Many social commentators warn us of the dangers of media overload. We have so many messages and so many digital devices vying for our attention that sometimes we can’t think straight. Some saw this coming.

I was reminded of that when a staff member recently read from the preface of Neil Postman’s book, Amusing Ourselves to Death. He was talking about the difference between two books warning us of the future: George Orwell’s book 1984 and Aldous Huxley’s book Brave New World. Here’s what Postman said:

“What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance.”

“Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture. . . . In 1984, Orwell added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we fear would ruin us. Huxley feared that what we desire would ruin us.”

Postman concluded by saying that his book was “about the possibility that Huxley, not Orwell, was right.” And he was correct. While there is certainly a real fear of government control in many totalitarian countries, our greatest threat in this country comes from the freedom to fill our lives with information so that the truth “would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance.”

I think this poses one of the greatest threats to the gospel. The Bible and biblical truth have become just one of many ideas in a sea of worldviews.