - not to be a devotional paper but to report the news from a Christian point of view. What has happened since? Answer: there has been a peddling of [or tampering with] the word or truth of God for profit. And it so easy to do that - to dilute God's truth. You don't have to lie. In the print media and in Radio and TV you just gradually change the emphasis. God is not banned from the front page. You just redefine reality to exclude him. And this has happened. So this is the first way the truth of God gets diluted in the media - by a sleight of hand and you don't realize it is happening. You are told you are getting the truth. But don't be deceived. Here is how an editor of a great newspaper has described the process:

The reporter, the most objective reporter, collects fifty facts. Out of the fifty facts he [or she] selects twelve to include in his story (there is such a thing as space limitation). Thus he discards thirty-eight. This is judgment No 1. Then the reporter or editor decides which of the facts shall be the first paragraph of the story, thus emphasizing one fact above the other eleven. This is judgment No 2. Then the editor decides whether the story shall be placed on page 1 or page 12. On page 1 it will command many times the attention it would on page 12. This is judgment No 3. This so called factual presentation is thus subjected to three judgments, all of them most, humanly, and most, ungodly, made.

His point is obvious. And then there is the Pinsky principle - named after the journalist Walter Pinsky who said:

If my research and journalistic instincts tell me one thing, my political instincts another ... I won't fudge it, I won't bend it, but I won't write it.

And it is not much different on Radio or TV. One famous documentary producer put it like this:

The first step is to 'arrive at a point of view'. Balance has to be maintained but maintained carefully; otherwise you upset the 'emotional impact' of the programme. You might first interview someone as an opponent of your position. But if his personality would charm the viewers, you have to go for someone else who would alienate.

And referring to a particular programme he said:

One could only feel a particular way at the end of the [programme] ... the way I felt about it.

So God's truth gets diluted without you knowing it by the very structure of the modern media if you have people hostile to the gospel producing programmes and editing papers. Secondly, God's truth gets diluted on the media by secularism. Secularism says that this world is all important. So ignore God. This is the religion into which our young people have been proselytized at school since the 1960s. The producers and editors of today were the students of yesterday. That is just the way it is. And the producers of tomorrow will be the students of today. How important we seek to defeat secularism in our schools and positively teach about Christ and Christian standards. Thirdly, God's truth gets diluted by pluralism - this I think is the most serious. 'Thoughts for the day' on BBC Radio 4 pin-point the problem. As one MP put it, George Walden:

the contributor - whether Church of England, Quaker or Muslim - must avoid giving the impression that there is anything particularly important or valid about the religion in which he presumably believes.

All religions are treated as equal. The assumption then is that none can claim to be true. But how can you accept that when Jesus says:

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14.6).

As the Chief Rabbi has said: 'the problem is that giving many religions equal weight is not supportive of each but instead tends rapidly to devalue them all.' Fourthly, God's truth gets diluted by the profit motive - pure and simple. So you have sex and more sex. The idea is that this will increase your ratings and sales and so your profits. It is not clear that that is true without qualification. Michael Medved analysed the block-busters that grossed huge profits and found over a period of time that clean films made the most money. And finally God's truth is diluted by the sheer triviality and banality of much modern communication. Neil Postman wrote a perceptive little book a few years back entitled, Amusing Yourself to Death. The hours that are wasted watching TV is a serious problem. I find that the trouble with much TV is not that it is bad; it is too good - that is to say, it is sufficiently good to make you want to watch it. But when you have done so, you think it wasn't time well spent. Well, there are some of the problems and the way the Media 'peddles or tampers with God's word for profit.' In a different way, Paul was up against the same sort of thing. So what was his answer? How did he respond? That brings us to our final heading ... Thirdly, SPEAKING WITH SINCERITY Look at the last part of verse 17:

On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.

That has to be our goal - we want God's word communicated 'with sincerity'. If the peddlers tampered with their goods to make them go farther - perhaps by diluting wine with water or using other types of fraud, 'men sent from God' have to produce the real McCoy - the real thing. And there are great possibilities with the modern Media. By themselves, the modern Press and Radio and TV are neutral - just like Caxton's printing press. It is how they are used that is the issue. So, first, pray for God's word to be communicated truly through today's Media. Secondly, if you write to complain about a programme for content or bias, make sure you know what you are complaining about so that what you say is true. Thirdly, get involved as you can. For a few it will mean becoming a journalist or working in broadcasting. How we need more Christians in the existing Media - but those who are willing, when necessary, to stick their necks out and be counted as Christians. And it can be done. I was at a Christian journalism conference in the US in February. There are many key committed Christian journalists in the US - tough, but committed to God's truth. The senior investigative journalist on the Washington Post is a fine Christian - some of the major world exclusives have been his. Fourthly, a concern for God's truth means we need religious rights. It is shocking that Christians cannot have a national radio licence. At present they can only have local licences. And it is also shocking that, as I understand it, under the new legislation they will have no rights to any digital services. Support the Christian Institute as it campaigns on this issue. Finally be informed - not just about the content of programmes, but about the whole way the Media affects our lives. Yes, there has to be regulation to stop pornographic material invading our homes and to stop biased reporting and programming. Yes, there has to be more competition to allow Christians a fair start on a level playing field for Christians to be able to own stations. But we also have to come to terms with what is happening at a deeper level. Let me conclude with some words of David Cook the film historian. He likened films and TV (the audiovisual media) to a verbal language and said:

Imagine that a new language form came into being at the turn of the twentieth century. Public anxiety about the potentially corrupting influence of the new language was constant from its birth. But it was perceived not as a language at all but as a medium of popular entertainment. [Now at the end of the 20th century, we discover that we have] become massively illiterate in this primary language form. [And it has] become so pervasive in our daily lives [that it] surrounds us, sending us messages, taking positions, making statements, and constantly redefining our relationship to material reality..

The modern Media is like a totally new language of communication. We all, probably, have to learn it and about it and be more aware of what is going on. As Paul says at the end of verse 16: 'Who is equal to such a task?' But don't get depressed. Be obedient and be involved as you can. Then be confident and thank God for potential opportunities, because we are always being lead 'in triumphal procession in Christ'.