Recent news reports seem to confirm that American society is drifting downward when judged by biblical principles. What was unthinkable behavior a few short years ago appears to be the new norm. Actions the Bible calls sin a majority of Americans now say are acceptable.
Perhaps recalling the impact of repeated exposures to media violence on a person and on society will provide insight into why this downward drift is happening?
In a 2011 article, the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science reported, “The more children are exposed to violence, the more they think it’s normal. … Unfortunately, the more they think violence is normal, the more likely they are to engage in aggression against others.”
In a study titled Long-Term Effects of Repeated Exposure to Media Violence in Childhood, researchers Huesmann and Miller report, “The existing empirical studies do provide support for the conjecture that the current level of interpersonal violence in our societies has been boosted by the long-term effects of many persons’ childhood exposure to a steady diet of dramatic media violence.”
Huesmann and Miller concluded the relationship between exposure to media violence and aggressive and violent behaviors toward others is “statistically significant and substantial by the standards of personality measurement.”
A study by Susman and Shibley was more specific. It reported, “We know that exposure to violence is linked with aggression, depression, post-traumatic stress symptoms and academic and cognitive difficulties.”
In short, repeated exposure to media violence numbs one’s conscience to violent behaviors allowing one to tolerate aggressive behavior in others as well as to act aggressively and violently toward others.
Given the amount of media violence to which children have been and are exposed, is it any wonder that among developed Western societies, the United States for decades has scored at the top of most objective measures of interpersonal violence?
The impact of media violence confirms the corrupting nature of what the Bible calls sin. Like a moral whirlpool, once sin has a grip, it inexorably pulls an individual or a whole society deeper and deeper into itself. Jesus said, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light …” (John 3:19–20).
The deeper into the vortex of sin one goes, the blacker the sin seems to become because “men love darkness.”
Consider the nation’s march toward approving same-sex “marriage.” A study by Pew Research Center released in March reported 49 percent of the nation’s citizens approved of same-sex “marriage.” Opposing was 44 percent. In 2004, those opposed made up 60 percent of the American public and those favoring, 31 percent.
Few people question that the Bible condemns homosexual relations. But biblical teaching is not deemed an important factor in establishing social policy by many. Perhaps that is why 77 percent of religiously unaffiliated persons reported support for same-sex “marriage” in the Pew Research Center poll.
Among white mainline Protestants, support for same-sex “marriage” stands at 55 percent, an all-time high. Among Catholics, support has dropped from more than 50 percent in each of the last two years to 48 percent.
Support for same-sex “marriage” among white evangelicals has doubled in the past 10 years; from 12 percent in 2003 to 24 percent currently. Among black Protestants, support has grown from 15 percent to 34 percent.
In a paper titled “Portrayal of Homosexuality in the Media” by Adam Shapiro et al, the authors wrote, “The new century has brought about various changes to the growing world. Among the most talked about topics is the issue of homosexuality. … Perhaps the greatest reason for this is because of the rise of new shows on American television that feature gay individuals.”
The paper cites the media’s “immense impact on how gays are viewed” and the media’s power of persuasion that “has always shown throughout the decades.”
Does the power of media have anything to do with the fact that 70 percent of Millennials (those born since 1981) support same-sex “marriage” while Baby Boomers (those born 1946–64) have almost that percentage against it?
Another Pew Research Poll released recently brought more disturbing news. For the first time, a majority of those polled (52 percent) favored legalizing marijuana. Ten years ago support registered at about 32 percent.
Again no one seriously questions the results of smoking marijuana. Several articles in the Journal of the American Medical Association support the finding related in the article “Prevalence of Marijuana Use Disorder in the United States.” The authors reported, “As joints smoked per week increased, performance decreased on tests measuring memory, executive functioning, psychomotor speed and manual dexterity.” The studies found impairment even after subjects were off the drug for 28 days.
Still the recent poll found “support for legal weed (marijuana) use has increased across age groups, genders, education levels, ideologies and ethnic backgrounds … .”
Marijuana has been the most common illicit substance used in the United States for several decades. Almost half of Americans (48 percent) say they have tried marijuana at some point and almost the same percentage (50 percent) say smoking marijuana is not a moral issue.
Among Baby Boomers who came of age during the “Hippie Culture” of the 1960s–70s, support for legalization is about the same as it was in 1978 (47 percent in 1978; 50 percent in 2013). The anti-drug campaigns of the 1980s–90s have not stopped 54 percent of Generation X (ages 33–48) from supporting legalization. With same-sex “marriage,” it is the Millennials who provide the most support — 65 percent.
Among the array of drugs available today, marijuana is judged the least offensive. Enforcing laws against marijuana is said to be “too expensive.” For many, personal experience reinforces the conclusion that “it isn’t that bad.”
As with media, can experience numb the conscious? Can it cause the harmful to be called good and the dangerous accepted?
In the background of all the noise over these issues, evangelical Christians cannot help but hear the words of Jesus when He said, “Men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.”
The only way to overcome this darkness is through the Light that has come into the world (John 1:4). That Light shines in the darkness and invites all to come into the light and to live according to God’s truth.
Unless one comes to the light, that soul, that society, is caught in the inexorable downward drift caused by sin.
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