NORTHERN STYLE NEWSWATCH NO.10
In the closing words of the Book of Daniel we find verses that are very
pertinent to our day.
Was it really only a question of cultural background that ensured that
Daniel would entrust
to God to work out in His time all that he had heard and seen? In our
contemporary church
life the `fast food' culture has become entrenched and demands an instant
outworking of
any `word from the Lord', revealing a yawning gap between faithful Daniel
and today's
disciples: (Daniel 12:4)
" But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the
time of the end.
Many will go here and there to increase knowledge. "
It does not need a Newswatch to tell of the almost frightening increase of
knowledge that is
available. Was it such a short time ago that we tried to avoid the salesman
from the
Encyclopaedia Britannia, with his promise of a library of information on our
bookshelves?
Now it can be brought up in an instant on the mighty computer. Our senses
are now
pulverised with news, and yet more news - and the sight last year of a
holiday maker
paddling in the waters of the North Sea whilst talking on his mobile seemed
to illustrate the
`slavery' we have been brought into through the `increase of knowledge'.
Certainly in the
past we were used to being able to contact government departments solely
between the hours
of 10am to 3pm, but now we find that due to the continuous pressure of
instant availability
more and more commercial concerns and businesses are resorting to the use of
`voice mail
boxes' - and we certainly all have tales to tell of working through the
automated voice
telephone system!
With this in mind we recollect a news report of some 18 months ago listing
the results of a
newspaper survey which revealed that an increasing number of readers were
not reading the
details of the news reports for themselves but were turning straight to the
various newspaper
Columnists and Pundits, where the main news stories were summarised and
criticised. The
readers were busy people in a world where `knowledge had increased', to
such an extent
that they were relying upon other people's opinions rather than taking the
time and trouble
to formulate their own opinions for themselves. In simple terms, this can
be called `mass
thinking' formed and directed by the opinions of a few. We are not
suggesting that `the
few' are dishonest potential tyrants, but the problem surely lies with the
`masses' where
an eagerness to obtain information without the discipline of self-critical
analysis would turn
news into slogans devoid of personal emotional feelings - a dangerous
situation for people
to be cornered into in such times as the Scriptures reveal us to be in! As
one observer of
this phenomenon once said:
"Crowds, properly worked up by skilful demagogues, are ready to
believe
anything and to do anything. "
Recollection of the recent `Petrol Protest' and the empty filing stations
and super market
shelves will show the truth of that.
Mass thinking on this scale leads to mass action and uniform thinking.
There is no place for
critical analysis or personal emotions or opinions. We recall an earlier
time of prolonged
Bible study, during which it was mentioned that one of the major problems
amongst the Jews
at the time of Jesus was that they paid more attention to the views of their
leaders - the
Pharisees, Scribes and Teachers of the Law - and so they failed to `hear'
the words of the
Messiah they were looking for. Times may well have changed since the time
of Daniel and
when Jesus walked in Israel, but clearly the heart of man has not! Again,
we are reminded
that in the days of the rising power of Nazi Germany that country was awash
with
information, more than at any time in their history. It was a time of an
explosion in travel
and the spread of news through the telephone, the wireless, telegraphs and
newspapers that
had never been seen before. The cultural heart of the country was vibrant
and lively, its
intelligentsia vocal and confident, and yet within a decade such knowledge
and information
led to mass destruction through the mob-thinking that had listened to a
demagogue without
the use of personal critical thought. It would seem that inbred into
mankind, through the
stain of sin that sprang from the loins of Adam, the more information that
is available the
more serious is the outworking of mob-like actions - the looking for a
`saviour' who will
tell them what to do rather than accept any personal responsibility for
themselves!
Today it is the proud boast of the media that we have more information than
ever seen before
in the world. We would suggest, however, that the more correct expression
would be that
we have more instant access to information than ever before. The effect of
this is that we
are being led into more `group thinking', led by media Columnists and
Pundits, than has
ever been known before. Greater access to information has led, and will
increasingly lead,
to a levelling down to the lowest denominator of mass, uniform, thinking,
which will be
increasingly controlled and directed by political `spin doctors'. In the
two historical
instances we have mentioned in this Newswatch (Israel, at the time of
Jesus, and Germany,
at the time of Hitler - and there are many more historical times which
could be listed)
mob, uniform thinking evolved, and was controlled and directed by the `spin
doctors' of
those times because the people could not cope with the unlimited knowledge
that was
available. Clearly another such historical time is with us today, and, as
always, uniform,
mass, mob thinking will be demanded, not only in the secular political arena
but also in our
`church life' as well, for in our `religious community' we too have
`spin doctors' who
seek to bring everything under their infuence through a `common
denominator' message
overlaid onto Scripture.
To close this Newswatch we would like to move from the general into the
specific in order
to bring home the seriousness and nearness of what we see unfolding. It has
been reported
that a series of listening posts could have already been established across
the world;
certainly there is one such base at Menwith Hill on the North Yorkshire
Moors, which was
set up in 1952. Covering most of the world it intercepts messages,
transmitted through
satellites, from the telephone and internet exchanges, e-mails, faxes and
telexes. This system
intercepts vast quantities of information through the use of keywords which
are supplied by
five nations - the US; the UK; Canada; New Zealand; and Australia.
All information
intercepted containing these key words is then transmitted to the countries
who supply these
words for them to assess what action needs to be taken. Menwith Hill was
used extensively
during the Gulf War and the later Kosovo crisis. In addition to this
`service' it is known
that there were intelligence centres, who when receiving such information
during the Kosovo
crisis proceeded to `deconstruct' the news and re-issue it in a more
palatable form.
Newspaper Columists and Pundits are obvious targets for such
`reconstructed' news. This
is not sensational newswatching; there is ample evidence available that
news control, which
is an essential part of any intelligence service, now coupled with the
technology available
today, underlines our opening remarks concerning the mass, mob, uniform
thinking which
is developing as a way of combating the stress of instant information.
This is why our Newswatch service is and must remain a very small part of
what Northern
Style presents. Its main concern is the contextual presentation of
Scriptural exposition, for
it is only through thorough knowledge of the broad sweep of Scripture that
we shall be able
to discern and understand the `news' that will be increasingly
`reconstructed for popular
use'. This Newswatch is, hopefully, a timely warning as we enter into these
turbulent times
of national elections and probable referendums! We all need to be vigilant
and sieve all
news - both secular and religious - through Scripture, and certainly we
should be like the
Bereans, who:
"received the message with great eagerness and examined the
Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."
even if this leads to the demise of Newswatch, for:
"(Our) purpose is that they maybe encouraged in heart and united in
love, so that they
may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that
they may know the
mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures
of wisdom and
knowledge. I tell you this so that no-one may deceive you by
fine-sounding
arguments"
Colossians 2:2-4
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Our telephone No. is:(01493) 441891
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