Evolving Agendas

I have to admit (yes, somewhat sheepishly) that I’m a science fiction fan. I loved the original Star Trek TV series. Yes, I recognized the many evolutionary statements made by Captain Kirk (and others) as they traveled through the universe on the Enterprise.

With newer Star Trek programs, I became disillusioned. What I noticed was not just the typical evolutionary comments, but also an agenda to promote things like “gay” marriage, the homosexual lifestyle, abortion, etc.1

Over the decades, the program has changed from mainly one of entertainment to one that often promotes anti-Christian lifestyles. This trend is also being seen in many other television programs, like the hugely popular program CSI. I prefer the documentary detective shows (e.g., I occasionally watch The Forensic Files), where real-life detectives relate how they solved a particular crime. But these TV documentaries are very different from fictional forensic programs like CSI.

While “vegetating” right after Christmas, I happened to come across a CSI program—and quickly decided I wouldn’t ever be watching this program again. CSI, a fictional program, has an emphasis on anti-Christian agendas (and they are overt about it). In the episode I watched, the issue came up of when life actually begins. A character (portrayed as a Christian) represented an organization that believed life began at conception. He was made to come across as ignorant and foolish.

A CSI detective rolled her eyes when she heard the Christian view, and then made a big issue of the fact that life didn’t begin until the baby moved in the womb. She then defended stem-cell research using cells from human embryos.

Later on, another CSI detective (named Grissom) quoted the Scripture verse about the life of the flesh being in the blood, to argue that a life in the womb didn’t begin until blood flowed through the baby. He then made the statement that “science” basically trumps theology any way.

I point this out to remind all of us that we live in a world where even Christians can be susceptible to being influenced by the world. Many adults and children watch such programs and don’t realize the effect these shows are having on molding their worldview.

As such anti-Christian propaganda pervades television (and movies), the world is influencing the church’s coming generations … rather than those in the church being the light of the world and influencing the culture.

Such programs as the one described above (and others including: 30 Rock, Studio 60, West Wing, Commander in Chief, and even The Simpsons, as Carl Kerby wrote about recently in this newsletter) would not have been tolerated by the Christian community a few decades ago. But they are now the norm in many Christian homes—and the children in them are now accepting what appears to be the “norm” regarding social issues that are clearly unbiblical.

In addition, as society accepts evolutionary thinking and rejects the Bible’s authority, the culture itself “evolves.” The secularists in Hollywood ensure that their evolving anti-Christian agendas are being incorporated into the programs and films that reach millions (including churchgoers). This is another example of the secularization of the culture—and even the secularization of the church.

Countering these things is one reason I believe the Lord has raised up Bible-upholding ministries like AiG. We pray that through AiG, your family and mine can influence the church and world for good, and help stop (and even undo) the anti-God influence the world has had on the church. Christians are often shocked when they read in the Bible of how the Israelites adopted pagan religions and worshipped idols. “How foolish could they be to do that?” they say to themselves.

And yet, so many of God’s people today are no different in the way they have adopted pagan philosophies of the age (e.g., evolution, relative morality, etc.). They fail to see that they are no different than the Israelites.

As we read in Jeremiah 10:2 (NASB): “Thus says the LORD, ‘Do not learn the way of the nations.’” Please pray for all of us at AiG that we, along with you, will be true salt and light in this increasingly secularized culture.