Opinion: Christians Shouldn’t Shy Away From Journalism

The task that lies ahead for Christian journalists is huge. Not only are they in a field that further grows in hostility toward their faith and worldview, but they are also called to be heralds for truth in a world that seems to have completely forgotten such a concept. 

As described by the Society of Professional Journalists, a journalist’s job is to seek truth and report it. However, in order to do this faithfully and accurately, one must first have a solid definition of what truth is. Christians in the field of journalism are an unquestionable necessity, because their faith enables them to have an unwavering commitment to truth. 

During America’s beginnings, founding fathers saw the power good journalism had and thus recognized the need for such a discipline. 

Thomas Jefferson, when talking about the role of newspapers and freedom of press, said, “were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” 

Jefferson was well aware of the need for checks and balances, and, to his understanding, journalists possessed both the ability and the duty to provide them. 

However, we currently live in a society that scarcely believes in truth at all. According to an American Worldview Inventory from 2020, six out of every 10 adults would agree that “identifying moral truth is up to each individual” and that “there are no moral absolutes that apply to everyone.” This same inventory found that only half of those who call themselves Christians actually believe that God is the basis of truth. Unbelief in absolutes has plagued, not only those who reject God, but the church as well.

So, if there is no overarching definition of truth or morality, how does it then become possible to keep government, or anyone for that matter, in check? How can journalists even claim to know truth, which their career hinges on, if they refuse to define it?

This is why much of the journalistic content that is placed before our eyes today lacks objectivity and, more often than not, seeks to follow an agenda that seeks to further eliminate absolutes. This goes to demonstrate the urgent need for journalists that have a solid source for truth and who are willing to vouch for it. 

Marvin Olasky, in a piece published by WORLD, says that Bible-believing journalists are watchmen of bad news and tellers of good news. In his article, Olasky points out that Ezekiel 33 “lays out the calling of those who watch for trouble: “If [the watchman] sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people, then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.” 

According to Olasky, a Christian journalist is given the crucial task of discerning the times and showing the challenges, something that becomes virtually impossible if no concept of absolute truth is applied to the events that surround us. Therefore, it is clear that the responsibility placed on the hands of Christian journalists is an important one, and a weighty one, too. 

Christian journalists know the truth about God’s created world: how we fell, how we have been redeemed and the hope we can find in Christ. That is why, as Olasky put it, a Bible-believing journalist must “report on brokenness and renewal in culture and education, in communities and families, in church and state.” Only those who know truth can rise up to this challenge and fulfill it faithfully. 

Rosa Elias is a Social Media Manager. Follow her on Twitter at @rosaeliasnajri.