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TechnoratiThe Media of Mass Deception (MMD; the media machine that pumps out most of the information you and I consume on television, radio, etc.) use various tactics to further their humanistic agenda. Over the past few weeks, we’ve investigated several of these techniques such as The Name Game, The Blitz, and Odd Man Out. Today we’ll look at a tactic called “Silence of the Lambs,” which is simply the subtle media bullying of citizens who hold to traditional values.
The Parents Television Council conducted a comprehensive study of more than 2,200 hours of prime-time television programming during 2005 and 2006. Here are a few of its conclusions:
• Depictions of elements of organized religion such as clergy, doctrine, or laity were mostly negative.
• The number of negative portrayals increased steadily with each hour of prime time.
• At no time during prime time and on no network did the positive portrayal of religion even hit the 50 percent mark.
A few seasons ago, the CBS drama Cold Case centered on a high-school abstinence club led by a perverted youth pastor and full of hypocritical, sexually active Christians. The group eventually stones one member to death, quoting the Bible as justification for committing murder.
These types of negative portrayals, repeated time and time again in prime time, have taken their toll on the American consciousness. George Barna reported in 2002, “Among a representative sample of people who do not consider themselves to be Christian, the image of ‘evangelicals’ rated tenth out of eleven groups evaluated, beating out only prostitutes.”
This constant barrage of harmful portrayals of Christ-followers has led to the Church receding in fear from the culture. We fear being associated with the media’s stereotypes of Christians, so we sit on the sidelines and say nothing. Who wants to be linked to hateful, arrogant, self-righteous, Bible-thumping Christians?
That there are real and false Christians who fit those adjectives is regrettably true. After all, we are all sinners. However, the media largely ignore the thousands of acts of kindness, charity, forgiveness, love, and mercy that Christians perform each and every day. If the MMD reported those, we would most likely change that Barna study quickly.
In addition, we cannot give up our voice because of media intimidation. Literally, lives depend on us speaking the truth in love—whether it is for an unborn child, a person helplessly caught in sin, a marriage one step from destruction, or a culture on the edge of suicide. Christians have an obligation to be the voice of our God—the voice of truth, healing, restoration, and conviction. No one ever said following Christ was going to be a popularity contest. Fellow lambs of Christ, let’s not be silent.
Brian Fisher is Senior Vice President of Media for KMA Direct Communications, Inc., in Dallas, Texas. He is the author of two books, including Media Revolution: A Battle Plan to Defeat Mass Deception in America. Also a Certified Financial Planner® and a former CEO of a major media ministry, he has written and spoken extensively about media, finance, and current events.
