Truly, the goal is to put out the fire and reconcile us to God and each other.
But firstly acknowledge and look on the same page.
A Spark
Because all it took was one spark. One match, one flame, that set the mountains and the low lands ablaze.
Change with Challenge and Danger
Technological advances (while truly a blessing) have also brought significant challenges and even dangers. Where we once had too little information, we now have too much. It’s impossible for one person to sort through all the data points, opinions and facts, so we often end up relying on other people to interpret the information for us, telling us what we should and shouldn’t think.
Is It True?
But the challenge is greater than just identifying our biases or making sure we follow folks on both sides of an issue. Technology has also given us the ability to manipulate images and manufacture data so that it’s increasingly difficult to know if what we’re reading is factual or not. We have moved far beyond the question of “How can I get knowledge or information?” and ask, “How can I know this knowledge or information is true?” This makes for a combustible environment rife for disagreement, conflict, and fragmentation.
What is the spark that has set our world on fire?
Is it technology that has created a combustible environment.? Yes? No? The danger? While there is instant communication for most people at most times. It has made it easier for us to be terrible to each other. And that is something to mourn and resist (many tech-experts will tell you that was done on purpose). But the desire to be terrible in these ways, regardless of the environment, has always been smoldering within us. Our environment can only fan the flame of destruction because the flame is already there.
Hannah Anderson et al., World on Fire: Walking in the Wisdom of Christ When Everyone’s Fighting About Everything
No comments:
Post a Comment