Smash or Pass?
What if there was a difference between how we could be treating pornography and lust in the church, and how we do treat them? Because they were two sins, instead of the one sin we’ve lumped them both into for decades. Because each sin they were was one sin as opposed to, and separate from the other? Would treating them both separately look different than how we treat the mistaken one sin now? Would there be things that were omitted, missed, or even avoided if these were two sins and not one?
What if one was an idol we needed to smash and the other a situation we needed to pass on? And what if the jokes write themselves in the wake of a techno-savvy church?
Misbehaving on the internet.
In 2019 something unprecedented happened. And as the year transitioned into 2020, 96% of all churches moved their church services online. Churches that share a faith but have historically differed in practice in a myriad of ways to the point of religious tension and dispute for centuries. At yet, they all assessed and approved of online means to do what was historically an in-person activity. A practice as technical as any baptism tank, and as meaningful as any plate of bread or cup of wine.
Something prompted this ecumenical unity. And it wasn’t the Pandemic that highlighted its pervasiveness.
It was porn.
These are the real issues being intermingled with online worship as it's currently being present. And this hole to stumble down only goes deeper as not only live stream services are being lofted as legitimate but full-on virtual reality or videogame-based "Gatherings" as church.
Any church not being articulate and specific about how and what their online content is doing or what they want it to do, is playing with fire. A fire that will burn for years under the surface of our intrinsically tech-connected lives until something comes to cause a flare-up.
Understanding what those issues are and where they get their philosophical and technical underpinnings will be the key to any use of the internet by the church.
The Technological Survey And Commentary Of The Old Testament, (Genesis - Deuteronomy), is, like the first book in this series, a tool to build other tools.
Having now surveyed the Pentateuch for mentions of technology. Each verse and section has been carefully exposed and commented on, to showcase the full teaching of the holy scriptures, for the reader, as they pertain to the Christian, ethical, and theological understanding and use of technology.
Like the first book this volume seeks to give the reader the raw materials of learning so that the work of the Holy Spirit's conviction and instruction can be made evident, and not to provide an authority unto itself, by any means. The comments after the selected verses are more for my own benefit as the commentary’s author, than for the public per se.
But I hope and pray that what I've noticed and recorded can help todays pastors and teachers, to more fully grasp the Lord's intent for our use of technology. Both in the ministry and in Christian life.
The Technological Survey And Commentary Of The New Testament, is a first and foremost, a tool to build other tools. Having carefully surveyed the entirety of the New Testament for mentions of technology. Each verse and section has been carefully considered and exposed to bring the full teaching of the holy scriptures to light, for the reader, as they pertain to the Christian, ethical, and theological understanding and use of technology.
Unlike the modern trend and technique of using a computer or algorithm to find the closest match of a Bible verse, to any given search term. Here, what the Bible says about technology has been merely highlighted and commented on to give the student of God’s word clarity in place of convenience.
The end goal of this commentary, is to provide the rough material for a proper theology of technology. One not formed by the mediums of any given technology, but ready to expose them all to the gospel.
We're living in an age of constant movement. Our world is changing at the breakneck speed of progress as we become the most connected, most educated, and most information-saturated society ever to walk the world. And in the midst of this marvel, the church often uses new technological advances and practices before ever considering the theological implications. But what if there was a deeper purpose to the Internet? A reason behind our phones becoming ubiquitous. A plan for the tech and connectedness we often take for granted in our lives. What if God had a plan for your data plan? A reason for creating fibre optic high-speed internet and laptops, alongside the platypus and photosynthesis. What if the bad parts of the online world were opposed to that plan? Like porn, gossip and trolls on Reddit. What if there was a heavenly good to every laptop and smartphone in the hands of nine-year-olds and millennials alike? What if there were wrong ways to use the Internet as the church for ministry and worship? What if the way we are using the internet, social media, and virtual reality, as the church, is out of step with the scriptures? The first edition of this book was a playful if not foolhardy attempt to convince the church at large to consider internet-based ministry and find a deeper understanding of what the internet could do for ministry in the church. But after the 2020 pandemic, every idea in the first edition was tested. This second edition attempts to fix what was broken and correct what was wrong about the first. To show the results of those ideas being tested.