Face Like Flint Isaiah 50:7: April 2012

In this article I would like to build on an earlier post with similar themes so if you haven't already read Culture Dupes or Defenders of the Faith please take the time to do so as it will offer some background to what you will find here. Also in this article I will pose some questions that I sincerely hope will encourage you to consider and research for yourself, because frankly, I don't have all the answers.

All forms of electronic media make ideal tools for the promotion of ideas and beliefs, especially when these are wrapped in the form of entertainment; movies, TV series, music etc. A great deal of research has been done on this topic in both the secular and Christian fields and I cannot improve on what is available (for a thorough examination of both the music and film industries, from a Christian perspective, see some of Pastor Joe Schimmels work; They sold their souls for rock n roll, Hollywood unmasked, Hollywood's war on God. I have links to his sites. Look to the right of this article under 'some sites I like'). It is my contention that a great deal of what we all see and listen to on a daily basis would have been considered propaganda during the first-half of the 20th century (consider Hitler, Edward Bernays etc), but we are so immersed in this multi-media driven culture that most of us are completely unaware of it.

The problem as I see it is too many of us have become passive viewers/listeners of media. Barely anyone promotes the idea of critical thought when watching TV or listening to music. (On a personal note, my first contact with the idea of critical thought came surprisingly from one of my secular tertiary degrees, which was underpinned by a socialist-feminist paradigm. Obviously that type of agenda has nothing to do with Biblical Christianity, and I did suffer a small amount of persecution, but The Lord used my time there to teach me to think actively [1 Peter 1:13 link to extended discussion on this verse can be found below] rather than passively, especially with regard to media). Now some might say its just entertainment, don't be such a wowser ("The term wowser - surely one of the most impressive and expressive of Australian coinages - is used to express healthy contempt for those who attempt to force their own morality on everyone" Meanings and origins of Australian words retrieved April 18, 2012 from http://andc.anu.edu.au/australian-words/meanings-origins?field_alphabet_value=281).

Now I don't want to be mistaken for a wowser (I amusingly note that the quote that I have referenced here is 'loaded' in that they suggest that it is healthy to have contempt for one. We must think critically when we read as well). I enjoy music and movies. However I know that they all come with an agenda, just as every thing labelled 'Christian' has an agenda, and rightly so provided if its a Biblical one.

So, as believers, we must be aware that all movies/songs/books have a moral or agenda and they are not all conducive for the building up of a healthy Christian mind/lifestyle. Some consistent themes in them are:

Anti-Christian/God/Jesus
If there is a God, he/she/it is unknowable
Pantheism
Panentheism
Gnosticism
Witchcraft/occult (often packaged as cool, sexy, funny etc and often disguised as positive)
Green issues; "protect 'mother' earth" (I do not believe the sensible preservation of natural habitats and related issues are wrong. What I disagree with is the veneration of nature [Romans 1:25]
Sex: Homosexual and heterosexual
Violence

I am not saying here that we should avoid every single movie, song or book. However what I am suggesting is that we should not accept any of them passively, but that we should be alert to the agendas within. We need to be active consumers of media so that we can perhaps avoid being propagandised by people with worldly, or even demonic, agendas. Perhaps you could consider doing some of your own research on the agendas of some of the better known authors and directors and find, like I have, that many have agendas and they do not shrink back from stating them.

To finish then, here are a couple of questions for you to consider in terms of our current dominant culture. Consider these in terms of the wider culture, not just media:

Did this culture just appear 'naturally' or was it created?
Does culture grow from the bottom up, by 'everyday ordinary' people, or is it handed down to us ordinary folk from 'culture-creators' eg. think-tanks, film/music studios, news media, research institutes, NGO's, private foundations and the like? [If you're answer to this question is yes or even maybe, then I sincerely hope you think about our culture a little more actively and do more research on the topic. Again, I would like the reader to understand I do NOT have all the answers. I am simply hoping to encourage you to think and research for yourself. This article might help you as a minor starting point].

Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth Colossians 3:1-2.

Some related articles:

Friday, 20 April 2012

Are you a passive or active consumer of media? (Cultural dupes pt 2)