The Burr in the Burgh

It concerns me that folks, especially in the US, spend so much time looking at two-dimensional images on screens and so little time interacting verbally with texts or other humans. This is especially detrimental for small children. Many Christian parents think that television is only objectionable if the content is indecent or anti-biblical. Actually, for small children still developing neurologically, the medium is just as harmful as the messages. Scientific studies have shown that when a person views the rapidly flashing lights on a screen, it puts their brains into low gear. It's not just daytime soaps that turn your brain to mush. It's Sesame Street and religious broadcasting as well. Small children who do not experience adequate verbal interaction (talking on TV does not count), fail to develop their brains to their fullest potential. This shows up later on as inability to process written texts properly. And a reduced ability to communicate ideas coherently.

I believe it is Ken Myers in his book, "All God's Children and Blue Sueds Shoes," who argues that visual images deal with the passions. They work on one emotionally, whereas words deal with one's reason. This is extremely important for the life and mission of the Christian church. While the visual arts have always had an important role in Christendom (particularly in the East), Christianity is predominantly a word-based faith. God spoke creation into existence. His word/logos became flesh and dwelt among us. And now faith comes by hearing the message, the news, the good word. If a person knows nothing about Jesus, I can show him a painting of the crucifixion and it may move him sub-rationally, but he won't know what it means. He won't understand that we sinners are declared righteous in the sight of God on account of the oblation made by Jesus until I explain it to him...using words.

An excellent new-ish book on the subject is "The Vanishing Word: The Veneration of Visual Imagery in the Post-Modern World" by Arthur W. Hunt III. And here is a cool article to whet the appetite: "How the Bombarding Images of TV Culture Undermine the Power of Words" by Douglas R. Groothuis.