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Consider two views on television: 1) Television is God's gift to redeem people and culture; powerful and far-reaching, it is the perfect tool to spread the kingdom message. 2) Television is chewing gum for the eyes--sweet and colourful, but lacking nutrition.
Our response to television may be equally diverse. In the wake of Princess Diana's death, we might praise the blue box for its ability to unite the industrialized world in grief. We might balk at the total minutes dedicated to Diana's funeral compared to Mother Teresa's funeral, but in the end the commentators helped us ask: AWhat really counts in life?@
Turn the channel, though, and we find the Royal Canadian Air Farce mocking a Promise Keepers conference. They explain that the conference theme AStand in the gap@ (Ezekiel 22:30) means Ato stand in a clothing store@. Noting that 2 million men gathered in Washington, D.C., they ask AWhat does D.C. stand for?@ The answer: ADork conference.@
If you think Christians are less apt to be exposed to television's messages, think again. Studies indicate that Christians are just as apt to watch television as the irreligious, and that they watch the same types of programs as well. (The only type of programming that Christians are more likely to watch than nonbelievers is televangelism.) We might voice disdain for the tube, but we sit and watch what the world watches.
A column about television for Christians should do two things: It can offer critiques of specific programs, but it can also examine television as a medium. How does TV differ from other media? What drives it? What are its characteristics? Its biases? Answering these questions will help us unravel why a medium that joins us in grief can repulse us in disdain.
Bill Strom is an associate professor of communications at Trinity Western University and a member of East Aldergrove MB Church. This is the first of a series of occasional columns.
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