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Writer's picturePaul Condello

Common Ideas And The Narrative

There are many ideas that are commonly found in conversations in different contexts across society.


This is part of the story or narrative of the time.

Christians, especially younger Christians, want to recognize that there are many ideas in society that seem normal because they are so common but in fact run contrary to a Christian sense of goodness. These are among the popular ideas that are found in a society at a given time that are reflected in personal conversations, talk at work and school, the news, various forms of media, and art. This is part of the story or narrative of a time. However, Christians want to recognize that many ideas in today's story run contrary to Christian insight and since the story also belongs to us, we have a right to write and rewrite part of that story for ourselves and anyone else who wants to read it. We don't have to accept the ideas we hear as right and repeat them ourselves just because they are so prevalent.


Common ideas involve negative portrayals of parents in media, as they are often painted as ignorantly telling children what to do. Religious people are often talked about or portrayed in media as hypocrites. Despite the freedoms it affords, capitalism is often referred to with contempt. The elderly are often discussed and portrayed without a shred of the respect they should be shown for everything they have endured in life. People who are grateful for what their country offers are often seen as jingoists and people who have a sense of right and wrong are seen as overly moralistic. These ideas are often exaggerations of former criticisms that have been flung out of proportion over time and transformed into general biases and stereotypes against large groups of people. These biases and stereotypes have also been promoted intentionally by people who have desired to subvert Christian morality.


Christians need to be mindful of what is going on because people find normalcy in what they see and experience around them growing up. Those ideas are common today in speech and media, so a Christian can easily find themselves saying what everyone says around them. However, Christians who realize what is going on have a right to tell others to alert them to the distinction between what is commonly said today and what is contrarily based on Christian philosophy. That gives more Christians the chance to start adding to today's story based on a genuine Christian perspective, and it is a story Christians believe is based on a truer sense of fairness, equality, and kinder treatment toward all people.






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