This issue of The CALL magazine, the Media Special is released and will be available in print shortly.
A
young boy was brought to be counseled. Surprisingly, he not only knew and
accepted Christ solely through the
Internet (he is from a place that is hostile to the gospel); he had also grown
much in the knowledge of the Bible. But the sad thing was internet had taught
him a very wrong eschatology.
The
greatest challenge today to Christian media is the standards of world media as
(in the words of Malcolm Muggeridge) “their light is darkness, their facts are
fancy, their documentation is myth”. This Media
Special issue of The CALL is an attempt to bring a biblical perspective to
media and in this issue you will read articles on social and digital media,
broadcast media and print media.
Majority
of this world’s population is now identified as either digital migrants or the
digital natives. ‘Facebook Vs Face the
Book’ throws light on this issue and gives a balanced biblical view to use
and to conquer social media for Christ.
Christianity
has a long and rich tradition of music from the Bible and history, but sadly a
lot of Christian music has become a “performance or entertainment” rather than
a message with all the attention on the musician or the music. The News & Views article ‘Biblical Perspective to Christian Music’ not
only deals with this issue but the author shares his own testimony of how he
left the cinema music industry and became a missionary. Likewise the Red Hot column carries an interview with
Brother Raju a song writer & Worship leader, who answers honestly questions
on the deplorability of Worship being used as a platform for personal fame.
Cyber
bullying and facebook depression are on the rise and quiet often children get
abused online by strangers. Recently Godfruits
ran an article on how three teens died in mysterious ways and the investigation
led to an App that they downloaded; which allows users to stay anonymous with
features of instant messaging and sending pictures & videos. These children
participated in a challenge through this app which led them to their death.
This is the danger when the virtual meets the real. The article for youths, ‘Web-O-Sphere’ warns on the dangers of
indulgence in social media and lays the rules & checklist to safeguard
oneself from becoming prey and polluted.
In
MK Memoirs column article ‘From Missionary Family to Mass Media’,
a missionary’s daughter shares how God’s providence took her to the Mass Media
and on the need for Christians to be there to change the trend of news &
programs for viewership to present truth.
Born
as digital natives, this generation of children are not only comfortable with
gadgets but crave & cling to them. ‘Danny
and his Xbox’ in the Children’s
Chronicles column narrates the story of a boy whose gaming becomes an
addiction to the point of giving him nightmares. While this warns children on
the effects of gaming addiction, the Standing
@ the GAP column article ‘Clean as
Comics and Cartoons?’ raises the mounting concern over the contents of
seemingly harmless animation movies, comic books and character depictions and
sounds the trumpet for parents and elders to watch out for the content children
are exposed to.
In
the Movie Review of ‘Life of Pi’ Dr Vishal Mangalwadi presents
the postmodern challenge where “truth” has been reduced to “story” and how it no
longer matters which story is true, but only what one chooses to believe; and
its effect on the presentation of the Gospel.
The
Tentmaking column carries a PROFITeer’s
testimony, ‘Creativity for the Creator’,
of how one’s creative talent when correctly identified and nurtured can be
greatly used for God’s glory and His purposes. The
Magnifying Glass column chronicles the origin and developments of GEMS Media Ministries.
“The
danger comes” says the General Secretary Brother Augustine Jebakumar, “when man
lacks discernment about two important aspects: the source of the message and
the intention behind it.” Feeding and fueling narcissism are the various forms
of social media. And scientists have found a new unit to measure narcissism,
N=S/h, Selfie per hour! This generation has moved from ‘I think, therefore I
am’ to ‘I shop, therefore I am’ to now ‘I pose (& post), therefore I am’!
In
his book ‘Christ and the Media’ Muggeridge nails it when he says, “The problem
of the media is but a symptom of a deeper problem – the problem of the human
heart, alienated from God.” One of the greatest challenges is for this Selfie
Generation to find the value of their true self in the Saviour, “who, though he
was in the form of God... emptied himself, taking the form of a slave… And
being found in human form, he humbled himself” (Philippians 2:6-8).
Let
this image obsessed tinsel world meet with the Imago Dei!
Mariyosh Joseph
Chief Editor
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