We run our website the way we wished the whole internet worked: we provide high quality original content with no ads. We are funded solely by your direct support. Please consider supporting this project.

72224228_a541af6831

When Technology Becomes an Idol

Our dear friend Bruxy Cavey wrote this reflection on how technology can contribute to spiritual apathy. Has technology replaced God in ways you may not have noticed? It’s good to “unplug” on a regular basis to reconnect to the real source of our LIFE.

From the article:

  1. The Internet robs us of our sense of our own ignorance and limitations. Space for questioning and pondering is replaced by immediate fact-finding. We feel like we possess the power of gods.
  2. GPS robs us of any sense of being lost. We always know where we are and how to get to anywhere we want.
  3. Mobile Phones make us feel always connected, mediated through our personal screens. Time to be just ourselves, alone with our thoughts, has evaporated.
  4. Credit gives us the power to get what we want when we want it with, in the short term, apparently no cost to us. The world is open to us, wanting us with open arms (well, wanting our business anyway).

In short, we feel… sufficient. Some people would argue that this is a good thing, allowing technology to ween us off our outdated God-dependency. But what is ancient is not always outdated, and what is contemporary is not always the better version of ourselves.

Image by Matthew Clark. Used in accordance with Creative Commons. Sourced via Flickr.

Category:
Tags: ,

Related Reading

Poor and Black in America

 Marco via Compfight Drew Hart is someone with a rare voice. I’m sharing the bio from his blog in its entirety because I think knowing some of his story gives authority to his words. Drew Hart has been shaped by both Black Church theology and Anabaptist theology. Drew was raised in an African American Church…

How should Christians respond to Near Death Experiences?

In a recent Q and A session about the book of Revelation, Greg Boyd and Paul Eddy answer a question on How Christians should respond to claims of Near Death Experiences. You can view the entire Q and A HERE.

The Politics of Jesus, Part 2

Even in the midst of politically-troubled times, we are called to preserve the radical uniqueness of the kingdom. This, after all, is what Jesus did as he engaged the first century world with a different kind of politics (see post). To appreciate the importance of preserving this distinction, we need to understand that the Jewish…

How to Overcome the Flesh Mindset

Unless you have taken intentional steps to change, the way you presently experience yourself and the world around you was mostly chosen for you, not by you. Think about that. You inherited a way of interpreting the world. Your brain has been in the process of becoming programmed by factors outside your control from the…

Jesus Feminist

http://youtu.be/FBYELPZmdL4 Sarah Bessey’s book Jesus Feminist releases today. We’re so excited for her and for anyone who gets to read this book. She is first, and foremost a disciple of Jesus, and her embrace of feminism is inextricably wrapped in her identity as a disciple. Here’s a little snippet of something she’s written that beautifully…

Approaching Chronic Illness with Wisdom

CNN posted this article on what to say and what not to say when someone you love is suffering with chronic illness. Sometimes our best intentions cause more harm than good, and we need to approach people in pain with a great deal of wisdom and sensitivity. From the article: When people we care about…