Christians exhorted to engage in media to counter 'false prophets'

Media is one of the greatest influences in the modern society. But in India, it tends to be a "false prophet" simply because Christians are not doing enough, warns Rev. Dr. JN Manokaran.

Speaking at a writers' workshop in Mumbai earlier this month, Manokaran, compared the role of media in democracy to the prophets in Old Testament who boldly "confronted kings, decried oppression, condemned sin and denounced idol worship".

"Proclaiming truth and exposing false is a mission in which all Christians should be involved in. There is a negligible presence of Christians in the mainstream media which has given way to false prophets facilitating traditional hierarchical power structure rather than speaking on behalf of the under-privileged," said Manokaran, who heads the Trainers of Pastors International Coalition (TOPIC) in India.

He presented God as a writer who 'commanded' and 'inspired' people to write. "The Ten Commandments is a perfect example. It shows His style of communication with humanity. The Bible itself was written by 40 authors who were inspired by God to write. "

Manokaran highlighted the need for writers to be the conscience keepers of society who can "rebuke, warn, lead, guide, comfort and edify people by their words."

Further, on Christian writing, he shared how Christians brought spiritual and social transformation to millions of people around the world. "Christian writings have changed the paradigms of people. Demeaning practices like 'sati' – burning of widow along with the funeral pyre of dead husband – ceased through the writings of William Carey. Democracy, value for each individual and hard work is some of the Protestant ethics that gave direction to the Western world," he informed.

He added: "Christians challenge the society to move forward. Christian writings based on Scripture have become the bench mark for reference on all moral issues. They offer hope of better future to the demoralized society."

Manokaran, who contributes to several magazines and journals, urged aspiring writers to have a "compelling vision to kick start the process of transformation" and "passion to accomplish things".

Adding a word of caution, he asks Christians not to only write to an audience comprising of Christians but also meet the spiritual needs of the secular, educated and elite.

"By far the most books published by Christians are for Christians, and only a minuscule portion is suitable for evangelistic use. Like Luke who wrote to non-Christian official Theolphilus in the Roman Empire in the form of Gospel of Luke and Acts of Apostles, Christians are called to write and communicate with people of other faiths," he said.