wfn.org | Editorial: Penning our legacy

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>      Taiwan Church News

>3047 Edition

>July 19~July 25, 2010

>Editorial: Penning our legacy

>Translated by Lydia Ma

In this ever-changing society, a lot of news and information come  and go much 
faster than our

ability to keep up with them. Though we have a lot of technology  on hand to 
capture them, we

are also well aware that every mean we employ is quickly replaced  by a better 
one within a few years.

In the end, all efforts in preserving information with the latest  technology 
may prove to be

useless years down the road. It is then that we realize simple  words may turn 
out to be the best

>way of preserving our legacies after all.

In this age of mass media communications and advanced  technologies, many 
people may be

led to think that writing or print media will eventually be  replaced by newer 
means of

communication and written words will therefore lose their power  over time.

But in retrospect, though television and radio may relay news  instantly and 
offer information

with vivid images and powerful sound bites that easily rouse our  senses, the 
audience

remains a passive listener whenever they tune in because  there’s no 
interaction with the programmer.

With reading and writing, there is a lot more room for  interactions between 
writers and

readers and such interactions can give way to new ideas. Hence,  despite 
technological

advances, we’re convinced that writing remains the most  powerful and creative 
tool.

Using the protest staged by farmers on July 17 as illustration, we  saw a 
bulldozer raze through

rice paddies in the middle of the night by order of Miaoli County.  The whole 
ordeal was

captured on film by media outlets and later incited righteous  anger on the 
part of citizens who

>sympathized with the plight of rice farmers.

We could say that those images served their purpose in helping the  audience 
understand the

collusion and corruption between officials and big corporations in  the halls 
of government and

>exposed the wickedness of both parties.

But if we fast-forward 10 or 20 years and review those images or  clips again, 
what will the

average person then think of them? Not knowing the full story  leading up to 
these images, will

people shake their heads, befuddled at what the fuss is all about,  and move 
on? Will they

relegate these clips as another piece of history that has nothing  to do with 
their lives?

Let me suggest that if this event had been written down, either in  the form of 
a report or a

short-story, readers would get a better sense of these  farmers’ plight and the 
whole picture

even if the incident had occurred 20 years before their time.

Written words can usually describe an incident more clearly, go  into detail by 
offering

background information, and even provide in-depth analysis at the  end. Readers 
who read an

article can draw inspiration from what they’ve read and form  new perspectives.

The Bible is the best advocate of the power of written words and  it’s the 
foundation of our

Christian faith. Though many people have endeavored to make into  film many 
stories

contained in the Bible, this old book has never lost its allure  and has 
continued to serve as a

foundation and inspiration for many works of art.

Furthermore, as we read the Bible and reflect again and again on  what we’ve 
read, we are

strengthened and encouraged anew. The amount of fresh revelation  we find each 
time we

read the Bible is mystifying and that is the why we say God’s  words are 
never-changing and

>yet always new.

Though PCT has always had communications ministries, we’ve  never emphasized on 
the

power of words and we’ve nurtured the habits of reading and  writing even less. 
Without

readers, it’s difficult to advance communications ministries.  So, let’s focus 
on promoting

reading and writing through penning our legacies in church  bulletins, church 
newspapers such

as “Taiwan Church News”, and other Christian  publications.

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Taiwan Church News is published weekly in Taiwan's local  languages.

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Visit our website for more news at: http://enews.pctpress.org/  (English)

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