Retrospect 2025: Christians cannot do without good reporters

Let's have a quick scan of this year's news in Europe:

• Donald Trump returned as President of the United States in January. Although the US are not Europe, this event had a substantial impact on our continent too.
• There was the ongoing war in Ukraine and the NATO summit in the summer, which agreed to better defence against Russia.
• The war in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas also had a massive impact on Europe, including on Christians.
• In the US, the activist Charlie Kirk was killed. In Europe, he was mostly known among young people. But after his death, he was accepted as a sort of apologist among right-wing Christians. This also led to much debate about the relation between politics and faith.
• In many countries in Europe –and in the European Parliament– there were political debates about abortion legislation. There is no doubt a tendency towards liberalisation, in reaction to the repeal of Roe vs Wade in the US in 2022.
• There are stories of a renewed interest in the Christian faith, both from many European countries and from other parts of the Western world. Also in war-torn Ukraine, some Christians are seeing a small revival.

Most of this news would have remained unknown to us if we had no professional news media that brought this information to us. Also, for those journalists who have been active in reporting, most of the information they have comes from other sources and not from direct observation. We need others to bring the bits and pieces to us so that we can fill in the whole picture.

In news reporting, journalists play a key role. They smell, hear and see things and make a report out of that. A report that gives us an update on how the world is changing.

Observation

Observation is never moral-free or neutral. Our observations are directed by what we already know. If we don't know anything about paintings, it would not be easy to recognise a scene on the wall as a painting. In other words, you can only recognise something that you know already. Obviously, with a bit more knowledge, you could discover that this specific painting is rather a good one.

This is why a Christian sees news differently

06-11-2025

This is also true for journalists and news media. As a journalist, you report on debates in parliament because you think they are important. Why they are important is sometimes tricky to say. Based on your experience, you might sense that they will have an impact on future developments in the political sphere. Or this importance is a judgment based on your moral outlook on the world. However, in both cases, the assessment is based on something that comes before your observation.

Worldview plays a crucial role in journalism. This can be a materialistic worldview, which is leading many of the secular media. But this can also be a Biblical worldview.

A reporter with a Biblical worldview sees the same basic facts as the election result or the parliamentary vote, as its secular colleague, but it might handle these differently. This difference stems from a different outlook on the world. From a Christian perspective on the news, importance may shift to other issues.

This worldview not only plays a role in reporting about news events (or perhaps incidents), but also much more so in covering larger developments. What are the trends in Europe? As soon as you go to assess those, you immediately rely on a broader ethical framework that is active in your brain.

## Citizenship Christians in present-day Europe are citizens of this world. Of course, their citizenship is in heaven if they truly believe in Jesus Christ. But still, they have a responsibility here. And for that responsibility, they need to be informed about what is going on.

Coming from this background, let's pray for good Christian journalism in 2026. Not to change the facts but to recognise the right things and to report them properly.