Visual Onslaught: A Diversion of Focus
Four weeks ago, fellow blogger Agent Tim and I teamed up to interview American expatriate and rebelutionary, Hans Guenther, regarding the persecution of homeschoolers in Germany (to read the interview click here). Thrilled with the quality of content in Hans’s answers, Brett and I invited him to write a guest post for The Rebelution. Please pay heed to the following, excellent, critique of modern man’s obsession with the superficial.
About the Author: Hans Guenther is a 19-year-old Christian homeschool graduate from southern Oregon. He has been living with his parents and four siblings in Germany for the past ten years. Now studying online at Troy University, Hans is also an assistant to his father, Richard Guenther, who manages German homeschool legal defense organization Schulunterricht zu Hause e.V.
Living in secular Europe for the past ten years has given me a great amount of insight into what lies behind the rapid secularization that is taking place in all of western culture. With immoralities on the rise, most conservatives would agree that, generally speaking, the western world has been heading down the wrong path. But few realize the complexity of our problem. Let us now examine an issue I believe deserves more attention.
Being confronted on all sides with television, movies, and photographs, we are constantly being forced to focus on everything and everyone’s surface appearance. Pop stars, movie stars, and models are screaming out at us: “Focus on outward things, desire outward beauty and acceptance!”
This contributes to a strong negative trend we have been experiencing throughout the past few decades: The focus on the surface rather than what is underneath – for Christians, the focus on the physical realm rather than on the spiritual.
These are not new problems. However, the inventions of the photograph and television have caused problems like these to escalate like never before in recorded history. By focusing on the surface, our eyes become dimmed to the inner realities that lie beneath it. People begin to
forget inward beauty and the spiritual realm. Love has become a physical infatuation rather than love in the biblical sense: selflessness with a focus on one another’s needs. As a result, relationships have become increasingly shallow. Selfishness has increased. Under these circumstances, high divorce rates come as no surprise.
While this diversion of focus is not the only factor in the high number of today’s failed relationships and marriages, it is undoubtedly one of the most underrated causes, as well as a leading factor in countless other of today’s problems.
Obsessed with outward beauty, women terminate pregnancies. Men commit adultery. Wisdom and knowledge, which used to be highly regarded by society, are now replaced by physical or outward appearances. Why should youth strive for wisdom and knowledge when it is propagated everywhere that hip appearance is all you need to be acceptable in today’s society? Subconsciously, we follow society’s lead – judging everyone by their outward appearance. This also plays a dominant role in today’s society’s worship of adolescence.
Voters are beginning to choose candidates based on their looks rather than their political agenda. This has been a growing trend in Germany, and is a logical outcome of our society. Politicians put a lot of time and effort into their physical appearance. Changes of eye color, make up, and hairdo are becoming increasingly popular among today’s politicians. Prior to the 2004 Vice Presidential debate, I laughed when the news showed John Edwards looking into a mirror adjusting his hair for over a minute. But is this really funny? It shows the importance our society is placing on outward appearance.
I admit that I myself am too often caught up in judging based on outward appearances. Of course, the outward realm is not to be altogether neglected, and photography is by no means wrong. However, the technological advances in photography pose a danger to the unsuspecting eye.
Unless Americans wake up to subtle, seemingly harmless assaults on our senses such as this one, our nation will likely continue on the same course that has all but ruined Germany and many other western nations.
Please take the time to consider the following questions and to share your thoughts with the rest of our readers:
1.) Nearly everyone would recognize that American culture, as a whole, is too caught up in the superficial. What about the Christians? How do you think this way of thinking has effected the church?
2.) Many people like to think that they are invincible to outside influences. How susceptible do you think the human mind is to the subtle effects of media and culture?
September 29th, 2005 at 1:00 am
1) As Robert Lewis Dabney said, the church is one step behind the culture. First, everyone laughs at an idea; then the culture accepts it; finally, the church accepts it. I think that is true in many situations, unfortunately.
2) Very. The very fact that advertising companies spend so much money researching the effects their advertisements have on the human brain shows how seriously the ‘professionals’ take this. Some examples: When I say “Palestinians,” what do you all think of? Arabs, right? If you watch the classic movie Exodus, which was produced in the 1960s, some of the Jews are referred to as “Palestinians.” Also in that movie, persons with whom you are only aquainances are addressed as “Mr.” or “Mrs.” We don’t do that anymore. There are sooooo many things that have changed, primarily because of culture. Why don’t we call the Israelis “Palestinians”? (Forget for a minute the origin of the name “Palestine.”) Don’t they also live in “Palestine”? Why don’t we address people as “Mr.” and “Mrs/Miss”? Change in culture.
September 29th, 2005 at 4:15 am
I thought I should mention, “The Tipping Point” by Malcom Gladwell, does an extraordinary job uncovering (among other things) the vulnerability of the human mind to outside influence.
I would highly recommend his book to anyone who hopes to start a movement, fad, or cultural trend.
September 29th, 2005 at 1:19 pm
1) Claiming a God invisible and who died on the Cross, I think Christianity is in itself a call to “inner” values. There is today not a penny of social recognition to gain being a Christian. For the best. Christians who look for God in their daily lives are naturally led to look for these values.
2) I think that the animated and speaking image is fascinating for all human being. Watching TV implies an apriori acceptance of this power of fascination, thus of the content. Christians should not watch television. Full stop.
September 29th, 2005 at 1:23 pm
wow! that is a really good post! I have dealt with the consequences of the german lifestyle this summer when my cousin came and spent a month with us so we could ’straighten her out’. It was not fun…! It seriously shows us that we need to turn our nation back to christianity!
September 29th, 2005 at 2:13 pm
I think your observations are very wise and on target. America is becoming a “fake” culture based only on looks. Anyone who is at all “different” is expected to change, or cease to exist. This trend does not bode well for those with disabilities, especially in light of the recent Terri Schiavo case here in the U.S.
God bless you for your youth and wisdom!
September 29th, 2005 at 5:24 pm
Excellent post. I seriously doubt that the problem of superficiality is greater now than it was in previous eras and cultures, but Hans’s thoughts are nevertheless a very good critique of the problems of this mindset and the ways that it is perpetuated in our current culture.
September 29th, 2005 at 6:28 pm
J, could I ask you to elaborate? From what do you derive that previous eras or cultures were as caught up in the superficial as today? I respect your position, but I have not seen any proof for that claim.
September 29th, 2005 at 6:42 pm
BTW, everyone, Hans just did an excellent job of respectfully asking J to provide support for her position.
Thanks, Hans.
September 29th, 2005 at 9:22 pm
Excellent post Hans! I definantly agree with you.
1) I think that some Christians are more caught up in trivial matters than others. In seeker friendly churches I would say that most of the focus is on things that do not really matter.
2) The human mind is exteremly sucepptible (spelling?) to the media and culture. It is very evident all around us. People will believe anything these days…
~Nella
September 29th, 2005 at 10:48 pm
Hans, I made that statement on these grounds: The tendency toward superficiality has its roots in human nature, not in culture, and human nature has not changed. We have a tendency to view ourselves and our problems as unique (both on a personal scale, and on a cultural scale), but pick any era in western history, and I can guarantee you that your chosen culture struggled with the same problem of superficiality. Two examples that I have recently dealt with: The Puritan society of Jonathan Edwards’ era, and the times of St. Augustine (as revealed in his Confessions). It is AMAZING how similar their struggles were to our own, despite the fact that Edwards is 250 years removed from us, and Augustine is 1500 years removed. Specifically, it is surprising how much they (and their respective cultures) struggled with superficiality. It is the specific manifestations of superficiality that change, but the tendency to superficiality is constant.
In seeming contradiction to what I have just said about the universal tendency to shallowness, I think there is simultaneously an equally strong and equally universal desire to get below the surface. Just like the tendency to focus on mere appearances, this desire for something of depth is present in every time and every culture, and it would be short-sighted not to recognize it in our own culture as well. This desire is evident in, say, a cursory glance through popular song lyrics, which often reveal a deep lack of fulfillment with the superficial and a longing for something more. From this, I conclude that you are right that we are superficial, but only partially right to imply that our culture is satisfied and content with this. Again, whether in the 5th century of Augustine, or the 18th century of Jonathan Edwards, or our own 21st century, there is something in all of us that wants something BEYOND the superficial.
September 29th, 2005 at 11:59 pm
I should have learned by now not to pick a fight with J.
On a more serious note, I wholeheartedly agree with you, J, that human nature has a tendency towards the superficial. As I wrote in my post, this is no new problem. The difference between today and previous eras is that today, we are bombarded with photographs, movies, television, and the list goes on. These things together with the mass media make our problem much more complex and far reaching than ever before. I do agree with you that man cannot be completely satisfied while living in a superficial state of mind. However, I believe that few people realize what is causing their discontentment, so how can they be expected to change? Trying to content themselves at all costs, most sink deeper and deeper into the traps that have in reality been the cause of their discontentment. Realizing that a problem exists is entirely different from realizing what the problem is, or how it can be solved. Escaping a problem such as this one is no easy matter but it is not impossible, else blogs such as The Rebelution might as well not exist.
I am confident and optimistic that, through efforts like The Rebelution, enough Americans will wake up to the problems we are facing, and stay the downhill course our nation has been on. In order for this to happen, however, Christians need to wake up and be the light of the world rather than following and desiring worldly things as is sadly too often the case among todays Christians.
September 30th, 2005 at 12:00 am
I’m not sure in precisely what sense you used the word ’superficial’ in your original question, but I would say that people are certainly more caught up in the material than they used to be. People tend to believe that the things they can observe with their senses are more real than things which are intangible. I think this consitututes supeficiality.
The supernatural, to most of those who actually believe in it, is more remote and less relevant than the material world that they experience with their senses. This is a tragedy, not only because it has resulted in an obsession with the trivial, but because it has distracted so many from what is the most real. Very few people have what could be considered an eternal focus anymore. It’s rare for people to make decisions based on the eternal, spiritual impact those decisions will make.
September 30th, 2005 at 12:23 am
I think you are perfectly right, Hans, that movies, photographs, etc. put a whole new spin on the superficiality problem. And that is why I acknowledged (originally) your post was a very good critique of the mindset and of the specific ways it is perpetuated in our culture. I also fully agree that discontentment with superficiality is not the same thing as knowing how to remedy it.
In other words, I don’t think we have any disagreement.
May 23rd, 2006 at 10:05 pm
Regarding question #2, I belive it says somewhere in the Bible that there is an enemy that marches to and fro over the Earth, seeking whom he may devour… Coming from a the generation who for the most part was brought up by a television set, I say we are extremely succeptible to the effects of media and culture. I still battle with the fact that when the TV is on, I can’t think of anything else to do. Ane there’s plenty that needs to be done. My husband and I just attempted a TV fast for the past few days and honestly, in the beginning I actually had withdrawal symptoms. I was very irritable and bored. It really taught me a lot about myself. I realized that when my mind is distracted by 100’s of different images per second, I absolutely cannot hear from the Lord. Even if it’s a seemingly harmless program such as Martha, or a remodeling show that I enjoy, I am still distracted with something that is less than the Word of God to me. And that just doesn’t cut it. The wise Dr. Howard Morgan once said, ” If you think you are above being deceived, you are deceived already!”
June 18th, 2007 at 10:44 am
Actually, Katy, Dr. Howard Morgan wasn’t the first person to say that. The Apostle Paul did. I’m not trying to be nit-picky, just saying.
November 1st, 2007 at 8:29 pm
Man! That was a VERY good post!! It’s saddening (because it is so true), and convicting for me. Thanks for posting it!
I think that that kind of thinking has even penetrated the Christian circle more that we would feel comfortable admitting. (Am I right?) I think that it has made us much more shallow. We are afraid to let people in to our churches, or even to witness to them, just because we are afraid of how they look or how they might act (and make us look bad).
And I think that even though we try to convince ourselves that (because we are Christians), we will not be affected by a certain movie, a certain website, or a certain TV show; but I think that if we are humble enough to admit it, they DO affect us, even if it’s only a teeny little bit.