5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you are disqualified.
6 But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified.
7 Now I pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do what is honorable, though we may seem disqualified.
8 For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.
We can be convinced of the reliability of God's Word and recognize that not only does He lay out for us principles by which we can live our lives, but we can activate the power of the Spirit as we study and mediate on the truth of the Scriptures. In a culture that is bordering on chaotic, His Word provides a way forward - God gives us timeless principles and a solid foundation. People are searching for hope and truth, and He will provide that for us and use us to radiate those components to our society.
God wants us to consume His truth and apply it in our lives, renewing our minds to His principles. 2nd Timothy 2 says:
15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
16 But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness.
17a And their message will spread like cancer.
I wanted to return on this "Survey Thursday" to a study done by the Newseum Institute's First Amendment Center in association with USA Today. I had mentioned that the survey showed that one-third of respondents could not name a single right guaranteed by the First Amendment and less than one-fifth said that freedom of religion was one of those rights, according to the USA Today report on the study.
Over the past year, Americans' support for the First Amendment rebounded strongly. Three-quarters of Americans say it "does not go too far" in ensuring Americans' freedom. That's up from 57% last year after the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 stirred public debate about the role of social media during a crisis and the media's use of shocking images, according to State of the First Amendment 2015. A year ago, 38% said the First Amendment goes too far, but the current survey shows only 19% agrees with the sentiment. The study saw a similar drop, then a recovery after the 2001 terrorist attacks, the authors noted.
While over half of respondents - 57% - said that freedom of speech was one of the guaranteed rights, freedom of the press was named by only about 10%.
And, there is skepticism about the objectivity of the media. Only about a quarter of respondents, or 24%, believe that the news media try to report on news without bias - that is a 17-point drop from last year. USA Today speculates that:
Here are a couple more survey outcomes that might even surprise you:
A slight majority, 51%, believes the U.S. Constitution establishes a Christian nation, largely unchanged since the question was first asked in the 2007 poll.
Also, the percentage of people who agree that wedding service providers should be required to serve same-sex couples has fallen to 38% from 52% in 2013.
So, what do you make of the survey results? I think one thread is that many people flat out don't trust the news media. Perhaps they are saying, "tell us the truth." A majority of people said that the media should be a watchdog, but I believe that all too often, journalists become a mouthpiece for a governmental agenda. I've heard it said that maybe out of fear of losing access, you have journalists who either intentionally or unintentionally play along in order to get the scoop or the quote.
So, you can't believe everything you hear or read. And, we have to be discerning with the media that we consume. I think the reporting on the recent Supreme Court decision on marriage is a great example. When you have media that run headlines like, "Love Wins," in a celebratory fashion for an affirmation of sinful behavior, you recognize that there is a tangible media bias. And, many in the media have been willing participants in the duping of America to accept this counterfeit form of so-called "marriage."
And, be careful with social media. How often do you or people you know just automatically share a link on Facebook? Have you ever had to go back and retract a post because you discovered it was not true or at least questionable? I am a fan of social media, but we have to be responsible in our use of it.
There is an objective source of truth in our culture today, and that is God's Word. His Word is authoritative, it is reliable, and it is unchanging. His truth can provide an anchor in the midst of chaos in our culture. His truth can be a filter through which we can responsibly consume the plethora of media influences that we encounter each day. We have to become skilled in applying that truth and living it out.
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God wants us to consume His truth and apply it in our lives, renewing our minds to His principles. 2nd Timothy 2 says:
15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
16 But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness.
17a And their message will spread like cancer.
I wanted to return on this "Survey Thursday" to a study done by the Newseum Institute's First Amendment Center in association with USA Today. I had mentioned that the survey showed that one-third of respondents could not name a single right guaranteed by the First Amendment and less than one-fifth said that freedom of religion was one of those rights, according to the USA Today report on the study.
Over the past year, Americans' support for the First Amendment rebounded strongly. Three-quarters of Americans say it "does not go too far" in ensuring Americans' freedom. That's up from 57% last year after the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 stirred public debate about the role of social media during a crisis and the media's use of shocking images, according to State of the First Amendment 2015. A year ago, 38% said the First Amendment goes too far, but the current survey shows only 19% agrees with the sentiment. The study saw a similar drop, then a recovery after the 2001 terrorist attacks, the authors noted.
While over half of respondents - 57% - said that freedom of speech was one of the guaranteed rights, freedom of the press was named by only about 10%.
And, there is skepticism about the objectivity of the media. Only about a quarter of respondents, or 24%, believe that the news media try to report on news without bias - that is a 17-point drop from last year. USA Today speculates that:
A flurry of headlines in recent months about the journalistic sins of high-profile media personalities – Brian Williams, who was demoted at NBC for lying; and ABC's George Stephanopoulos, a former aide to then-President Bill Clinton whose contribution to the Clinton Foundation came to light recently -- may have negatively influenced respondents' feelings about the news media, the study said.The results showed that over two-thirds of those surveyed felt that the news media had an important role in our democracy as a watchdog for government.
Here are a couple more survey outcomes that might even surprise you:
A slight majority, 51%, believes the U.S. Constitution establishes a Christian nation, largely unchanged since the question was first asked in the 2007 poll.
Also, the percentage of people who agree that wedding service providers should be required to serve same-sex couples has fallen to 38% from 52% in 2013.
So, what do you make of the survey results? I think one thread is that many people flat out don't trust the news media. Perhaps they are saying, "tell us the truth." A majority of people said that the media should be a watchdog, but I believe that all too often, journalists become a mouthpiece for a governmental agenda. I've heard it said that maybe out of fear of losing access, you have journalists who either intentionally or unintentionally play along in order to get the scoop or the quote.
So, you can't believe everything you hear or read. And, we have to be discerning with the media that we consume. I think the reporting on the recent Supreme Court decision on marriage is a great example. When you have media that run headlines like, "Love Wins," in a celebratory fashion for an affirmation of sinful behavior, you recognize that there is a tangible media bias. And, many in the media have been willing participants in the duping of America to accept this counterfeit form of so-called "marriage."
And, be careful with social media. How often do you or people you know just automatically share a link on Facebook? Have you ever had to go back and retract a post because you discovered it was not true or at least questionable? I am a fan of social media, but we have to be responsible in our use of it.
There is an objective source of truth in our culture today, and that is God's Word. His Word is authoritative, it is reliable, and it is unchanging. His truth can provide an anchor in the midst of chaos in our culture. His truth can be a filter through which we can responsibly consume the plethora of media influences that we encounter each day. We have to become skilled in applying that truth and living it out.
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