Picture this scene. A flock of Pentecostal Christians has gathered at the U.S. Capitol for yet another prayer rally about sex, abortion, family values and the public square.While this very public display of ignorance is funny, the same type of misunderstanding has fed a lot of un-funny media frenzy in the past. I'm specifically thinking of the remarks of an Undersecretary of Defense, General Boykin, made a couple years ago. Speaking at a church meeting, Boykin stated his views that the god of Islam was not the God, and that his Christian God was the only real God. Well, duh. The media had a field day with the quote, and dug up other quotes referring to spiritual warfare, etc. All the while, I was sitting there scratching my head, wondering, "So what's the big deal? This guy believes in a Christian God and doesn't believe in the Islamic one?"
"At times, the mood turned hostile toward the lawmakers in the stately white building behind the stage," wrote The Washington Post in its coverage of the event. Then, without explanation, the story offered this on-stage quotation from a religious broadcaster: "Let's pray that God will slay everyone in the Capitol."
Slay what? Clearly, the reporters didn't know about the experience that Pentecostal Christians call being "slain in the Holy Spirit," in which they believe they are transformed by a surge of God's power. The result was a journalistic train wreck that ended up in the book The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect.
"The problem," wrote authors Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, "was that the reporters didn't know, didn't have any Pentecostals in the newsroom to ask, and was perhaps too anxious for a 'holy sh-t' story to double-check with someone afterward whether the broadcaster was really advocating the murder of the entire Congress." This mistake made "a strong case for the need for humility" at the news desk, they said.
To me, the episode illustrated how disconnected from America a lot of journalists are, especially those in Washington, D.C. While it may be incredibly politically incorrect to have firm religious beliefs and act accordingly, the majority of Americans do believe and act according to faith.
2 comments:
ts,
i think the onus is also on us as christians to be careful on how we come across because of a world that does not understand. for example, there is a great deal of fear of christianity in many third-world countries that do not understand christian "speak." how does this sound to a person ignorant of scripture: you are king. we are your subjects. reign in this place. you have all the power.
it's a standard caution in missionary training to be sensitive to language and expression. hiding under the umbrella of the first amendment, do you think we lack that sensitivity here?
true, christianese is unnecessarily difficult to decipher--i definitely agree on that point. "are you covered in the blood?" "do you have Jesus in your heart?" "Worship the lamb of God." ... all those could be disconcerting to the uninitiated, to say the least!
but these media guys are supposed to be journalists. that means they need to understand what they're talking about, and especially not be so eager to portray christians in caricature.
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