THE unFAIRNESS DOCTRINE IS NOTHING NEW

If you study history, you will find that the media is rarely truly "fair". If just didn't begin with the Communications Act of 1937, which required radio stations to give access to opposing political candidates if it gave access to one. If also didn't begin with the "Mayflower Doctrine" in the early 1940's which prohibited editorializing on stations. It further did not begin in 1949 with the "Fairness Doctrine" that required reasonable opportunity for having opposing points of view on controversial subject matter presented. The fact that the FCC was in charge of it actually resulted in just the opposite, with news and events and viewpoints presented as objective, non-biased fact, when in reality they were deeply biased group-think points of view with no opportunity for them to be challenged. I find it interesting that those interested in reviving this doctrine which was vetoed in 1987 by then President Reagan, is ALWAYS pushed by the LEAST FAIR elements of our society, those who bash others, who seek to eliminate freedom for Christians to express themselves, and those who are the most brainwashed by a SINGLE point of view.

Unlike a host of pundits, I actually like the idea of a true Fairness Doctrine - if in fact it could be done. That is an AWFULLY big if. Frankly, I am tired on one-sided media. I am tired of those against the "mainstream media" who themselves embrace "Christianity Lite" but do not hold to the beliefs of "blood-washed saints", the uniqueness of Jesus as our God and Savior, and the depravity of evolutionary and humanistic thought patterns. Hannity and Colmes tries with liberal and conservative pundits and Glenn Beck is now on CNN, giving much needed diversity there, but aside from the fact, none are professing born-again Christians, I honestly don't think they have achieved true "fairness" yet, and I don't believe that it is fully possible. Certain media are controlled or heavily influenced by agendized persons which stacks the deck. Lest there be any misunderstanding, let me define 'media" the way I see it. If you use Microsoft Word, Bill Gates' minions would define "media" as "the various means of mass communication, thought of as a whole, including television, magazines, and newspapers, together with the people involved in their production". The key here, of course, is "the people involved in their production". The television, radio, newspapers, and magazines are in and of themselves fair. It is people that mess them up. And it is people that can clean them up. I was privileged to be on radio for over five years and I taught the gospel and Christian living through Bible Study, Dramas, and Commentaries. People were blessed by that part of the "media". I hope to be able to go that again. I use the Internet for blogs and websites and email to see to persuade people of the truth. In my opinion, though, the media is truly broader than even Bill Gates' minions proclaim. It is called "the spirit of this world". It pervades everything - school, museum, public meetings, and even church. Jesus said it best - "If they love me, they will love you. If they hate me, they will hate you". The people weren't fair with Jesus, and those in positions of influence then were multiplied more times unfair with Jesus than the general populace. Nothing has changed in that regard.

For years, the schools and colleges have been one of the "various means of mass communication:" 72% of college professors are politically liberal, and it has been amply documented how frequently they IMPOSE their viewpoints on impressionable grade-seeking students who regurgitate back uncritically deeply flawed ideas and arguments. The music industry is surely one of "the various means of mass communication". Dreadful ideas that have born dreadful fruit in the lives of their purveyors are blasted into the heads of people with no antidotes offered. The preponderance of illicit sexual activity portrayed in television and the movies have persuaded many to live like animals (and it doesn't help that their biology teachers tell them they are just animals and send them to the nurse to get birth control despite the fact that animals don't use birth control - even lower forms of life understand that sex and reproduction are linked). People themselves are the media - they spread these ideas like gangrene and cancer and it all seems to fit conveniently together. The "spirit of this world" is at work. Look at how they all converge - in school, chlldren are taught that everyone should be embraced even if what they are doing is considered "sinful" by their unenlightened parents. They are also taught to act out on all their sexual urges so they can be happy. They are told that the Bible is a book of pleasant myths while the myth of evolution, the myth that all religions lead to the same place, the myth that teachers know more than parents, the myth that homosexuals are born that way, the myth that yoga and eastern meditation practices are not "religion", and on it goes. WHen they go to the museum, or watch PBS or Nova or Discovery, a deep convincing voice talks about millions of years every time it gets the chance regardless of the facts, the relevancy, or the controversy. The textbook committees will accept books with known scientific errors as long as in the words of a famous scientist, "God cannot be allowed to get his foot in the door". When they go to a Veteran's Day observance (if any still go to honor the supreme sacrifice people can make, to give their lives for their friends), prayers with the name of Jesus are forbidden, and vague mainstream churchianity is the only option on the table. If they decide to go into the military, they have to see Chaplain's censored in how they can pray. If they visit Washington D.C., they will see Moses and the Ten Commandments anbd all manner of inscribed Bible verses on the building but listen to justices proclaim how the BIble that actually was the basis for our nation has to be separated from every part of life now. The music tells them to give themselves to their urges, to imagine filthy things, and that they are the truly enlightened ones. The television teaches them that everyone but married people enjoys sex and anybody who is anybody swears well and swears often. When they go into Barnes and Noble, 90% of the books contain secularist, humanistic, pagan, hedonistic, or cultic content, with one row devoted to religious books, many of those seeking to disprove who Jesus really is. The newspapers give them a tilted view of the world, all based upon the assumptions of writers with worldviews alien to Christianity and in full accordance with the "spirit of this world". The magazines they see at the supermarket checkout lines tell them 100 new sex secrets every week and glorify the body while debasing the soul. Then, if they still go to church, they mostly hear a watered down gospel that has made its peace with the world.

The church is part of the media as well you know. And, a major part of the problem. When what is preached does not oppose the "spirit of the world", but instead is a sleeping pill to put people at "ease in Zion", the church as a part of mass communication can be a direct agent of Satan. It you look through history, the organized church has more often than not stifled anyone who disagreed, Ask Martin Luther or John Huss or anyone in Foxe's book of martyrs about "The Fairness Doctrine". preachers put in prison in colonial Virgin where is was illegal to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in the years before the "First Great Awakening". Ask those in colonial New England about what happened when they refused to baptize their babies but instead stood for believer's baptism. Find out what the term "freedom of religion" means in a Muslim country. Find out what the "Fairness Doctrine" means when Christians excoriate those who disagree on details from the pulpit. Have you ever heard balanced discourse on the Baptism in the Holy Spirit fairly addressing the many scriptures mentioning it in an "Independent Fundamental Church"? Have you ever heard balanced teaching on "worship" from those who swing from the chandeliers but have little or no time for sound Bible teaching?

No, people were not fair with Jesus - they turned on him as soon as the giveaways were over and the time to bear their crosses was at hand. No, people are not fair with gospel preachers who insist on righteous and holy living and who do not compromise with the devil. No, people are not fair with the Bible, choosing to believe and disbelieve at will and loving to take half-verses out of context and building belief systems more pagan than Christian out of them while willfully ignoring or disobeying passages which are crystal clear and beyond dispute. Christians are not even fair with each other, pigeon-holing each other and failing to submit to one another or learn from one another. So if the world cannot be fair, and Christians themselves are all too often far less than fair, how can we put any of them in charge of "fairness"?

I believe it is best to allow absolute freedom of speech. I also believe Christians need to lobby media outlets to be fair. After all, just because we aren't perfect yet doesn't mean we aren't seeking to please Jesus. While the world will never be fair, we must do the most we can to influence it for the sake of people everywhere. God wants people to have the truth, because the truth will set them free. We need to use every means at our disposal to spread the truth, to counteract lies, and to look for the righteous to shine like the sun. The unFAIRNESS DOCTRINE is nothing new. There will always be people seeking to silence others. Let us be sure we do not silence those who can speak God's truth into our lives.