Public Theology & Christian Living

by Craig Branch –

In 1985 Neil Postman wrote a somewhat “prophetic” book, Amusing Ourselves to Death. In it he argued that the shift from print media to television affected the entire public discourse with a result that the American mind was made more shallow, and that Americans were “on the verge of amusing ourselves to death.”

Postman claimed that the entertainment and marketing model, where “image is everything” had so affected our epistemology (i.e., theory of knowledge) that a cultural shift had taken place—from modernity to postmodernity. Culture is defined by image and emotion rather than deliberative content. Postman recognized that to restrict or ban commercials or emotional images in programs was not possible but that “the solution must be found in how we watch” (p.160). Postman was indeed somewhat prophetic in his time.

Even more prophetic was the late Christian apologist, Francis Schaeffer, who wrote in 1984, “The freedom that once was founded on a Biblical consensus and a Christian ethos has now become autonomous freedom, cut loose from all constraints.”¹ And he is certainly not alone in these sentiments. Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, stated that “the most basic contours of American culture have been radically altered. The so-called Judeo-Christian consensus of the last millennium has given way to a postmodern, post-Christian, post-western cultural crisis.”²

This issue of the Areopagus Journal focuses on the impact, the problem, and a response to the media’s more deadly influences in the culture and in the Church. We also want to address the need for the Church to awaken to its overall responsibility to understand a Biblical worldview, and to redemptively engage the culture as salt and light (Matt. 5:13-16).

Our Cultural Mandate

Sadly the Christian community, by and large, looks much like the secular society. Surveys often indicate an erosion of a biblical worldview in the Church, and therefore, little difference between those who call themselves Christians and those who do not. In Romans 12:1-2, God tells us that we are to respond to the wondrous grace mercifully given to us in Christ by presenting our whole selves, trusting every aspect of our lives, to Him in worship as a living sacrifice. We are explicitly warned “not to be conformed to the world” in its counterfeit “fulfillments,” but instead be transformed by the renewing of our minds and actions by God’s truths in Scripture. Then we can know the wonderful gift of God’s will for living our lives. Unfortunately the Church has neglected the knowledge and understanding of God’s word, especially as it applies to our responsibility to be “in the world but not of the world” (John 17:14-18), and to be his redemptive agents in the culture.

Ideas and values make up worldviews and the application of worldviews make cultural institutions. Apologist James Sire defines a worldview as “a set of presuppositions (or assumptions) which we hold (consciously or unconsciously) about the basic make up of our world.”³ A worldview is the lens, the model, the framework, consisting of fundamental beliefs through which we view the world and our place in it. It is an understanding or belief of the way the world is and the way it ought to be.

In Genesis 1:28-29 we are given our purposeful “cultural mandate” to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.” There are principles of truth and goodness that were established by God before the Fall and now, in redemption, we are to restore those principles in all areas of culture. These areas include economics, civil government, arts, entertainment, environment, laws, family, and marriage just to name a few. Christians are to understand, observe, analyze, discern, and make right decisions about how we spend time and resources redemptively in the struggle to help redeem our culture.

But our culture is in decline in most areas. Often what is termed “progress” in the culture is a “progression” toward harm or destruction. This is largely due to a decline in the percentage of Christians in the world, a lack of evangelism, and the accommodation of the Church in general to a fallen culture. This “conforming to the world” is in large part due to a lack of worldview teaching, ministry, and discernment in the Church.

Christian pollster George Barna released a research report in March of 2009 which focused on “changes in worldview among Christians over the past thirteen years.” It may be shocking for you to hear that only 9% of all American adults believe in a biblical worldview (inerrancy of Scripture, absolute moral truths exist, salvation comes only through faith in Christ, Jesus was sinless, etc.). Only 19% of “born again” Christians have that worldview! The study also revealed that the younger the generation, the less likely they possess a biblical worldview. For example, only one-half of one percent of those in the “Mosaic” generation (ages 18-23) possesses a biblical worldview.

As low as these figures are, they only measure the basic doctrinal beliefs which define an evangelical Christian. They by themselves do not measure the practical application professing Christians make of their doctrinal beliefs to cultural issues. But, through additional research, Barna concludes that “ongoing research by the Barna Group on these matters consistently demonstrates the powerful impact a persons’ worldview has on their life. A worldview serves as a person’s decision making filter, enabling them to make sense of the complex and huge amount of information, experiences, relationships, and opportunities they face in life.”⁴

A 2005 Barna study demonstrated that only 16% of Americans claim to make moral decisions based on the content of the Bible.⁵ Another study revealed that only one-half of Protestant pastors have a Biblical worldview.⁶ This is because of the liberalism which permeates many churches in the U.S. We often hear the term “culture wars,” and it is not an exaggeration. It is time to take this seriously and to knowledgeably and redemptively enter the fray. Conformity to the world’s cultural worldviews has driven too many of us to distorted views of personal peace and affluence.

But how do we respond? How should we not respond? One wrong response is to remain ignorant and accommodate (incorporate). Another wrong response is to get angry and withdraw, isolate, or separate. Jesus prays, “I do not ask that You take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.” He goes on to direct us to go redemptively into the world but having been sanctified by the truth (John 17:15-17).

Another wrong reaction is angry antagonism. Anger at the harmful effects of sin is certainly appropriate but we are not to let the sun go down on our anger (Eph. 4:6). Instead we are to be motivated into action, but that appropriately involves an informed and gracious response. Like Paul in Athens, as he observed a “city full of idols” (fake worldviews), he was indeed exasperated in his spirit and soul. His response was to knowledgeably engage them, lovingly challenging their beliefs in contrast to the truth.

At the same time, though, there is a balance. In protecting people from the “evil one,” we are commanded to “come out from among them [pagans and idolatry] and be separate.” Paul asks what agreement do we, as temples of the living God, have with idols (2 Cor. 7:14-18). We are also commanded to focus our minds on whatever is pure, lovely, of good reputation, and things of excellence and praiseworthiness (Phil. 4:8).

Often there is a mixture in cultural values and expressions and we have to knowledgably discern and learn how to separate the wheat from the chaff (Matt. 13:24-30). For example, what about issues in bioethics like stem cell research, in vitro fertilization, and birth control?⁷ On what basis do we distinguish between the “Just War Doctrine” and Islamic Jihad?⁸ What about the rightful definition of marriage and civil unions?⁹ Christians are commanded by God to both form and reform culture. We must be actively involved in culture, studying it, discerning from Scripture the positive and negative aspects, and working together to redeem it.

Engaging With the Media
This issue of Areopagus Journal addresses a major cultural issue, the media. This includes art, entertainment, social media and networking, and communication technology. Our parents and grandparents remember the then new telecommunication advances of the telephone, typewriter, movies, radio, and then television. From there we’ve seen the evolution to videos, CD’s, cell phones, iphones, desktop and laptop computers. Are these “advancements” in technology all positive and beneficial or do they contain numerous applications that have a negative impact on God’s image-bearers.

Our first article by ARC staffer Brandon Robbins, “Why Criticize Culture?,” begins by describing the pro and con issues of modern technology on the culture from a Christian framework. He offers a brief overview of the “progress” of informational technology. Brandon notes that Neal Postman’s book, Amusing Ourselves to Death, provides a prophetic “contrast of visions” for the future between George Orwell’s 1984 and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. He describes numerous devaluative effects of seeking prestige, purpose, and fulfillment in obtaining the newest technology, and calls us to evaluate technology in light of biblical goals and priorities.

The second article, “The Eclipse of the Word” is by Vic Minish. He begins by comparing the images and messages of the entertainment, advertisement, and technical media to what is true based on a proper understanding of the Word of God. He points out that literary reading, especially among the younger generation, is in decline. This “collapsed literacy” diminishes “both cultural and civic life,” as well as one’s ability to “follow sustained arguments” and to employ the use of even elementary logic. Vic notes that even the Church has succumbed to a fallen preoccupation with entertainment communication, where people seek entertainment, emotional highs, and want everything to be easily accessible and understood. Os Guinness calls this “Christian Lite.”

The last article, “Guarding Our Hearts in New Media” is by Roger Overton. His main focus is on the medium and message of internet social technology. Most Christians limit their criticism on the dangers of internet use as being only pornography. But Roger describes the biblical tools “we really need at this point. . . for discerning how we can use the social media well so that in all things we can act to the glory of God.”

A recent Barna study (Feb. 2009) revealed how the growth of technology is impacting different generations. Each successive generation is adopting and using technology at a significantly greater pace than their predecessors. It found that younger adults are more likely to admit “gadget lust” than older adults. At least 22% of those ages 18-24 consider owning the very latest technology to be “a very high priority in life,” compared to just 9% of those over 25.

A recent New York Times feature story describes how the deluge of data available has become like a drug—“This is your brain on computers.”¹¹ In addition to craving the stimulation, one forgets things and has trouble focusing on life matters.¹⁰

Studies show that heavy multitasking diminishes people’s ability to focus and ability to shut out irrelevant information. One has trouble reflecting, processing and evaluating. For example, cell phones can be handy but not when an obsession ensues and calling and texting cause car accidents. Marcel Just, psychology professor at Carnegie-Mellon University, completed a study showing cell phone use while driving can cause drivers to commit errors just like being under the influence of alcohol. Also, video games and internet preoccupations are causing a growing number of students’ grades to fall.

Two major stories on texting recently appeared in The Washington Post and The New York Times reporting that nationally more than 75 billion texts are sent a month. Teenagers average 2272 text messages per month compared to just 203 personal telephone calls. One mother documented 14,528 texts on her 13 year-old daughter’s phone.¹³ The teenagers’ average of 2272 is about 80 text messages per day which doubled from the year before. The 13 year-old’s astronomic usage was 30 per hour in a 16 hour day. Doctors and psychologists say the growing volume and dependency on texting is leading to anxiety, distractions in school, falling grades, stress injury (thumbs), and sleep deprivation. One of the studies noted that the constant vibration near you makes peace and quiet concentration very difficult. There is also the peer pressure and sense of acceptance gained by being “in the loop.” On top of that there is a problem with “sexting” and cheating on tests. The articles go on to note the convenience advantages of this technology, but also noted the growing problem of kids have in focusing and processing capacity. Other concerns are a loss of family communication because of the distraction, superficial relationships, a loss of proper spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and an “addiction to instant communication and gratification.”

We must understand the bigger picture. Our hunger for information and entertainment and social media and technology are grounded in a greedy style of capitalism which too often feeds into selfish narcissism. There are some benefits, but again we must be careful to knowledgeably separate the “wheat from the weeds.” For example, I am on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Classmates. I have email and may start a blog. But I am not at all preoccupied with them and only use them for limited purposes. Also, I love the quick accessibility of information. But the question must arise, with all the responses one gets from a Google search, sometimes thousands, how does one know what is good information and what is bad? And how much valuable time is wasted?

With the rapid increase and development of informational, social, and entertainment media and networking technologies, we must guard against the negative effects of self-interested individualism which trump the biblical ethos of truth, true relational community, and our cultural mandate.

Christian apologist Doug Groothius sums it up well:

With the meteoric rise of social media such as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and others, we should ask ourselves how these mikes of computer-mediated social interactions individuals, groups, are affecting and culture at large. One may have hundreds of Facebook “friends,” but what kind of friends are they? And what kind of “community” is Facebook and related social media outlets? What are the beneficial elements of social media, and what are its dangers? ¹⁴

These are questions we must and ask. We must discern what the benefits are and what the negative consequences of communication and social technology are. We must weigh the direction and effects of these new media against our worldview callings as Christians engaging for the Kingdom.

Craig Branch is the director of the Apologetics Resource Center, Birmingham, Alabama. He is also the co-author (with John Ankerberg and John Weldon) of the book, Public Schools: The Sorcerer’s New Apprentice?

Notes
¹Francis A. Schaeffer, The Great Evangelical Disaster (Westchester IL: Crossway, 1984).
²“The Decline and Fall of Christian America,” Newsweek (April 13, 2009).
³James Sire, The Universe Next Door (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity, 1997), 16.
⁴ “Barna Research Examines Changes in Worldview Among Christians Over the Past 13 Years”(article accessed at www.barna.org).
⁵“Most Adults Feel Accepted By God But Lack a Biblical Worldview” (article accessed at www.barna. org).
⁶“Only Half of Protestant pastors have a Biblical Worldview” (article accessed at www.barna.org).
⁷See articles on the theme “Procreation in a Brave New World” in Areopagus Journal 3:2 (March-April 2003).
⁸See articles on the theme “War: What is it Good For?” in Areopagus Journal 6:6 (Nov-Dec 2006); and the theme “Is Islam a Religion of Peace?” in Areopagus Journal 10:1 (Winter 2010).
⁹See articles on the theme “Abandoning Nature” in Areopagus Journal 5:5 (Sept-Oct 2005).
¹⁰“New Research Explores How Technology Drives Generation Gap” (article accessed at www.barna. org).
¹¹“Attached to Technology and Paying a Price,” New York Times (June 6, 2010) .
¹²“Incessant Teen Texting Causes Health Concern,” Pittsburgh Post Gazette (June 14, 2009).
¹³“Texting May Be Taking a Toll,” The New York Times (May 26, 2009); “6473 Texts a Month, But at What Cost?” The Washington Post (Feb. 22, 2009).
¹⁴Doug Groothius, “Understanding Social Media,” Christian Research Journal 33:3 (2010): 18.

(First publish in Areopagus Journal Vol. 10 No. 2 – Are We Still Amusing Ourselves to Death?)