Is the Media Biased Against Christian Faith? Where Does That Come From?

By way of amplification of my email to Hugh Hewitt, here are some comments I shared with blogger Rob Asghar this week, triggered by his post here. [Again, in brackets, you'll find some explanatory notes not in my original note.]

My own take is that Christians engender the hostility of the MSM [mainstream media] by immediately assuming that it is a monolithic group and that it is intrinsically opposed to religious faith, particularly Christian faith.

My own limited experience tells me that when Christians present their faith in the spirit of Saint Peter, "with gentleness and reverence," and with humility, the media will pay attention.

The fact is that like the rest of our culture, most members of the MSM simply don't know that much about Christian faith. Like the rest of our culture, they've been put off by the legalism and sanctimony with which some of the most vocal spokespeople for Christian faith present their witness to the world.

What we need are followers of Jesus who will, with humility, openness, and patience, present Christ in the public square.

And I'm talking about the real Christ, the Christ Who is charitable to outcasts and sinners, Who reserved His most scornful condemnation not for the sinners who didn't know any better, but for the religious folks who should have remembered that all of us are sinners saved only by the grace of God.

When I look at the declining importance that faith seems to play in the life of Americans, the blame must be assigned in part to those who view those who don't agree with every particular of their brand of Christianity as an enemy to be condemned rather than a person in need of the love and grace of Christ.

Is the MSM hostile to Christian faith? Increasingly, the answer is yes. And the reason for that is that we Christians have decided to turn our backs on faith in Christ, instead embracing political coercion as the means for enforcing our ideas about God's will.

We [who identify ourselves as Christians] need to do as Jesus commands us to do, gently wooing our neighbors into Christ's kingdom through our acceptance, compassion, giving, loving, humility, prayers, and witnessing for Christ, the hope that is in us.

When we Christians grab for power, we become powerless. Real power resides in Christ alone! As Saint Paul put it, "when I am weak" (ie, dependent on Christ), "then I am strong." The Church of today needs fewer Pharisees and more humble servants. (And yes, I point the finger at myself in all of this as well.)