When computers first came online, who could have predicted they would become gateways to seeing anything that can be seen, hear anything that can be heard, and learn anything that you want to learn through the internet. Who could have foreseen they would be fused with cell phones and be on our persons all the time or on our wrist so that whatever you want to see, hear, and know is at your fingertips.
The paradigm shift created by modern technology has not only affected the secular world, with us ordering products on websites and calling food to come to us via apps, but it has altered the Church in profound ways. Its not just the giant screens and projectors in Church sanctuaries, but how we now operate and live as Christians. Once upon a time a pastor or priest would teach something and you had to pour over your Bible and memorize it to see if it was true or false teaching, now you can look up the sentence said by a teacher on a search engine which can point you to a wikipage, article, and etc telling you that the doctrine the teacher has taught is Origenism, then you can read about Origen instantly on britannica.com or a website, and not have to read a 100pg book on his ideas, you could even watch a video that summarizes Origen’s errors and breakthroughs. Within no time you can jump from a sermon antidote to its source and whither its Scriptural or heresy in almost seconds. This makes it easier to spot and stop false apostles (2 Corinthians 11:13), false teachers (2 Peter 2:1-22), false prophets (1 John 4:1), and false christs (Matthew 24:24), because the speed at which you can test the information you’ve been taught is at hyperspeed; no longer do you have to go to a library to find a book on Origen or britannica volume O or go to some other scholar and have to trust he ain’t a Origenist hiding the follies of Origen. You can check the source yourself in seconds, and that is a huge breakthrough for Christianity, it was a major blow to religious control and deceivers when The Holy Bible became available in the languages of common people (German, English, and etc) than Latin, but then add the internet and you can look up the false teaching’s origins and the Scriptures that refute it in separate tabs/windows! Anyone can become an apologist now! Able to look up a subject in Scripture and test the teaching they heard. It is astounding! Technology has made Sola Scriptura stronger, because it equips people with tools to refute the doctrines of demons in a fraction of the time it took other people before the internet.
That being said its not substitute for memorizing Scripture and knowing The Bible. Because you have to know how to rightly divide Scripture, navigate perceived contradictions, and understand context. The internet can arm you like a soldier with a pistol and knife, but truly memorizing and studying Scripture, committing God’s words to your heart and mind gives you a rifle, rocket launcher, and more.
The flip side of this powerful technology we wield is that the gullible, insecure, emotionally hurting, mentally unstable, and simple minded can be deceived by a sea of deceptive articles, videos, propganda, apps, and more. To quote someone, “the village idiot was known by the village, and no one listened to them, but in the age of the internet, the village idiot has a plateform, a polished website, a pod cast, and can come across learned, stringing their foolery into a appetizing byte.” Thus it behooves us as Christians to teach those more easily beguiled how to use discernment, fact check, and wield Scripture to not become deceived.
Technology has torn down barriers of geography. Once upon a time you had to get on a boat like the Apostle Paul to preach in Spain (Romans 15:24) or fly on jet to be a missionary, now there is cyberninistry, where you can be a cybermissionary and cyberapostle to nations in comfort of your own home’s office computer or from anywhere via smartphones, tablets, and etc. It has allowed people freedom to preach, and reach people from entire different countries in seconds! No longer does an epistle or sermon need to circulate over months, it can be copied and pasted and shared on social media, email, text, and etc in a heartbeat! Again hyperspeed!
A result of this has lead to digitalizing of our faith. Our Bibles are on our phones, chatting with Christians on Discord, attending church service via video, and more. There is even apps for perpetual Gregorian Chant, Luther Hymns, digital chapels and crosses, and even video games of faith! Its a whole new age, where people can live stream a bible study, carrying on a Christian radio or podcast from different parts of the world as if all speakers were together; their faces side by side on the monitors and voices echoing from speakers.
I cannot help but wonder if this is a Fulfillment of Jesus’ words, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12). Greater because the ease, speed, and access to the Truth is seconds away rather than days or even years! Its all flying faster than the speed of sound to your fingertips!
As great as this is, there are some things you cannot substitute. Gathering together as Christians is not the same on screens as in person. We crave and need human contact. God’s presence also is manifested differently at a meeting in person than on screens, its why people flock to Asbury KY where the revival broke out or go to holy sites like Golgotha in Jerusalem. Nothing can substitute being present with other saints and moving in The Spirit’s presence together. And as much as I use and love using my Bible apps and Bible Hub, and BibleGateway to look up Scriptures, nothing can replace a leather bound Bible that lets you touch God’s words printed on paper and lets you unplug as you read the gospels, epistles, prophets, and etc. There is also the concern at the rate modern bibles are being changed and how its paramount to have physical copy of a 1977 NASB, King James Bible, and anything pre 2010. The technology is a tool and it is making ministry lightning speed, and the access to knowledge is unprecendented in human history, but keep in mind that it has its place, and being present with brothers and sisters in person and having your own study away from screens have incredible value and cannot be discounted. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment