In the coming weeks I am going to try and tackle some issues on this blog about technology, communication, globalization, emergence, postmodernity, orthopraxy, theology, et al…
Each discussion will be titled “bloughts on (fill in the blank).” I’ll try and at least publish one per week (on Sunday)… and if I get to feeling it, one on Wednesday. So consider this first post an introduction.
Global Bloughts…
I’ve recently finished a few books that have taken me on a journey from the origins of Christianity to the ramifications of globalization, all the while tracking the evolution of communication. I am trying to synthesize the information I’ve digested and the correlations between the three divergent opinions of how we got to where we are now, while also reconciling contrasting visions of where we will be (think 2025), especially as it relates to Western Christianity within postmodernity.
Why 2025? Well, simply put this date is the much anticipated end of Moore’s Law in the field of technology and storage of information (unless some other technology is invented). It is assumed that if Moore’s Law hold’s true a person in 2025 will hold a hard drive device in their hand that will be able to hold all of the world’s information which will take 85+ years to watch/view/read… 1
This is fascinating to me. It has been said that my Grandparents (G.I. Generation and the Silent Generation), have seen the most change from a technological/communicational standpoint than any other age group since the beginning of man. And while this seems to hold true, it is nonetheless staggering to look back on my own life and see the changes that have taken place, within the context of technology, communication, and globalization. Being part of the Cold Y Generation, who has seen (and remembers) the fall of the Berlin Wall, the fear felt during operation Desert Storm (part I), and has a cognizant memory of the Cold War, while also being an privy to the rise of the information age and advent of digital communication. My generation has a lot to think about, specifically, how do we communicate to the generations previous while also staying attuned to the the connectedness of the upcoming generations. For the first time in history there are three types of communication styles that need to be taken into consideration, Print, Broadcast and Digital… Is the Church responding to all three of these categories or is the traditions of the past standing in stoic opposition to new ways each generation experiences relationship and discipleship?
The heresy of the new. In Christendom the “new style” of evangelism/discipleship/ecclesiology is always labeled by the dissenters as ‘heretical’ and begins a excessive fundamentalist outrage against this new theology. But we forget that theology by definition is a conversation:
Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a god or gods, and of how that god or those gods relate to the world and especially to human existence; more generally, it is the study of religious faith, practice, and experience, or of spirituality.2
Theology is the study of how God relates to the world and our individual lives through the context of the culture we live in… it is not then a static, stagnant set of beliefs that direct our lives but a dynamic, living guide that is incarnational (relational). God is not theology, so this should not offend, rather it should free up our conversation and allow us to spend the next few weeks discussing our bloughts on God in the midst of this cultural emergence.
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1. Charlie Rose interviews Eric Schmidt CEO of Google
2. Definition of Theology found on WikiPedia.
No Comments on "global bloughts…"
To be honest, words like "emergent" and "conversation" have gained connotations of ambiguity and vagueness in my minds that I'm not particularly fond of. However, I think what you are speaking of as far as theological perspective is interesting but I also think theology can become too dynamic. By that I mean we must be careful how far we stray from fundamental truths about who God is and how He interacts with His creation. Granted, there is much about Christianity that needs to be seen as dynamic so that is can be changed immediately. Many aspects of Christendom are in desperate need for a shift of epic proportions. But, let us not confuse the practices of Christians with theology. The former must be willing to change in order to contextualize the latter without sacrificing it's integrity. You are a smart dude. Keep your thoughts coming!
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