The values transmitted through the media are often hostile to Christian traditional values. And the media frequently presents an unreal view of the world. Further, the media desensitizes its viewers to pain and suffering. In an effort to capture and keep audiences, media often include explicit scenes of sex, violence and shocking language. The amount of sexual content in media is at an all-time high.

The news media has become a primary shaper of our perspective on the world. Unfortunately, most of those producing news programs are out of step with their audience. Media executives tend to be liberal politically and apathetic morally. The media elite have a liberal, secular, humanistic bias. Most support such issues as homosexuality, abortion, and sexual freedom. One study showed that 93% of those working in the media never attend religious services. Thus, the news tends to come from a secular, urban, liberal perspective that differs significantly from that of the average citizen.

When reading a newspaper or magazine, listening to the radio, or watching TV or a movie, people must be aware that the information they are receiving is most likely biased toward an anti-Christian worldview.

Controlling Ethical Guidelines

Psalm 101:3 –  “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes.”

Philippians – 4:8  “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

Colossians 3:2 –  “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”

1 John 2:15-17 –  “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

From these texts we learn:

• Don’t watch immoral images;
• Think about positive ideas rather than negative, sinful ideas and/or images;
• Think about spiritual realities rather than worldly, temporary things;
• Avoid those things that produce lust and a love for the world.

Unfortunately, much of today’s media does the exact opposite. The ideas it presents are worldly, sinful, and tend to stimulate our sinful nature. Television is a perfect example of this. TV is the dominant form of media in our culture, and our ethical approach to TV watching can be applied to most forms of media today.

Television/ Internet Dominance

Note the Quote:  In our culture most people watch [TV] most of the time. After sleeping and working, watching images on a video tube is what we do with consciousness. It is our favorite way to pass time.

Some Startling Stats:

1. 96% of American households have one TV, many have more than one.
2. Children between the ages of 2 and 12 watch an average of 25 hours of TV each week.

• Nearly half of all 12-year-olds watch an average of 6 hours of TV a day.

1. By the time an American child graduates from high school, he will have spent 15,000 hours in front of a TV, compared with only 11,000 hours in the classroom.

Why should we be so concerned about TV? Because it is the most accessible and influential media source for most of us. Much of what comes through the TV screen is unethical from a Christian point of view.

  – David De Bruyn, Professor of Church History, Shepherds’ Seminary Africa