So there! It is only true if we say so!

The death of newspapers is hardly news.  What might be news is how the newspapers, those still alive, are using methods to keep them on life support which call into question their very existence.  

First of these is the partisanship in which facts have been replaced by political or ideological slant.  No one in their right minds would declare that this was never the case before but what has changed is that this slant is now so apparent that every page is opinion and no pages actual fact.  For example, when President Trump decided that the US-Saudi relationship was more important than the death of a news reporter, it was roundly criticized.  When President Biden, after much fanfare about reviewing that relationship, came to the same conclusion, the media sold the decision as prudent and wise.

Second of these is the antagonism to religion but in particular to Christianity.  It shows up in blanket statements that beg not fact but secular ideology.  So, for example, in a story about competing claims for the burial place of the great prophet Joshua, the NY TIMES did not take sides with Jew or Islam.  Instead, they could not help themselves.  “There is no historical evidence Joshua actually existed.”  This means that to the media, Scripture is not historical evidence and therefore renders the faith of billions into the realm of myth and legend and superstition.  Second, they have rejected a host of archeological evidences that point to the truthfulness of the Biblical narrative and do not cast doubt upon its history.

Third of these is the way the media have made sure that COVID dominated not only the news but commentary -- taking on the role of spokesmen for the claim of settled science and the medical necessity.  The media has rallied around the changing views of Dr. Fauci as prudent fact and warns us that going without a mask even while alone in the wilderness just might be dangerous.  This has not resulted in aiding the containment of this virus but it has succeeded gloriously in promoting fear and suspicion, division and doubt.

Fourth of these is the voice the media has given to groups and movements once characterized as extreme -- from Antifa to Cancel Culture to sexual and gender issues to the Black Lives Matter movement.  As an example, the media has mainstreamed their views and given cover to the violence and destruction that accompanied the protests over the past year.  The media has used its voice to make it appear that there are more GLBTQ+ folks in America than Roman Catholics.  There is little room in print or digital news media for any opposing opinions or any facts that might challenge the approved and sanctioned narrative.

While all of these are concerning in themselves, taken together they represent one of the reasons why we remain so divided as a nation.  Whom do we trust?  One authority says to trust government and another media and another science and another religion.  Each characterizes the other as hopelessly biased.  All claim to be objective and true.  So it is no surprise that the individual is placed in the center -- each individual has become the arbiter of truth and justice.  Polls define how politicians and leaders not only gauge the mood of the people but how successful these groups are in promoting their message.  The survey not only says what people think but is used to define that very thought.

In the midst of this Christianity comes speaking truth yesterday, today, and forever the same, the Word that endures forever, and the doctrine that does not fit the times, the situation, or the culture.  In our age of individualism, the Church comes proclaiming that the higher value is the gathered assembly of those whom the Lord has called, gathered, enlightened, and sanctified with His Word and Spirit.  The distance between the political and cultural setting of our times and Christian faith and life is moving further and further apart but the media bears a significant responsibility as a cause for that growing gap between what we read, watch, and believe.