Article November 23, 1998 Issue

SPIRITUAL EDUACTION THROUGH THE MEDIA

Kim Shippey

During an interfaith seminar on "Nurturing Spirituality in Children" presented by The Boston Parent's Paper in the Sunday School of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in April, there was lively discussion on the role of the media.

Rabbi Herman Blumberg of Temple Shir Tikva expressed reservations about movies like Cecil B.de Mille's The Ten Commandments that "attempt to depict graphically what is basically a spiritual experience, namely, Holy Scripture. They distort the spiritual dimension that exists beyond the graphic, beyond the finite," he said. "They concretize [events] in a child's mind in a way that the Holy Word never meant them to be." He reminded his audience that children are smart, and can spot the limits of such portrayals—their quality of pretend. "And if in children's experience that becomes the sum total of the Word, they're going to dismiss [the Scriptures] as irrelevant to their lives.... I'm not saying that we should never portray such things," he concluded, "but if we stop at highly graphic presentations, we are doing our children a disservice."

Mimi Doe, coauthor of 10 Principles for Spiritual Parenting, called for more stories applauding people with strong character. "I'd love to see a rich menu of television programming that speaks to spiritual issues for children," she said, "and more choice." She believes that parents have a responsibility to use the media—including the Internet—as tools, and to be there to help their children interpret what they see. "Also, I think we can get out there and lobby for more programming that enriches the spirit, like Touched by an Angel. That series was saved [from extinction] because the grassroots community said, 'We like programming that says the word God!'"