Discerning truth in our times of prolific fragmented media
can be very difficult. In a drawn out
discussion with my nephew this past weekend, we went back and forth on whether
Fox News commentators, or NYT and WSJ editors, were to be trusted for the
facts. He’s a committed young evangelical
pastor in South Florida who believes very much in Jesus, and also that
President Trump is the best choice to lead our country. Our faith in God is the same, the way in which
God would have us direct our political lives starkly different, as are our
sources of information.
t is problematic for us people of faith to confront parts
of our traditions, and secular histories, that are myth, or misdirections of
true faith in a merciful nonviolent God of unconditional love. God’s truth can open the way. The way of Jesus is not the way of the
world. We are all caught between this world
or Jesus ways in countless little decisions we face each day. We can help discover ever more of God’s love and
mercy in our lives, or we can try to conquer and overwhelm truth playing into
the hands of evil means because we think our goals, personal or as a country,
are so important.
The mass media, relying on seductive fleeting audiovisual messages
that you must follow at their speed with little time for reflection, has brought
us to a dangerous juncture. Print media
is being abandoned. Yet when you read,
you can much better compare and substantiate the opinion you are forming and its
factual basis. Words have to stay there in
front of you, ready while you determine their worth.
Video seeing and hearing on an electronic screen is not
believing. The truth required for belief
takes much deeper thought, work and prayer.
Consider all the alternatives. Take
time to make up your mind and heart. Then
may we be given the courage to act positively on our decisions.
We need to be well informed, researching and comparing
sources, listening to and contrasting information presented by the other sides
on issues. Wise as serpents gentle as
doves. Sheep of responsibility, following
the Good Shepherd, and not the blind purveyors of the latest powerful political
product line.
Op-ed on media bias by the Columbia Journalism Review
From CJR also, article on TV commentator affiliation disclosure
Illumination by Kathy Brahney
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