Posts
8/19/2012 08:11:00 AM
David Michels
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?
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?
