Mayans, Dead Sea Scrolls, and Google

So it's Saturday, Dec. 22nd. The World is still here (assuming the world didn't actually end, and then was replaced with a replica by the white mice but that's another story.)

There is something about apocalyptic prophecies that fascinate the Western consciousness.  The most recent of course are Harold Camping's end of the world on May 21, 2012 (later amended to October 21st, 2012), and now the Mayan Calendar end on December 21st, 2012.  I would have thought after May 21st online interest would wane but December 21st generated an even higher number of Google searches.

When you start looking at the Canadian search data you note that we paid little attention to the May 21st prophecies unlike our American neighbours, but we were very interested in Googling December 21st. Alberta and New Brunswick folks were searching "The End of the World", Saskatchewan and PEI focused on "Mayan Calendar", and La Belle Province was looking up "Fin du Monde."

This week I also noted Google's new project to digitize the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Israel Museum. This will open up the study of the original texts to a new generation of Bible and Religion scholars.  Yes, we have had transcriptions and translations, but as my Old Testament Professor Gus used to say "Do you understand what the text actually looks like?  Do you see the shape of the manuscript?"  You can see hesitations in the script, erased characters, and even modified texts, that aren't apparent in transcription.  My imagination conjures up images of the ancient scribe as he painstakingly and reverently copied his scroll.  Hopefully, this digital archive will spark new avenues of research.  One popular text is The War Scroll (1QM), popularly known as "The War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness."  The scroll builds on Biblical traditions of the End of Days from the Old Testament books of Daniel and Ezekiel.  I don't doubt that this digital publication will also spark a new wave of interest in this text by amateur Biblical scholars and prophets; new fuel for the apocalyptically inclined.

The Internet is a powerful place to share belief, to engage with the faithful, and to ask difficult questions.   Speculation also runs wild here, tapping into our deepest fears.  We want to know what will happen next because we live in uncertain times.  I admit to uncertainties about my own future direction as I weigh life's decisions.  But on the big question "will the world be here tomorrow" that I can at least let go and not concern myself.  My faith puts me at ease that I do know, as the old hymn says, Who holds the future.  But I am fascinated with our quests online; we are hungry to know the unknowable.  Mostly we are going off on our own little pilgrimages, but occasionally our journeys overlap in a big way, as this week when we collectively tried to pull aside the curtain, and take a peek at tomorrow.  What will be the next nexus of faith online?

Photo credit: "Don't Panic", Patrick Hoesly, http://www.flickr.com/photos/zooboing/4637192255/

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Transliteracy: Technical term for "Its all blurry?"

Some people really get into theory. Their eyes light up as they ruminate on the theory of something something something. I'm a little thick and I find theoretical thinking difficult. But it is good for me. Right? Just no more reading Foucault (though maybe a little more Derrida for Louis-Charles.)

I have the privilege of lecturing at the School of Information Management @ Dalhousie.  I teach a course called Managing Information Literacy Instruction.  We explore how to equip people to engage with information: to know when they need it, to find it, to evaluate it, and to use it effectively and ethically.  I have students who are much more intrigued with theory than I.  One concept we have engaged with is Transliteracy defined as "the ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film, to digital social networks." This is the new dimension to using information.

I've referred a couple of times to Chris Helland's distinction between "religion online" and "online religion."  The former is comprised of religion information accessible on the internet, like most church websites that are not really interactive. The latter are online environments where religion can be practiced. This is not just about virtual worlds, but includes interactive elements like online discussion and prayer groups. Chris developed this useful distinction around 2000.
But religious online engagement has changed: social media is being rapidly embraced, the pulpit is becoming more visual, and on Sunday I'll turn to my Bible app, while the service streams to the world.  When I attended the Conference on Media, Religion and Culture 2 years ago there was already much discussion around whether the distinction between online and offline still holds.  They are bleeding into each other.

Now enter transliteracy.  Does format matter anymore?  Is the medium fluid?  Is text now text+?  In September I was able to attend the #Influence12 Symposium on Measuring Influence of Social Media.  Sessions ranged from "Facebook's Influence on the Egyptian Revolution" and "Data Mining as Social Research."  It was a fascinating yet unsettling symposium.  The online and offline bleed together, and whether we like it or not, new medias (twitter, facebook, pinterest, etc) are transforming how we interact with each other, on personal and global scales.

• The challenge for the symposium was to understand the power of that impact.  
• The challenge for my students is to equip our communities to engage with this new world.  
• The question for me is to understand faith lived out where the online/offline bleed together. 

 The theory hurts my head; the practice...well, I'll get back to you on that.

InfoGraphic http://pinterest.com/pin/176344141629601788/

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Gaga and Beiber out-tweeted by Religious Leaders

So God beats glitter!  I've blogged about my ambivalence about twitter but maybe I should take it more seriously.  The New York Times has published a story this summer about the popularity of twitter among evangelical leaders. It seems though Lady Gaga has many more followers (29 million and counting) "religious leaders show much higher levels of engagement."  It is simple math; they may have fewer followers but their tweets get much more mileage with responses and retweets.  In a head-to-head response/retweet comparison between evangelical Joyce Meyer and Lady Gaga for instance; Meyers followers engaged with her tweets 27x more often.  The Times survey was admittedly a small sampling of religious leaders and celebs but it is a intriguing way to measure impact.

A story was posted in the Facebook group "New Media, Religion and Digital Culture" (thanks Chris) that noted the explosive growth of the Dalai Lama's followers in cyberspace with an impressive 5 million Twitter followers and 4.3 million Facebook friends.  The article noted that 3 million Twitter followers were added in one year. His speeches are regularly posted on YouTube.  

So how do you measure online influence?

This week I attended the Influence12 Symposium and Workshop on Measuring Influence on Social Media.  It was a fascinating interdisciplinary gathering of information scientists, sociologists, computer scientists, business and government.  Great to see familiar faces and meet some new people.  I might not have paid much attention to twitter but others certainly have.  It was both fascinating and sober to consider how social media is mined and managed by celebs yes, but by big business and government.  Predicting the unpredictable and managing it has become big business.  I couldn't help but think of Asimov's Psychohistory: individuals' behaviours cannot be predicted but statistics applied to the behaviours of large groups of people can be predicted.  If we could track trends in social media, could we have predicted The Facebook Revolutions of the Arab spring?

Measuring online influence.  Influencers and authorities online.  Lots to think about. Yet somehow it seems far removed from the Galilean carpenter sitting on a hillside before a crowd of the curious saying "Blessed in the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

If you're on twitter you can follow the play by play tweets #Influence12 . 

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Only Milk from Christian Cows?

The Internet is world transforming/The Internet is soul destroying/The Internet is simply a tool.

Yes unarguably, yes possibly, yes qualified.

However you conceptualize the Internet, it has changed our culture in a myriad of ways both good and bad. I don't buy that it is a neutral tool. It is an idea imbued with values that need to be critically examined. Having said that, I live connected to the online, hopefully reflectively. Not everybody is comfortable with the possibilities. ChurchMag recently posted an ad for a new Evangelical Christian tablet called Edifi. Essentially this is an android tablet preloaded with a variety of Christian book and music apps, Christian radio app, Bible app (YouVersion), and a SafeSearch Browser.

The rationale for a Christian Tablet is suggested by a Bible verse in their promotional video: Romans 15:2 "We should help others do right and build them up in the Lord." So by providing approved Christian resources, and limiting access to inappropriate Internet content, this tool will edify (build up) Christians. The text quoted is part of the Apostle Paul's direction to Christians who were quarreling over religious rules (what foods were religiously acceptable to eat). He concludes that sometimes it is better for the person with stronger faith to limit their freedom, rather than to lead a person of weaker faith to do something that they believe (even wrongfully) is inappropriate such as eating certain foods. So the implication here is that it is better to limit our access to the Internet than risk shipwrecking another's faith.

My concern with that argument: when do the weak of faith grow up? How long can we stay secure inside the Christian bubble? Will we only ever use Christian tablets, laptops, and PCs?

When do I learn good judgement?

I understand the intent of the developers, and commend their desire to build up the Church. But I admit when I first saw the ad my mind went back to a song from the 1980s by Steve Taylor entitled "Guilty by Association".  Taylor was a very outspoken critic of what he saw as inconsistencies between Evangelical Christian culture and Biblical teaching. He used satire and the medium of pop music to make his point, back when Christian contemporary music was in its infancy. In "Guilty" he responds to his music critics:

"I have found a new utensil  
In the devil's toolbox  
And the heads are gonna roll 
If Jesus rocks
 
It's a worldly design  
God's music should be divine  
Try buying records like mine  
Avoid temptation, guilty by association"

The idea Taylor is resisting is that you can't use the Devil's tools (i.e. pop music) to do the Lord's work. The metaphor he uses to describe this attitude is that good Christians "only drink milk from a Christian cow" or might I add "only surf the web on a Christian browser." 

Is this the same thing? Am I being fair? Would you buy Edifi?

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Salesmen, Tribes, and an Overdue Crisis

Some days it is hard to keep doing what I am doing.  Librarianship is a difficult go right now; it can be a time of great opportunity for visionaries.  Alternatively many a library in this country will die, and librarians wearing sensible shoes will dutifully carry the caskets.  I checked my email this evening to find an ad for a textbook salesman.  It was tempting.  Do a Google search for the phrase "leaving librarianship" and you'll see I'm not the only one who has those days.

http://www.amazon.ca

I have been reading Tribes by Seth Godin.  I mentioned him a few months ago in a post about making leaders.  He argues that we are past the age of mass media and re-entering the age of tribes; specialized communities, linked through the the internet and new media.  New tribes need new leaders who can connect like minded people.  I like the quote: "The Beatles didn't create teenagers, they merely decided to lead them." Intriguing stuff.

I've been wrestling a lot with my own career path.  Presently I have feet in two work worlds: academia, where my worldview about people and information is being transformed, and librarianship, where I am engaged with people seeking answers.  There is a tension here; the two worlds don't talk to each other like they ought.  A wise friend has challenged me to "choose my tribe."  Professor or Librarian. Academic or Practitioner.  Then I think of Seth Godin's comments, and I wonder if there is another tribe to choose.  Perhaps a tribe of misfits like me.  Maybe a completely different tribe.

The tribe I want to belong to is terribly dissatisfied with the status quo in information-work, and desperately wants to change it.  I like Micheal Ridley's presentation blurb from the CLA conference "Is there a Crisis in Academic Librarianship?...Yes, and frankly it's about time."  Wish I could have heard that one. 

So where then do I find my local tribe?  I guess I need to ask around.  "Excuse me: Are you my tribe?" (On a unrelated note... for those Doctor Who fans out there: "Are you my mummy?")

Don't want to read the book? Here is Seth's TED presentation.

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Tweet the Good Word. #Amen

I'll admit I haven't really caught on to Twitter.  I have an account and I follow a number of others, much in the same way I follow blogs.  I do like the as-it-happens bulletins from the local news.

My hashtag would be #unconvinced.

Tweeting live events has become quite fashionable; most conferences I have attended in the past two years have encouraged tweeting.  Religious tweeting is certainly popular from the Pope, the Dalai Lama, or even TD Jakes.  Now the debate about sermon tweeting continues: Thou shall/shalt not tweet.

ChurchMag recently blogged a "sermon tweeting how-to" based on their experiences that I thought was worth sharing.  Check out the links at the bottom of the post to other viewpoints. 

Their post argued the need to think through your reasons for tweeting the sermon, and being intentional about what you are doing.  This makes sense but it also seems to fly in the face of the culture of tweeting as "stream of consciousness" and "point-in-time."  Also is it my experience of the sermon I'm sharing? I think this question is important as frankly most religious tweeting seems somewhat impersonal; scripture or sound-bites tossed into cyberspace.  Who is the listener behind the tweet?  What did the sermon do to you?

I was thinking about the sermon I heard today on Jonah chapter 2.  So which sermon tweet would catch your attention?

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The Theology of Information Seeking II

Question: "Do online information sources undermine traditional religious authorities?"

I had the opportunity to present one facet of my doctrinal research in poster form at the most recent APLA conference in beautiful Wolfville, Nova Scotia.  Not my usual kind of venue, but a fun conference.  The Internet is having a negative impact on congregational life and faith building some clergy tell me.  Google et al. bring a cornucopia of ideas and beliefs into our daily lives, that previous generations may never have wrestled with. 

So I explored that a bit through my interviews with church leaders (clergy, ordained or unordained lay leaders).  What sources are they choosing, how do they choose them, and what is the role these sources play in their roles as leaders and in their personal faith building?

I've turned the 48"x36" poster into a prezi for your viewing so the format/fonts are a little wonky.  (You can click the "More" link at the bottom right corner of the prezi to go to full screen mode, and use the arrows to advance the prezi.)  For those with shorter attention spans, my conclusion is below.

 http://prezi.com/4kunszqpfy1i/the-theology-of-information-seeking/

Answer: There appears to be little evidence in church leaders' information seeking that online sources are undermining traditional religious authorities.  This conclusion supports earlier research on religious bloggers who tended to support traditional authorities.  The role of these authorities is changing from key information source for information for religious purposes to a source of discernment of good or useful information.

Implications: If the sources and even the nature of information for faith building are changing, do churches then have an obligation to equip their members to be effective seekers and consumers of information?  Is there a place for information literacy in the local church?

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Canadiana Dave Rides Again!

Canadiana Dave II: The Apps of the iPad has arrived!

"Why yes, I use my iPad for data collection." I've had a few people ask me about my use of technology for research.  Frankly I have lots to learn yet, but I thought I'd share what I have discovered to date.  This is part 2 of 3.  Next Time: Canadiana Dave, The Books of Wonder.  WARNING: This video contains excessive corny-ness, but also helpful info.

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The Theology of Information Seeking I

I'm off to the Atlantic Provinces Library Association conference this week and will be presenting a poster on the Theology of Information Seeking. You can check out the APLA schedule (and my abstract below). More about the presentation to come...

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Telling Titanic's Story

This few weeks ago was the commemoration of the sinking of the Titanic.  Halifax held its own commemoration and my family attended the Titanic Evening of the Bells narrated by Gordon Pinsent.  We had to park about ten minutes away, as every street was filled with cars.  Grand Parade grounds were filled with curious spectators.  Key to the event was the various re-tellings of the disaster through spoken word, music, and animation: stories of the experiences of survivors, rescuers and those left behind we shared.  A strong emphasis of the stories were the experiences of compassion and heroism in the midst of such an overwhelming disaster.  Five years later Halifax would experience its own disaster and would be grateful for the kindness of Boston and other cities.

Storytelling is an essential means for people to create identities, and the Titanic disaster helped shape the city of Halifax.  I remember as a child in school in Dartmouth, NS we sang the folk song "It was sad when the great ship went down."  It might seem odd that children would be taught such a horrific song, and the lightheartedness of the melody seems incongruous with the lyrics. 

The song seemed to be a cautionary tale that warned against technological arrogance (perhaps like a "Tower of Babel" story), and certainly the idea of divine judgment occurs in the song. 
    When they built the great Titanic,
    They said what could they do,
    They said they'd build a ship
    That water could not go through.
    But God with His mighty hand
    Showed the world it could not stand.
    It was sad when that great ship went down.

A Titanic crewmember is quoted as remarking to embarking passenger Mrs Sylvia Caldwell that “God himself could not sink this ship!”  I don't believe God smites ships to make a point, but I also don't make light of the Almighty.

Why does this song and the stories that inspired it persist, especially in times when we could recall many more horrific disasters? Why is Titanic one of the world's best known ships?  I wonder if it is the moral story. 

It was a delicate balance to stage a grand commemoration without it becoming a shameless tourism event.  I did notice the shift in the story telling with this commemoration: the emphasis was on the heroism, and the compassion. Certainly worthy of remembrance and celebration.  We didn't hear much about the "unsinkable ship" or the moral story.  It is a different time perhaps, though it is a time when we have begun to see the dividends of our own technological arrogance.  I am a big fan of author John Wyndham (1903-1969)(Chrysalids, Kraken Wakes, Day of the Triffids etc.). A re-occurring theme in his apocalyptic writing is that the human race is simply not as brilliant as it believes it is, and that we will be our own undoing. Wyndham was also from a different time, but his warnings still resonate. 

A solemn remembrance.  May I learn from others' mistakes, and not repeat them.  May I learn to walk humbly with my God.

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