"Too Christian" TV

It just seems like there are elements in our culture who just don't want to see Christian messages in our various forms of entertainment.  And, that is symptomatic of a society that is rushing headlong away from the teachings of the Scripture.  But, we can hold to the powerful truth that we can communicate through our words and the way we live our lives.  In 1st John 3, we can read:
16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
17 But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?
18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

There are people who think they do not want to hear or heed the teachings of Christ, but the demonstration of the Word in power can be very compelling.   We possess the love of the Lord in our hearts, and it is our responsibility to allow His life and His love to flow through us.  As we submit to the control of the Holy Spirit, we send a powerful message about the One who died for us so that men and women might experience His love and freedom.

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God has made us capable to live out the truth of the gospel, demonstrating the power of the Word and the presence of Christ. 2nd Corinthians 3 says:
5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,
6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

There were church leaders in England that saw it coming once Aaqil Ahmed joined the BBC to be in charge of religious programming back in 2009.  The Telegraph reported on this move.  In his previous position at Channel Four, he had upset Roman Catholic priests by commissioning documentaries that appeared to contain a pro-Islam bias.

Dr. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, met with Mark Thompson, the BBC's director-general a few weeks before the move to challenge him over the corporation's religious broadcasting. Senior bishops had also written to Thompson to question its commitment to Britain's Christian audience.  The Telegraph report at the time said:

Leading church figures suspect that the BBC is giving preferential treatment to minority faiths, with a Muslim now in charge of its programming on television and a Sikh producing Songs of Praise, its flagship Christian show.

Fast forward now to a recent series of events reported on by The Telegraph.  Ahmed, the BBC’s head of religion and ethics, has suggested Muslim, Hindu and Sikh faiths should get more airtime.  One Muslim leader has even suggested that the review could lead to Friday prayers from a mosque being broadcast in the same way that Christian church services are currently featured in the BBC’s schedules.

Ahmed told a Commons meeting on religious literacy he had written a report for Lord Hall, the director general, that would answer criticisms from non-Christian faiths that they were under-served. Ahmed said in a statement: “Christianity remains the cornerstone of our output and there are more hours dedicated to it than there are to other faiths."  He continued, "Our output in this area is not static, though."

The BBC's religious output on television includes Songs of Praise and Sunday Morning Live.  In 2009, there was concern expressed at that time that a Sikh was producing Songs of Praise.  Radio also features a wide range of religious content including Thought for the Day on Radio Four’s Today programme.

Not a surprising development here - and even though you have those in the news and entertainment industry who either don't understand religion or religious practice or don't think it should be included in the public flow of information, we recognize that faith is a strong element of so many people's lives.  And, we can be convinced that our message absolutely brings hope for a culture that needs it so much.  There is rampant discouragement and cynicism today, and the gospel brings hope to counter that - not some empty hope that can make someone feel better temporarily, but a real hope in a God who loved humanity so much that He sent His Son to die - a hope that is deeply attractive and capable of bringing true life change.

We are communicators of hope - we cannot depend on the media at large, including the Internet, to communicate accurately the Christian message.  Fortunately there is Christian media that is effective in relating the truth of Jesus.  And, with the presence of the Holy Spirit, He has made us capable of being effective communicators of that truth in the way we speak and live.