Beware the Hype
| By: Dr. Ted Baehr; ©2000 |
| It is one thing to commend the secular media for airing programs which are not antagonistic to the gospel. But how far should we go in promoting them? Dr. Baehr explains the issues to be considered. |
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BEWARE THE HYPE
The week before Easter, 2000, emails were zinging through the ether, announcing the ABC program The Miracle Maker. Eventually, MOVIEGUIDE® entered the act and released our review of The Miracle Maker, a worthwhile but flawed re-telling of the Gospel, by email. The Washington Post concurred with MOVIEGUIDE’s® opinion, noting that the story dumbed down the theology of the gospel and was not produced with the care that audiences demand of major television productions. In sum, the Washington Post said The Miracle Maker was a good effort.
Christians need to commend ABC for carrying the The Miracle Maker, but it is very dangerous when Christian leaders start hyping these programs and movies that don’t quite attain the entertainment excellence or theological clarity which Christians should expect and demand. Several times over the last year, efforts even more mediocre were being touted as excellent within the Christian community.
Whom are we trying to kid? Certainly not those who are savvy, nor, we hope, not those impressionable young minds who might be confused by muddles theology. These movies and programs should be an opportunity to go back to the source, to review the tenets of our faith to examine where they stray from theological accuracy. They should not be accepted as gospel.
Christian leaders should commend these efforts, but not hype them. After all, our proclamation is the Truth, and we want our children to grow up knowing the Truth, who will set them free.
