Torch, Summer 1982

! shift of opinion on United States involvement in the Viet Nam War was directly attributable to media coverage. Certainly, the news is necessary and most reporters attempt honesty in their presentations . But caution must be taken to investigate beyond the viewpoints of one or two stations. Christian stations generally subscribe to one of the two major national news services. Therefore , they do no better than any other station in the avoidance of news biases. The solution obviously requires the use of multiple media sources including periodicals and newspapers on a regular basis. To depend solely upon one source for information demonstrates a dangerous laziness on the part of the audience . If any indictment can be placed on the conservative Christian community , it might be that often the audience is woefully underinformed concerning significant events. MUSIC INFLUENCES Radio's most prominent program offering is likely to be music. Almost every genre is available on some station up to twenty-four hours a day. With the advent of FM stereo and its recent variations , radio has become one of the most adept music sources in history. Communications theorists agree that music is not neutral. It is one of the few forms of symbolic notation that can be read universally and which has remarkable persuasive powers. The Scriptures refer often to the use of music for praise and worship, and notice is given to the psychological effects in the account of David playing for the disturbed King Saul. A well-known proverb recognizes that "music soothes the savage beast." Students of persuasive theory also note the exceptional attention-getting quality of music. It is one of the few means of getting an entire audience to do exactly the same thing, including thinking the same thoughts, at one time. This power is recognizable in rock concerts as well as church worship services. Contrary to the protestations of some, one cannot "just listen to the instrumentation" without also hearing and ultimately knowing the lyrics; and the lyrics of most popular music do not fit the Scriptural injunctions concerning what the Christian is to meditate upon. To allow a radio station to invade the innermost thoughts of the mind through music without applying discretion concerning those thoughts is without excuse. From rock to popular to easy listening and beyond to "Christian music ," the real issue is the influence that the music has upon the person hearing and responding to it. John Fletcher in his work Are the Kids All Right?subtitles his work on rock music as a "young generation's death wish." This secular writer finds an insidious rebelliousness and unexplainable (to him) debilitating effect in the rock genre. Beyond this, however, is the recognition that the theology of many people comes from the songs they hear and sing. Unfortunately, the lyrics are not always Biblical. Sometimes not even the lyrics in our hymns follow Biblical doctrine . 9 Music is a marvelous influencer of our lives. Certainly , the li stener must choose a radio station on the basis of its music philosophy and its continuity with Scriptural messages . Even then , the monitoring of one's own music selections must also be done in light of the Scriptures. PROGRAMMER INFLUENCES Perhaps the most potentially dangerous influence of radio comes, though , from the tendency to assume that particular individuals are propagators of truth merely because they have a regular radio program . Many cults and other spurious belief systems have developed because the media outlets have granted credence to those who have the money and time to produce programs. Rather than taking for granted the qualifications of speakers , the listener should investigate the accuracy of the messages heard. Just because a program appears on some Christian station is no guarantee that its producer gives forth the whole truth . This is especially true of many of the recently popular "family-life" programs where no specific credentials are required to suddenly become the spokesman for a particular viewpoint. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS While the above mentioned three areas are of particular concern where radio is involved, there are several other potential problems that merit address: 1. For some , the radio ministries replace fellow– shi!) in a local, Bible-believing church and may even siphon funds that should appro– priately go to the local work. I believe radio must be seen as an adjunct to the local fellow– ship and not as a substitute for it. 2. The role of Christian radio must be under– stood as a benefit to believers and not specifi– cally as an evangelistic outreach . The audi– ence for Christian radio is not typically the nonbeliever and never will be . The responsi– bility for evangelism falls to the individual in day-to-day life. THE LISTENER'S CHOICE In summation, radio can be either a menace or a ministry, and a listener has the responsibility to select which it becomes . A discerning Christian needs to select multiple news sources, understand the impact of music, and have a Spirit-directed inquisitiveness about the qualifications and truthfulness of the program producers. With these guidelines in mind, a listener should support the work of Christian broadcasters who adhere to Scriptural standards and minister to his daily life .