Torch, Summer 1982

6 Copyright 1982, Cedarville Times Vol. 1 No. 5 NEWSPAPERS' INFL Christian Publisher Tells How a by Dennis Shere CEDARVILLE, OHIO- Most newspapers use something they call the "second coming" headline to draw attention to stories of unusual importance . Such a head was named, legend has it, by an editor who told his staff to reserve something that prominent for the return of Jesus Christ. It runs across the top of Page One in bold, black letters that may be, perhaps , more than a couple of inches high . In recent months the "second coming" head has announced the successful flights of the Columbia space shuttle , the assassination of Anwar Sadat, and the shooting of President Reagan. Someday, newspapers will have a genuine reason to use the "second coming" headline . Jesus will return to establish His kingdom for a millenium. It should be the major story in every paper in the land. But how will the press handle the ultimate Good News? Will some ignore it, as they have the Christian movement for the most part? Will some editors remain skeptical, critical, or antagonistic, as they have toward the things of God over the years? Will they willingly give Christ the reverence He deserves, or continue to challenge His authority? You may wonder why newspapers in particular, and the news media in general, have held Jesus in such light, and even critical, esteem. Are they enthusiastic partners of Satan, or are they deceived like every other nonbeliever into the delusion that God does not mean what He says in the Bible? It helps to understand the context in which newspapers function in our society in order to determine why they do not embrace Christianity. First, a general, and what should be obvious, observation. The press in America serves a number of important roles: It provides the news a democratic people require to make decisions, to govern, and sustain themselves. It serves as a mirror of the community . (Held up for all to see, that mirror may reflect good things . More often it shows the seamy side of life in a world confused and misused by the Devil.) The press also serves as a watchdog, uncovering wrongdoing and spotlighting abuses in all levels of government. It influences readers, both for good and bad, on public issues. And it entertains and informs . Newspapers draw attention to folks whose problems have overwhelmed them, and stir the consciences of an otherwise uncompassionate audience into rallying behind a lost cause. T.hey are bulldog-determined and not easily sidetracked when they get attracted to an issue . Over the years, the press has been more receptive to liberal– oriented solutions to problems than to conservative orthodoxy. It gravitates to the down-and-outers, supporting programs to ease their plight. It may become hostile to anyone who suggests America isn 't big and rich enough to solve its own problems . It acknowledges wickedness in mankind but believes that there is good in everyone that can be exploited if they are properly motivated. On matters of religion and God there is skepticism, particularly of anyone who claims to have discovered the answers to life' s great mysteries. The press more readily accepts a position promulgated by supposedly learned men and women in their folly than it will embrace anything based on something as nebulous as "faith," especially faith in a divine Creator. Its reporting of controversial issues like abortion, capital punishment, homosexuality , and even creation versus evolution is supposed to be unbiased . But, subjectivity inevitably creeps in. On some matters, that subjectivity may lead to hostility . Editorial writers may ridicule a matter of faith and bow instead to an intellectual position, even when that position may be on shaky ground at best. We see this clearly emerging in the battle over whether or not God's creation should be taught alongside evolution in the classroom. Newspeople are impressed with the mountains of "evidence" presented to support evolution . They casually dismiss any argument that God, in His infinite power and glory, could possibly have had a direct hand in the formation of the world and all its creatures , both great and small . These attitudes stem in part from the way in which the media perceives itself. It has fostered the desirability of an arm' s length relationship with state and church . Everything must be open to testing, scrutiny , dissection , and challenge. At times , newspapers seem to be purposefully undermining the established institutions that have formed the backbone of this nation. Editors and reporters do not see it that way, of course. They believe their role is to act as a counter-balancing force, keeping mushrooming bureaucracies and hypocritical piety in check. Then, too, journalists believe the nation's religious pluralism is a big advantage . All religion and spiritual thought can be protected, the theory goes, as long as it does not attempt to impose its will on others. The corollary is that no faith or religion should be revered. The nature of newspapering is that its readers come from all kinds of persuasions, from Christianity to Buddhism, from agnostic to atheist. Journalists are willing to respect the tenets of each so as not to offend any of them. That, of course , is not possible and fosters confusion, particularly among those who do not know what they believe. Resentment enters in when someone breaks out of the pack and begins trying to influence public policy, as fundamental Christians have seemed to do in recent years. The Jerry Falwells never get good press because they are perceived as wanting to remake the world in their image. They are mocked in columns, editorials, and cartoons. Their message, as genuine and important as it may be, gets lost in the ridicule of personalities. (It is a shame fundamental Christians do not understand that their efforts sometimes display not the love of Christ, but an attempt to suppress ideas and ideals contrary to their own.) The institutional hostility of the press is undergirded by individual skepticism toward the things of God. Most journalists do not accept the claims of Christ. The stereotype of the hard-