Christians in a Secular World continued....
PROTEST TECHNIQUES
Protesting can be very time-consuming. It is difficult to
know where to start and when to stop. There are so many things that concern us.
Child-abuse, animal welfare, environmental problems, battery farming and
vandalism etc etc, and when it comes to questionable books and films must we
read and view them all? Are we expected to be the censors of society? We can of
course legitimately pass an opinion if we have read responsible reports, and
there are some things to bear in mind when making a protest.
(a) A Protest should not be made from a purely negative
attitude. The Gospel entrusted to the Church is a positive message to all
mankind, and to be continually taking a negative view will mis-represent the
essential Christian ethos.
(b) Beware the 'engineered' Protests. They are usually
organised to secure the greatest number of signatures. This may show the
strength of feeling, but many of the signers may not have thought through the
matter in question, and those who receive such lists may take a cynical view. I
know of a mother who was greatly offended by a trailer on TV for an adult film.
It was shown immediately after a children's programme so she wrote to the
station as a mother concerned about her child, and she received a most
apologetic reply. It had been shown inadvertently and she was assured that it
would not happen again.
(c) When a controversial film is to be shown, it would be
good for responsible people to see it and carefully assess its merits or
otherwise, and then send a detailed appraisal to the producer, not forgetting
to commend what is good about it.
(d) Wrongly handled protests can be counter productive. Film
producers and authors know that if a production is singled out for heavy
criticism, especially on moral grounds it will almost be sure to have a market
success.
It will be said that no one is compelled to go to the cinema
to see a film, but it is must be remembered that in due course it will come on
to Television where it will be accessible to all.
From the Christian point of view, it is realised that all
our activities and protests are of a spiritual nature and we are dealing
sometimes with powers beyond this world, so we must never under-estimate the
need for intercessory prayer at all times.
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