Grace Church exists to glorify our Heavenly Father by
 continually making more disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace Church
257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105

(262) 763-3021

PASTOR'S PENS 2007

Grace Church of Burlington September 9, 2007 “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.”     Joseph Goebbels               Nicholas Johnson, former head of the Federal Communications Commission, observed that “all television is educational television.” The critical question is: What is it teaching?             If TV content is any indicator of what this medium is seeking to advance, then homosexuality is in and Christianity is out. In August the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) did its first-ever "Network Responsibility Index" which examined the inclusion of "lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender" themes or characters on TV. This index found that 15% of all of ABC's primetime programming hours during a 12-month span contained either homosexual characters or the discussion of homosexuality. The CW was second at 12%, followed by CBS at 9%, NBC at 7% and Fox at 6%. For their promotion of the homosexual lifestyle ABC was rated "good," CW, CBS and NBC "fair" and Fox "poor." If you include the non-prime-time programs and cable shows that are friendly to GLAAD's cause, there are positive portrayals of homosexuality 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.             So does all this positive programming have an impact on the perception of homosexuality? GLAAD sure believes it does. In issuing the report, GLAAD acknowledge the persuasive power of television, GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano said, “The power of the broadcast medium to shape culture and collective consciousness is indisputable.” Now while no network received an "excellent" rating from GLAAD, you can be assured that the organization will use the study to pressure TV executives to include even more homosexuality-friendly fare.             But while positive portrayals of homosexuals on network television are on the rise, sympathetic characterizations of Christian characters are practically non-existent. For example, Boston Globe's Matthew Gilbert noted just a couple of years ago (2006) that “one of the most talked-about new TV characters this season appears on Aaron Sorkin's little-watched but much-hyped ‘Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.’ Her name is Harriet Hayes, she's as sweet as apple pie, and she is openly Christian. And on series TV, practicing Christians -- she's Southern Baptist, to be specific -- are about as common as ghost whisperers.” When a writer of a major newspaper, and one not noted for its conservatism, admits there is a dearth of Christian characters on prime-time television, you know there’s a significant shortage.             Programming that does include Christian characters usually portrays them in a less than flattering light. When was the last time you saw network television – any television, for that matter – portray a Christian character as intelligent, thoughtful, compassionate or caring? It's been awhile, hasn't it?