Personal Presuppositions

This evening I went with a friend of mine to watch Jurassic Park in 3D. Nothing like giant dinosaurs running around in 3D and surround sound. Throughout the movie they were talking about how dinosaurs evolved, where they went, and how many years separated man and dinosaur. As a young Earth advocate, I would not actually agree with these precepts, however they were assumed in the movie and everybody on film seemed to agree.

This got me to thinking, do people believe this and then watch the movie, or do they believe it because it is on the movie? Not just this one, but so many others. On TV shows, the smartest guy isn't just an atheist; oh no. He is always the one who laughs condescendingly when there are any people of faith. (You will also notice there are never any normal Christian characters, just nut bags, or fakes or people who say one thing and do another.) So there we see that the smart people are all the ones who don't believe in God.

So what, you may say. Why do we care? Well, most people assume that the person behind the writing has done their research, and they are showing us the truth. Not so. Often we fall for modern propaganda here in our 'free' country as well. We assume that what is on TV is what everyone believes. Other people assume the same thing. So what soon happens is that people do indeed start to believe it, so that they will fit in with everyone else.

An example of this is the way people view police shows. So often on those shows, they have to keep a caller on the line. If they don't, they can't trace the call. In the real world, if you can make a connection, it can be tracked instantly, otherwise you wouldn't have a connection. 

Another example is TV medical care. The odds of recovering after getting CPR are 5%-15%. To give CPR you must check and see if the person is breathing. That they do. But you are also to check if they have a pulse. They never do. In order to be authorized to give CPR the person has to have no pulse and not be breathing. Basically, we would say they are already dead. Technically, they are. That is why the odds of survival are so low. But if you believe what they show you on TV, every thing from car accidents, electrocution, drowning, and a blow to the head can be solved by CPR. This is not the case at all. 

Why does this matter? Well the point is that we assume that what we are shown is the truth, therefore we believe that this is how it works. In the same way, we assume that the beliefs held by characters written by an author show what everyone believes, so we tend to believe the same thing as well. We must always be wary of the presuppositions of the people who wrote the show. We need to test everything and use our critical thinking skills. Not only with TV and movies, but also with our day to day activities that involve other people. We need to learn that we do indeed pick up whatever we are around. We need to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

In the end, wether you agree with the young Earth theory or if you subscribe to a old Earth, we must all remember to study what we believe and see if we believe them because they are true, or if we believe them because other people do. This applies especially to us as Christians. We need to realize that we must have a reason for our beliefs, not just build on the latest teacher or preacher. Also we need to realize that some things people will not let go of so quickly because it has been so ingrained into their minds by popular media. In the end, the only way to do this is by prayer and supplication.