Instant Access vs. The Gospel
Friends, you and I need to hear this. I've felt it for a long time... and this, coming from a laptop-toting blogger! First, you need to read this very short, little interview of Shane Hipps, author of the new book, Flickering Pixels: How Technology Shapes Your Faith. Second, you need to get the book, read it, and get copies for your friends. This quote says it all:"This culture is on an extraordinary pace toward needing things to be more efficient. But that is a value that is ultimately antithetical to the gospel."
Now, go read. You'll thank me someday.
I can see where people get caught up in their iphones, ipods, blogging, facebook, utube and whatever, but it is no different than any of the other things that distract us from what is important. I agree with him that wisdom takes time and discipline. It is a choice we must make to turn off the tv, computer (or too much reading what other people say! -- whatever the medium) to focus on prayer, study and meditation.
ReplyDeleteTotally,
ReplyDeleteThe thing that concerns me is that an entire generation is addicted to instant-access technology. There's long-term psychological (and spiritual) damage from it, not to mention the major academic problems it's creating for students across the country, due to lack of attention span. I think the broader effect that it has is the tyranny it exercises over our time: the more access we have to information, the more we are forced to know, which leads to epistemological burnout. Heck, I get stressed out by every new thing that comes along (e.g., twitter) demanding that I get on board or else "lose touch." Then there's the fact that maintaining 200 facebook relationships puts a strain on real relationships.
On the positive side, I think most new technologies have potential to be very helpful. I'm thankful for them, so long as they don't start making demands of me.