The media and "the advancing spiritual era"

Geraldine Schiering

The news and entertainment media of today employ complex systems of technology and bring volumes of information to the public. Strong concerns have been expressed regarding the media: that they manipulate readers and viewers, or worse, that they actively promote materialism and sensualism. There also are concerns about pornography and other kinds of "adult" materials available on the Internet. To protect young people, maintain a proper standard of ethics and control in cyberspace, and still preserve freedom of speech and the press—all these constitute a complex moral and legal issue and one that demands spiritual answers.

In the time of Christ Jesus, communication of news and information was largely by word of mouth. Inadequate as that may appear for enabling a message to reach the world, it was sufficient for the Master, whose teachings have survived to the present time. This suggests that communication isn't strictly a human process. Jesus knew God as divine Truth, the source of all real knowledge. He knew that God communicates truth to His creation, to man. Jesus stated simply, "Even as the Father said unto me, so I speak" (John 12:50). The result? What was being communicated had a tremendous impact on people's lives. They were made better by Jesus' message.

News of his ministry spread rapidly, even though he was confronted with a society generally resistant to his message. Luke records, "The fame of him went out into every place of the country round about" (4:37). Why were his words so penetrating that they attracted people, aroused government authorities, endured through the centuries, and spread so far from his own area? Because they were from God. Science and Health explains, "Christ is the true idea voicing good, the divine message from God to men speaking to the human consciousness" (p. 332).