You’ve probably heard this phrase used by pastors to warn their congregations about the dangers of Hollywood and the media. Right after they use this phrase they usually cite Philippians 4:8:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

I’m sure you memorized this verse in Sunday School, but I’ve often wondered if we’ve missed the point.

Wikipedia (the source of all truth on the web) defines the phrase “Garbage In, Garbage Out” as follows:

Garbage In, Garbage Out (abbreviated to GIGO) is an aphorism in the field of computer science. It refers to the fact that computers, unlike humans, will unquestioningly process the most nonsensical of input data and produce nonsensical output.

Notice the second sentence? “Computers, unlike humans, will unquestioningly process…” This secular source helps to undermine an underlying assumption I think many believers hold regarding media and the Christian: Christians are poor, innocent victims of the evil messages and images that media forces on us. When citing the Philippians verse, pastors tell us to avoid destructive media, but little instruction is given about how to discern what is destructive or even how to weed out valuable lessons in media that is itself perceived as destructive. Indeed, we’re told we should not visit Hogwarts, but Narnia is a good place to vacation, and we’re just supposed to take their word for it. It’s as if truth can only be found from “Christian” sources: Christian music, Christian movies and Christian books. These are the only things that are “true, honorable, just, lovely, commendable, excellent and worthy of praise”.

Let’s reflect on that for a moment…

Traditional Christianity teaches that God has revealed himself in two ways: through specific revelation (the Bible or the story of Christ) and general revelation (nature, transcendent morals, etc.). If this is the case, then truth can be found outside of the Christian subculture. Truth can be found in nature, in our conscience and even in a good song, movie, or other piece of art - all sources outside of Scripture. Now, this is not saving truth (that’s reserved for specific revelation), but it is truth because it seems to reflect the way the world actually works. And the more we tap into this kind of truth, the better we begin to understand God.

Also, I’m not sure that the Philippians passage is a mandate to avoid those things that aren’t “worthy of praise”. I don’t even think we can. In today’s information drenched culture, it’s impossible not to know about the horrors of the Iraq War or Britney Spears less than stellar VMA performance. We consume some of this information actively, most of it we consume passively, and we have very little control over that which we consume passively. Instead, I think this passage is a mandate to focus on those things that build us up spiritually. It encourages us to filter through all the stuff we’ve consumed, discern the truth from the lies, and to focus on the truth. Now, this isn’t an excuse to gorge on anything and everything in our media. Common sense and knowledge of one’s own struggles and temptations should set up some healthy boundaries for what media you partake, but, wherever your personal boundaries are set, you should strive to consume your media wisely!

And one more thing, this discernment requires knowledge of the Christian worldview and competing worldviews. We don’t have the luxury of not thinking “Christianly” about everything. Your Christianity should act as a filter for your view of everything from politics to family to the TV shows you view for entertainment. If we understand what we believe and how it forms our view of the world, we won’t have to worry so much about Hollywood. We’ll be able to hold onto the truth and discount the error in our media. We should be looking for truth wherever it can be found, whether from Christian sources or non-Christian sources, understanding that each truth is a another small piece of God’s revelation to us…