"Christian Media"

There's always seemed something a little bogus about the idea of "Christian media."

Christian media's offerings have never really been to my tastes; but it's more than just personal tastes. In practice, it's always seemed somewhat inauthentic: news, music and opinion deliberately skewed to fit a narrow predetermined purpose. Something like people who set their news feed to ONLY provide them gossip about professional wrestling or rap-music. It ends up being a fragmentary reflection of reality, and not-quite-true.

Seems like "true" and "reality" should be the watchwords for Christians, since Jesus is the Ultimate of both. In practice, for those whom I know to be typical consumers of Christian media, it seems primarily a way of identifying yourself as a member of "the club." In practice, I find good secular news-organizations (not Fox News, for example), reporting mundane daily news on the traditional journalistic criteria of setting forth facts, have more of Jesus about them, more truth and reality, that "Christian media."

Our theology is that Christ is in the world: "built-in" as the Logos through Whom all that exists came into being, born and living in human flesh among men as Jesus, and active today through the Holy Spirit. Even today I've heard two "secular" news-stories on NPR to which my spirit excitedly said, like Peter from his fishing-boat, "It is the Lord !!" Yesterday Jesus spoke unmistakably from a book I was reading, in the words of a Vietnam veteran describing his 40-year after-war struggles.

I don't know that any of the people in these instances were Christians. It doesn't matter: they witnessed of Jesus. I'm impressed that in His final hours, the Roman governor Pilate, Pilate's wife, the High Priest Caiaphas, the thief crucified beside Him, the Roman soldier standing guard as He died, even the sign posted above His head on the cross, witnessed in their different ways Who Jesus IS...and none were His followers. "Christian media" would not have interviewed or put any of them on the air.

Do we believe our theology ? Or is Jesus' Presence so hazy in the real world He created, where the Holy Spirit works, that we can't see him ? Is His voice so indistinct it's drowned out by reality, and we can't hear Him ?

Peter recognized Jesus when he saw Him. Recognized Him even though He couldn't possibly be there, alive. "Christian media"...indeed, the Church itself...doesn't act as if it believes He's here at all, except within the walls of our club-house.

"Christian" media, and the widespread "conservative" hatred of secular media, have the same deleterious effect on the Church. Both promote the idea that Christ can't be found "in the world." Deleterious because it's untrue, according to our Christology. Deleterious because it teaches Christians to only look for Him within church walls: and that atrophies the spiritual expectation, and ability, to see Him anyplace in the "real world" !

Wrong again, Church.

Wake up, Church.

Church, Repent your unbelief !!

Two Questions for the Church

If your religion doesn't equip you to tell right from wrong, what good is it ?

If you don't care about the difference, what's wrong with you ?

Christian Orientation 101

Orientation as a Christian is a simple process: one step, the same step each time, in every circumstance. Skipping that step insures that you will miss Jesus.

Jesus said He IS "the truth" (John 14:6). He said satan is "the father of lies" (John 8:44). All who believe what Jesus says will orient their lives, hearts, words, and acts accordingly.

Like Jesus, truth is real. Truth is verifiable, and owes nothing to opinion. Like Jesus, truth is one: "I'll follow my truth, and you follow your truth" is a lie (see above, "father of lies"). Like Jesus, truth is sovereign: every other criteria is subject to it.

There are no lying Christians, and no Christian lies. "No lie is of the truth." (I John 2:21)

The whole of a Christian's orientation in life consists in this: who loves Jesus must love truth. Who follows Jesus must follow truth.