I love questions, not so much for the answer, but for the dialogue that questions promote. Often questions annoy us. I like annoying people - not to be irritating so much as to make people think. I've become more of a thinker myself in the past few years. Annoying questions seem to stick in the minds of those who are confronted. I often pose challenging questions to my students when they seem absolutely sure of their point-of-view. Rethinking their stance is helpful, especially in light of a seeming contradictory stance.
When dealing with the worldview the media promotes, I have begun to ask questions. I ask my students questions about where there opinions and understandings or worldviews were developed. Very often they will admit they were instructed by the media, not by any experienced or thoughtful truth. I try to force them into the Bible as their source of knowledge and opinion, not to cultural norms informed by media messages. Yes, culture needs to be considered, but only against the backdrop of Biblical truth.
I even ask my kids questions when we are watching TV or when they are reading magazines or newspapers. We talk about what the advertisements tell us about the product being promoted and about other images and subliminal messages embedded there. I have found that my kids are not as naive about what the media is trying to teach us about the world. They have become savvy shoppers and readers! I think we all can do this. If we make ourselves conscious that the media is trying to do more than just make us aware of products for our benefit, we will be much better off as consumers and Christians! We need to realize that all advertising and all media is profit driven! Sometimes we are the products that are being sold to advertisers so that they can in turn try to sell us something! That's a sobering thought - we are products!
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