A few days ago
I wrote that when I became a Christian, at the age of 44, I already knew
a lot about the Bible, despite my non-religious upbringing. By contrast,
today many younger churchgoers seem to have only a flimsy grasp of biblical
events. How did this happen?
Certainly the impact of the media has
been a contributing factor. Recently I decided to investigate. I went to a
library and searched through microfilm records from 40 years ago of my local
newspaper, The Age. The contrast with today was quite stark.
Last month, for the Melbourne Cup horse
race – a major occasion in Melbourne – The Age wrote a hackneyed lead
editorial of supreme blandness:
What is certain is
that rain, hail or shine, the horses will be magnificent and so will the
roses, the hats will be elegant or silly (or both), vast amounts of
champagne or beer (or both) will be drunk, an estimated $100 million will be
wagered and a good time will be had by all….The Melbourne Cup is more than a
horse race. It is a tradition, a carnival and a ceremony, a quintessential
part of the culture of the city, and the country, that hosts it.
Yawn.
It is hard to believe that as little as
40 years ago the same paper felt that its editorials could be an occasion to
provide moral guidance, based on the stories of the Bible. Here are excerpts
from an editorial in The Age in November 1962:
The owner of the highly successful winner
of the Melbourne Cup is reported to have been offered a very large sum of
money for his horse. His answer was swift and to the point: Even Stevens is
not for sale….
No occupation or profession, and no
person, is immune to the subtle temptation to sell what never should be for
sale. Every man is entitled to a just return for his labour, but there are
agreed limits beyond which no man of integrity or honour will capitalise on
his special skill or knowledge. It is not always easy to draw the line, but
that there is a line no-one can doubt.
And the more we understand the basis of
moral health in any community, the more do we see that it is determined by
individual unwillingness to compromise on matters of principle, and by a
refusal to make available for purchase those things which should not be put
up for sale. This applies to the trusted leader; it applies still more to
the everyday conduct of ordinary men. For it is what the little man does
that finally decides what the community is.
In the Book of the Kings there is a story
of such a little man. He appears for a fleeting moment in the light of
history, and then fades out; but his name lives on. For in that moment he
took a stand which made him immortal.
By profession Micaiah was of the company
of the prophets. His king coveted a slice of land belonging to Syria…
It’s a long editorial, with a lot more.
But the point is well-made. There was a time, not so long ago, when even our
daily newspapers employed stories of the Bible to teach us how to live.
December 13th, 2002
