Theology Thursday: Stop Reading the News

Welcome to Theology Thursday! Theology is the study of God, his relation to the world, and our relation to him. I hope these newsletters help enhance your faith and deepen your love for God and his people, the church.

Pastor Brady's thoughts:
In his short but provocative book Stop Reading the News, writer Rolf Dobelli makes a simple but challenging claim: constant news consumption is not making us wiser, better informed, or more engaged—it’s making us anxious, distracted, and spiritually thin.

Due to social media and the 24-hour news cycle, the amount of information we now know about people and events we have no personal or geographical connection to is overwhelming and bad for us. We were never intended to constantly worry about things halfway across the world we cannot influence or control; yet we do, and it’s harming our mental health, our relationships, and our view of the world in a way that previous generations didn’t have to contend with on anything close to the level we do.

Dobelli isn’t saying that we should ignore the world or stop caring about what happens beyond our own lives. Rather, he’s asking us to be honest about what the modern news cycle actually does to us.

The first part of his argument is this: the algorithms and news shows elevate what is unusual, dramatic, and alarming, not what is meaningful or enduring. Planes that land safely don’t make headlines. Acts of quiet faithfulness don’t trend. There’s not more scandal and corruption and awfulness than before, it’s just that we’re much more aware of it now.

For example, America is a much, much safer country in terms of violence and crime than it was 50 years ago (the U.S. averaged one bombing every four days in the 1970s!), but surveys and polls show that most people think the opposite is true. Our media consumption has severely distorted our perception of reality.

As Dobelli puts, “The news is to the mind what sugar is to the body.” Meaning, it’s immediately stimulating, briefly satisfying, and ultimately unhealthy in large doses. Over time, this steady diet trains our minds to live in a state of low-grade fear and outrage. We begin to feel like the world is always on the brink of collapse—even when, statistically, many things are improving. The result is not wisdom, but worry.

Second, Dobelli challenges the idea that staying “up to date” makes us better thinkers or better citizens. Most daily news, he argues, has very little long-term relevance. Tomorrow’s headlines replace today’s, and last month’s breaking news is soon forgotten. We spend hours absorbing fragments of information that don’t help us make better decisions, love our neighbors more deeply, or grow in Christlike character. To put it directly, following the news incessantly is spiritually de-forming.  

This kind of shallow information also crowds out deeper thinking. When we’re constantly interrupted by alerts and headlines, we lose the ability to read, reflect, and pray attentively. Dobelli notes that the news trains us to skim rather than contemplate, react rather than discern.

Third, he points out that news consumption often gives us the illusion of action. We feel informed, even morally engaged, simply by knowing what’s wrong in the world, or making a post about it on Facebook. But knowing is not the same as doing. In fact, the flood of information can leave us feeling overwhelmed and powerless—aware of many problems, but equipped to address none of them well.

Dobelli’s proposal is surprisingly practical: stop consuming daily news altogether, or at least dramatically reduce it. Replace it with things that actually shape wisdom—books, long-form writing, thoughtful conversations, and focused work. Pay attention to what directly affects your responsibilities and relationships, and let go of the rest.

For Christian, this message ought to resonate deeply. Scripture calls us to be “watchful” and “sober-minded,” not perpetually alarmed. It invites us to fix our minds on what is true, honorable, and lasting. Dobelli isn’t offering a spiritual rule, but his insight echoes an old truth: what we give our attention to shapes who we become.

In a world that profits from our distraction, choosing less noise may be an act of faith in that it causes us to more fully place our trust in God. The Bible calls Jesus the “rock” of our foundation - everything else is sinking sand.

P.S. If reduced news consumption appeals to you, I recommend subscribing to The Pour Over. It’s a news email that hits your inbox every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and highlights the most important national and international news, while offering a short Christian perspective on what’s going on. It’s calm, non-sensationalist, and less biased and partisan than any other news source I’m aware of. The Pour Over compiles just three or four of the most relevant stories each email, rather than the hectic feeds of endless “news” we get everywhere else. And it’s free! I’ve been a subscriber for a couple years now, and really like it.
 
TO KNOW GOD AND TO MAKE HIM KNOWN!
- Pastor Brady

Have a question for Theology Thursday? Send an email to office@minierchristian.org and we'll respond, or we'll include in a future Theology Thursday Buffet.