Timeline for Christian Science Monitor: a socially acceptable source among conservative Christians?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
11 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Feb 3, 2023 at 17:43 | comment | added | Lesley | @Machavity - Appreciate your answer to this question about Christian Science Monitor. I've only just watched the last TV broadcast of 'The Chosen' and found nothing in it to suggest any Mormon influence. Can't wait to see the latest release. I found a useful article about that series: gotquestions.org/The-Chosen.html | |
| Jan 17, 2023 at 21:44 | comment | added | novice | But to be fair my parents now tolerate me watching Al Jazeera English when I visit them and I believe I've helped them to accept that it's at least on-par with the BBC domestic service in terms of reliability and not being anti-Christian. Conversely I turned against Russia Today after watching it as a 17- and 18-year old, from then on I never really accepted my beloved mother reading articles on their website, and now she has branched out to other conspiracy-minded websites | |
| Jan 17, 2023 at 21:44 | comment | added | novice | I remember once years ago I was with my friend stockchecking for a dude from my mum's church and he was proudly showing us how he reads Jewish News One, I threw up a huge controversy by saying I read both that and Al Jazeera English (which is perceived to have anti-israel bias but is really not more critical of israel than the domestic UK BBC News channel), and my good friend from the same church diffused the tension by saying he just sticks to the (very locally oriented) BBC Scotland. So I have seen first-hand reading something edited by Muslims can stir a controversy in Apostolic Church. | |
| Jan 17, 2023 at 21:10 | comment | added | novice | Without deliberately meaning to sound negative about Apostolic Church attitudes, I think they would be prone to judging you for watching a variety of harmless films. Most films including the vast majority of Holywood films could be seen as un-christian, for diverse reasons, some not immediately obvious. One of the films I thought was ok for Christians but which my dad disapproved of was the action-thriller Gravity; I'm sure he'd have much rather watched Left Behind or the Miracle Maker. So as it is I'd probably be frowned upon for watching a film about Christ with Mormon directors in there. | |
| Jan 17, 2023 at 20:54 | comment | added | Ray Butterworth | @Machavity, I'm saying that just because something is produced by someone of a specific religion, it doesn't mean that what they produce is necessarily influenced by that religion. For instance, Miracle on 34th Street (about Christmas) was produced by 20th Century, The Greatest Story Ever Told (about the Crucifixion) by United Artists, even though both film studios were founded by Jews. | |
| Jan 17, 2023 at 20:14 | comment | added | Machavity | @RayButterworth I'm... not sure what you mean by that. That's not my position, it was the position of someone critical of The Chosen. | |
| Jan 17, 2023 at 20:13 | comment | added | Ray Butterworth | “It would be disingenuous to assume that Mormon theology has no impact” — Could the same be said about Jewish theology for everything produced by MGM, or Warner Brothers, or Paramount, or Fox, or … ? | |
| Jan 17, 2023 at 20:11 | comment | added | Machavity | @novice You won't find any truly unbiased sources. Instead, I would suggest reading a broad range of sources. Ray's answer mentioned the bias index, but that index can sometimes hide biases as well. But something to consider might be good commentary from well respected Christian leaders. Not every Christian ascribes to the idea that the world will end in flames tomorrow. Those people can have good commentary and resources that your mother and entourage might find more palatable. | |
| Jan 17, 2023 at 20:03 | comment | added | novice | EDIT: I think it was actually Snopes which I used to fact-check this incorrect belief, not ft.com. But I still wonder whether a publication like CSM which is possibly more specialised in scrutinising restrictions to freedoms valued by conservative christians would be worse to reference in a discussion with my mum than a secular fact-checker like Snopes (and I am sure Snopes is much more in the crosshairs of political conservatives than CSM). | |
| Jan 17, 2023 at 19:48 | comment | added | novice | Thank you for the down-to-earth answer. Out of interest, do you then think it's better to engage specific incorrect eschatologically motivated beliefs (eg it's become illegal for Australians to grow their own food) with sources with no religious agenda eg ft.com? Even though ft.com might be taken less seriously on the topic of the freedom to grow food because it might be too apathetic toward the importance of this kind of freedom to some conservative christians? (I'm under the impression CSM is more keenly aware of and more serious in their reporting on this kind of thing eg shorturl.at/gNX45) | |
| Jan 17, 2023 at 17:51 | history | answered | Machavity | CC BY-SA 4.0 |