The inner workings of Christian film

Where the secular media uses sex to sell, the Christian media uses fear. This episode scratches the surface of some thoughts on fear — how it can be used correctly, or abused in order to sell an agenda.

The recent appointment of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court of the United States has got Conservative Christian groups all up in arms, many of them standing against Sotomayor long before any evidence was available. We generally do not like to critique popular culture or politics, but we felt that we really needed to say something. We are not against people speaking their minds about a political appointment. However, we were so troubled by the void of information that existed for weeks. During that time, Christian groups were upset with Sotomayor, even though they could provide no evidence as to why she was a poor choice for the position. Since that time evidence has been made available that does, indeed, make her a questionable choice. However, we were offended by the craziness that proceeded the evidence. It appeared that the only reason that conservatives did not like her (before the evidence) was because she was appointed by a liberal president. This is not stated, of course. Until facts could be uncovered, the official record stated that she was dangerous because she shows “empathy”.

Unfortunately poor reporting and fear mongering such as this have become a norm in our culture. We would like to take this opportunity to point out that this kind of “journalism” is not only sloppy, but also hurts the movement. Once again, we are not siding with any candidate or appointee, but want to call Christians to a higher standard. This kind of reporting reflects poorly on Christ, on the church, and on other media outlets like ourselves. It also dulls the senses of people who take it in. If legitimate reasons to oppose a political candidate exist, we agree that people should have the right to express their opinions. However, it is a detriment to Christianity that we think we can ridicule an appointment without providing any evidence.

If our media continues to use fear to sell to us, we maintain that our only real biblical fear (that of a just God), will be made a mockery or will fall on deaf ears. If the Christian media hopes to have any future impact on the world, we maintain that it must be done through facts, education, and level-headed discussion and not by feeding on fear.

But what of the gospel? Are we to do away with fear entirely and teach only the love of God? Tune into this controversial episode of the Glowing Nose Podcast to find out.

What are your thoughts? Be sure to leave us a comment below. We would love to hear from you!

 

 Fear in the Media and the Bible [20:35m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download