Then the Lord answered me, “Write the vision. Make it clear on tablets so that anyone can read it quickly. Hab 2:2 (GW)
Most homes have at least one of these boxes setting in their living rooms as well as bedrooms, kitchens, dens, bathrooms and basements. First they were black and white with only 3 or 4 stations of programming signing off at midnight. Later there was color, and UHF bandwidth added more channels. Then came late night TV and eventually 24 hour a day formats. Today we have HDTV with over 16 million colors and hundreds of programming choices.
Television has impacted the American home like no other appliance. Where once we would listen to a radio story teller engage our imaginations with stories like ‘The Shadow’, ‘The Avenger’, ‘Blondie’, ‘Captain Midnight’, ‘Father Knows Best’, ‘Flash Gordon’, ‘Gunsmoke’, and ‘Hopalong Cassidy’, with the advent of motion pictures many of these radio classics came alive at the cinema. Today the cinema has come to the home.
With the advent of television, story telling was taken to a whole new dimension, no longer must you engage your imagination to envision the story because the story teller has already taken the time to paint the picture for you. Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Michelangelo and others were admired for their visual representations on canvas. Now Oscar and Emmy awards are given to those who paint visual pictures, and tell visual stories on an electronic canvas.
We can no longer dismiss the impact that these moving pictures have had on our society. “As Seen on TV” has turned into a brand-name marketing concept. Toys and merchandise populate store shelves during a major motion picture release. Licensed merchandise, resembling movie story characters, are all the rage at fast food establishments across the country. All this merchandising proves the powerful effect the moving picture has had upon the culture.
With all these stories being told to us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it is no wonder our culture is being desensitized towards the things of God. For the most part, these moving picture producers are telling a story far different than the age old gospel story. They display a worldview devoid of Jesus and tell the story of a world where there is not one God but many gods and goddesses.
Telling the age old story of salvation was given to the church, the gospel of the Kingdom of God was given as the means by which the works of darkness were to be dispelled. We have been given a commission to take this gospel into all the world, preaching, teaching, and making disciples. We, as a church, are charged to tell the story, in all ways, to all people, for all time.
