What I Want From the News and more...

It’s gotten so I almost hate the news. I want to know what’s going on in the world, but I’ve lost confidence that there’s as much as a single organization out there communicating it in a trustworthy way. We hear lots of talk today about fake ... --------------------------------------------------------------- In This Issue... - [What I Want From the News](#0) - [A La Carte (October 17)](#1) - [How to Talk To Your Kids About Human Dignity](#2) [] [What I Want From the News]( It’s gotten so I almost hate the news. I want to know what’s going on in the world, but I’ve lost confidence that there’s as much as a single organization out there communicating it in a trustworthy way. We hear lots of talk today about fake news, but I’m convinced this is less of a concern than what passes as real news. It takes little more than a brief visit to [insert your favorite, then least-favorite news outlet here], to see how the news is far more (and far less) than the news. If I could dream up the news outlet I want, it would be defined by characteristics like these. Truth vs lies. It would be based on truth rather than lies. This should go without saying but, sadly, we know that many media outlets are willing to tell lies. And even if they don’t outright tell lies, they may suppress truth, something that makes them equally culpable (since, as we teach our children, deceit is no more noble than fibbing). Tell me the truth and nothing but the truth! Objectivity vs agenda. It would rely on objectivity instead of agenda. What we find in the news today is that so often it’s not “just the facts, ma’am” but the furthering of an agenda. Stories are chosen or ignored depending on how they will further or damage a particular agenda. News is reported or ignored on the basis of an underlying ideology. Simply tell it like it is! Information vs entertainment. So much of the news today is actually entertainment, or, at best infotainment. News is not just the important events that are shaping our world, but gossip related to celebrities and trite stories of no lasting import. Let news be the reporting of important events and leave the rest for another time and place! Reporting vs editorializing. It would distinguish between reporting and editorializing, between the presentation of facts and their interpretation. When the news is reported, it would be a simple communication of the known facts. Then, if reporters want to editorialize, they would make it clear that they are now discussing not just the facts, but a subjective interpretation of those facts. Stop blending these two together! Proportion vs obsession. It would maintain a sense of proportion so that stories of major importance would be accorded major emphasis and stories of minor importance would be accorded minor emphasis. Today it is not unusual to find the exact opposite—headlines are given to the trials and triumphs of celebrities while matters of major international impact are relegated to a spot far below the proverbial fold. This upsets all sense of proportion and makes minor matters seem far more urgent or important than they are. Stop majoring on the minors! The fact is, the media does not just report the news; they create the news. They define the news by deciding what will (or will not) appear on their front pages or their broadcasts; they weight the news by the space and time they give it; they interpret the news by their editorializing. I can’t help but wish they’d just give us the news. (Yes, I know it’s not quite so simple. Who is actually entirely objective? And what is the line between reporting and interpreting? These aren’t always as easy as they may seem. But a guy can wish, can’t he?) [Like on Facebook]( [Share on Google+]( [Pin it!](https%3a%2f%2fwww.challies.com%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2016%2f10%2ferl7089_eflad_260x125_101117.png) [Tweet This]( [Subscribe by email]( [Subscribe by RSS]( Related Stories - [Vlog: 7 False Teachers in the Church Today]( - [Answer to ‘Tis a Point]( - [Vlog: Ask Me Anything](   • [Email to a friend]( I Want From the News;5811245) • [] [A La Carte (October 17)]( Today’s [Kindle deals]( include four books that, to my knowledge, are rarely on sale. [The Spread of the Gospel]( This neat little map displays the spread of the gospel over time. [Is It Really God Speaking to You?]( “‘I’ve prayed about this and I really feel like God told me that it would be okay.’ Those were the words that I heard when a young lady informed me that she was leaving her husband in order to live with another dude. She was happier with the other guy. She knew that God didn’t want her to be unhappy and so as she prayed that voice in her head confirmed that she had permission from the Almighty.” [The Boy Scouts and the Disappearance of Paths]( Trevin Wax makes some interesting and important observations about the new Boy Scouts. [Challies en español]( Just a reminder that I recently launched my site en español. Please share in with anyone who might be interested. [Sola Scriptura: A Scripture-Alone Life]( “Scripture over us—authority. Under us—promises. In us—Bible intake. Through us—obedience and guidance. Sola Scriptura. Let’s be doctrinally right but let’s make sure right doctrine leads to right living.” [How Should We Approach Debt?]( “One hundred years ago, debt was regarded as an earned privilege for the few. Now it’s seen as an inalienable right for all. Borrowing has become an integral part of our lives.” [Idolatry at the Office]( Kathryn Butler talks about work as a respectable idol. [Flashback: 3 Awful Features of Roman Sexuality]( I point out 3 ugly features of Roman sexuality, how the Bible addressed them, and how this challenges us. A troubled person is a person to love, not a person to fix. And people often change slowly and struggle deeply. —David Powlison [Like on Facebook]( [Share on Google+]( [Pin it!](https%3a%2f%2fwww.challies.com%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2017%2f10%2fChallies_Oct15-21-02.png) [Tweet This]( [Subscribe by email]( [Subscribe by RSS]( Related Stories - [A La Carte (October 16)]( - [Weekend A La Carte (October 14)]( - [A La Carte (October 13)](   • [Email to a friend]( La Carte (October 17);5811245) • [] [How to Talk To Your Kids About Human Dignity]( This sponsored post was prepared by [Evangelicals for Life]( and was written by Daniel Darling. As Christian parents, it is important we teach our kids the truth about who they are, who God is, and about their place in the mission of God. One important piece of this role is to teach and talk to our kids about what it means to be human and to see the humanity of others. Here are some ways we have found helpful in our home as we discuss issues of human dignity with our kids. Commit to Understanding Human Dignity. We cannot teach what we do not know. It’s important for us to understand what the Bible says about the uniqueness of humanity. Moses, writing in Genesis 1:26-27, tells us that humans were created in the image of God. Distinct from the rest of creation, humans were given the breath of life and became living souls. Humans were uniquely given stewardship over creation and given a mandate to work, to create, to innovate, all for the glory of God. But the image of God is not reduced simply to cognitive or rational abilities, as even those who are disabled or who do not have full functions still bear the full image of God. And even in a fallen world, fallen creatures bear the full image of God, as evidenced by God’s instructions to Noah in Genesis 9 and James word to the early church in James 3. Communicate Often About What It Means to be Human. It is important that our kids understand that they are created in God’s image. This gives us both honor and responsibility. To be an image-bearer, means we were created to image our creator. Since the Fall, we are tempted to either turn inward and worship ourselves or turn upward and worship our creator. Christ’s death and resurrection redeems our humanity, reconciling us to our creator, and restoring us to our original creative purposes. This has implications for the way we see ourselves. We are not our own, but were created by God for his glory. This has implications for the way we see our work, not as drudgery or a means to an end, but a gift from God. We were created to create. This also has implications for the way we see other human beings. As C.S. Lewis says in The Weight of Glory, “You have never met a mere mortal.”  The first step in loving our neighbors as ourselves is to see our neighbors as fellow image-bearers, even those with whom we profoundly disagree. Capitalize On Opportunities To Live Out Scripture’s Vision of Human Dignity. In a fallen world, image-bearers, in every generation, seek to assault the dignity of their fellow image-bearers, through violence and oppression. In our generation, we see assaults on the imago dei all around us, from the abortion industry to racial injustice to the way we are tempted to talk about immigrants and refugees. As parents, we can point to these things and remind our kids of the humanity of the vulnerable and our responsibility, in positions of power and privilege, to speak out on their behalf. Sometimes we do activism in big public ways. Other times its simply standing up for a bullied kid at school or refusing to belittle someone with whom we disagree. Mostly our kids will repeat what they see modeled in us, their parents. Do we live out what we say we believe? This idea of human dignity is why we are so passionate about equipping voices for life at our annual [Evangelicals for Life]( Event in Washington, D.C. Every year we gather people from around the country to come and be equipped on how best to speak up for the dignity of human life, from womb to tomb and then we march together in the annual March for Life. Join us on January 18-20, 2018 for this important pro-life conference. [Register]( by December 6 and save 15% off the ticket price. Use the code CHALLIES to save an extra 20%. 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