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{"id":863,"date":"2001-08-08T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2001-08-08T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tmatt\/2001\/08\/08\/hypernews-and-the-life-of-faith\/"},"modified":"2013-01-30T15:46:43","modified_gmt":"2013-01-30T20:46:43","slug":"hypernews-and-the-life-of-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2001\/08\/hypernews-and-the-life-of-faith\/","title":{"rendered":"Hypernews and the life of faith"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

When a life-or-death crisis landed Paul Weyrich in the hospital, the conservative patriarch found himself plugged in medically, but unplugged from newspapers, talk radio and the Internet. <\/p>\n\n

There was a television in his room, but he didn\u2019t watch in July. It didn\u2019t matter. The same mediastorm was raging when he left the hospital as when he went in. The buzz was all Chandra Levy, all the time. When the medical staff heard he was politically connected, people started asking him for gossip. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cSex sells,\u201d admitted Weyrich, in a news commentary (www.FreeCongress.org<\/a>). \u201cBut what does that say about us as a people that we would contribute to these ratings? Why do we get wrapped up in this on-going soap opera?\u201d And what does it say about the state of cultural affairs that so many voters question whether they can judge Rep. Gary Condit? <\/p>\n\n

That\u2019s life. That\u2019s our culture. Hurricane Chandra may have weakened, but it won\u2019t take much to revive it. Rest easy, consumers, it won\u2019t be long before another blast of what media scholar Quentin Schultze calls \u201chypernews\u201d reaches our screens and rocks our souls. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cViewers anticipate the plot. We take sides, cheer for our heroes and hope for the best. \u2026 It is real-life drama in actual time,\u201d according to the Calvin College professor. \u201cHypernews is like a global extension of the human nervous system, putting our emotions on alert and immersing our minds in a chaotic blitz of anticipation. \u2026 <\/p>\n\n

\u201cHypernews is a technological triumph, but a spiritual roadblock.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Biblically speaking, time is crucial, he noted. There seems to be so little time to ponder what is happening in the world, let alone to pray about it. There \u2018s no time to think about news events, but \u201conly to feel them.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Get this \u2014 Schultze wrote those words a decade ago, in reaction to the Persian Gulf War and the hearings to confirm Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. This was before OJ, Tonya Harding, Princess Diana\u2019s funeral, Monica and Columbine. This was before The Drudge Report, Salon.com and today\u2019s satellite news wars. This was long before the Comedy Channel became a news source for millions. <\/p>\n\n

Hypernews is no longer a novelty. It\u2019s normal.<\/p>\n\n

Way back in the early 1990s, Schultze was concerned that the manic pace of the news was producingfear and anxiety, as opposed to understanding and hope. He noted that the ancient Psalmist calledbelievers to, \u201cBe still, and know that I am God.\u201d This command now seems like a message from another planet.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cAll news conveys its own implicit worldview,\u201d said Schultze. \u201cHypernews tends to portray a worldout of control, and in purely human hands. \u2026 If the world is a mere stage, with no eternal screenwriter, we are all in deep trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

These days, Schultze is pondering the spiritual implications of life in the treacherous territorybetween information and gossip, between news and entertainment. His next two books will focus on the interaction between Christian faith and mass media and the all-too-hazy concept of ethics in cyberspace, that online zoo in which anonymous anecdotes rule and urban legends keep getting resurrected.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhether its rumors or gossip or some off-the-wall opinion piece, it really doesn\u2019t seem to matter much. It\u2019s all news to somebody. At least, it looks like news. It\u2019s in print,\u201d he said. \u201cIn the digital world, information just explodes and takes on a life of its own. \u2026 We live in an age in which totally unsubstantiated rumors can affect the stock market. Our leaders have to react to this stuff, whether its true or not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Schultze doesn\u2019t think it\u2019s time to boycott the news. But gossip is a sin and cynicism is spiritual acid that corrupts hearts and minds. His advice is simple: read the Bible, as well as the newspaper. Delete more email. When faced with hypernews, ponder its impact on others, especially children. Turn off the television, hold hands and pray. Calm down.<\/p>\n\n

The goal, he said, is to \u201cpray for our world as concerned citizens rather than as frenzied viewers. \u2026 Perhaps only the Good News can curb our appetite for hypernews.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"