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Losing Faith in the BBCAn expanded version of a report presented to the General Synod of the Church of England in November 1999Auntie's religious bloomersLosing Faith in the BBC This is an expanded version of a report presented by the author to the General Synod of the Church of England in November 1999. No one, not even the BBC, disputes Mr. Holmes's contention that during the ten years 1988-98 the total output of BBC 1 & 2 increased by over half, while religious programming fell by over one third. Much the same kind of reduction is seen in BBC radio and in the independent networks. Clear warningThe book has some technical language, but its warning is clear for all to understand. About one third is taken up by useful appendices that amply justify the charge that religious programming is being marginalised, trivialised and diluted. We are shown that not only has the number of religious programmes and the length of time given them been cut down, but the remainder have tended to be relegated to unsuitable times and their budgets reduced. For example, the highly professional presenter Joan Bakewell left 'The heart of the matter' after 12 years because of neglect, budget cuts and ever later transmission times'. Again, Norman Stone, an evangelical believer, complained that a series of his productions had suffered from 'an ancient knee-jerk reaction that religion must be put on late because it won't attract an audience'. Also, during the period under review, the concept of 'religious' broadcasting has broadened to include material from non-Christian sources and embraces subjects that are little more than social, moral or psychological in content. In this context, Bible-based programmes are very rare indeed. So this book is, in effect, a plea for those trends to be corrected and Mr. Holmes makes his case very well. But we may ask if he is mistakenly expecting Christian attitudes from non-Christian people? There are sincere Christians in the media, but they are either committed to liberal, ecumenical, pluralistic views or their work is compromised by the policy of balancing a clear biblical presentation with other points of view, usually in unbalanced proportion! In practice, the best work by biblical Christian producers reflects the love and power of Jesus Christ in human experience. Elaine Storkey comments: 'If we have broadcasters and programmers who actually believe God exists ... the results will be different.' As it is, the effect of pressure might well be more religious programmes produced by agnostics and presented by personalities with dubious credentials. Evangelicals & AmericansMy experience in this field taught me that one of the major reasons for the BBC's aversion to 'evangelicals' is a paranoia about 'American' evangelists. They seem not to be able to conceive of any other kind of 'evangelical'. The same fear is one factor behind the Home Office's tight control of independent Christian radio or television stations in the U.K. Nevertheless, television and radio are part of the 'market place' in which we should be seeking to 'demolish arguments and ... take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ' (2 Corinthians 10.5). There is a great need for more biblical scholars with such good communication skills that programme producers cannot ignore them. Where are the biblical evangelical David Attenboroughs? Clifford Pond© Evangelicals Now - January 2001 |