Luke Taylor Student Choosing 2 A Bold, Embraced Contribution

Mass communication is a very important part of life that plays a huge role in how we go about life and interact with others. In Simonson’s (2010) Refiguring Mass Communication, I have learned that Sarnoff, Paul of Tarsus, and Whitman have all played a significant hand in the evolution of mass communication and its present function in life today. Paul of Tarsus broke huge barriers with mass communication by the way he did not conform to the formalities of the world in which he lived. Because of his bold actions he had huge ripple effects on how mass communication is viewed today and choose to live the various lifestyles humans live.

Paul of Tarsus showed that communication does not have to be limited to a specific group of people. He was able to break down a huge barrier by showing people that mass communication can play a role amongst all different types of people regardless of their background or differences in their beliefs. In fact, Simonson (2010) talks about Paul’s boldness and says that Paul was “willing to address all, regardless of language, ethnicity, religion, economic class, gender, or social status” (Reconfiguring Mass Communication, pp40). By the way he pulled away from the majority and looked past representations that people set up for themselves, it was very evident that Paul was willing to risk a lot when he made his bold claims about breaking down the divisions already set. Furthermore, at that time, it was rare to take a stand for change but unheard of for that specific change to be targeted towards the subject of religion. In addition, Paul went even further in his leap of faith by intervening in the controversy of Jews and Gentiles. During Paul’s time there was a concrete division between the Jews and Gentiles no one had ever questioned.  In fact, Simonson (2010) states that “good Jews worked to maintain a kind of purity- through distinct dietary regimes, celebration of weekly Sabbath, and circumcision of the penis- that both defined piety and kept the group intact and culturally distinct” (Reconfiguring Mass Communication, pp33). The division between Jews and Gentiles is something most would have thought to be unbreakable because the Jews’ belief was not only based on how they went about the day of the Sabbath but was a lifestyle to them. With that being said, it would be absolutely crazy to step up to them and demand that they change their lifestyle; however, Paul saw a different vision; one in which the “Body of Christ became a mass medium for a distended society of the faithful, a medium that put them (Jews and Gentiles) in communication with one another as interrelated members of the same corporate body” (Reconfiguring Massing Communication, pp53). Paul was able to see past the majority and was determined to spark a change that needed to happen in order to further the body of Christ. Because of that spark and vision, he was able to change history and also influence mass communication. His influence showed people that mass communication can affect everyone no matter the division that previously exists and to this day has been seen through many different forms of communication throughout the world.