How do Christians respond in a Christ-honoring way to a world awash in division and hostility?
Welcome to the age of outrage, my friend. Who knew that technology would empower some of our worst attributes instead of our best?
Twenty years ago, we didn’t Google things on our smartphones. Now, it’s instinctual. We search the web almost without thinking, accessing literal libraries of information on virtually any topic faster than we can type the keywords. I searched the web dozens of times writing this one piece.
With today’s technology, we can communicate instantly and continuously, whether we’re facing a life-or-death crisis or just want to satisfy a curiosity. In the 1980s, American Express warned card users, “Don’t leave home without it.” Today, it seems we can’t leave home without our phones. Most days, I would more readily return home to get my phone than my wallet. We can — and feel we must — remain constantly connected with friends, family, co-workers and, well, the world.
Yet the devices that allow us to communicate with everyone anytime we want oftentimes drive us further apart. Technology has created interpersonal opportunity, but also depersonalized communication and conflict, dividing many of us from our neighbors.
The comments sections on YouTube are a greater testament to human depravity than all the reformers’ doctrines combined. Arguments, bullying, conspiracy theories, vitriol and irrational cesspools of misinformation and misdirection abound in our digital communication and marketplace. There is outrage everywhere — sometimes targeting Christians, but, unfortunately, often coming from Christians.
We live in a world where our beliefs are increasingly odd and even offensive. But, as Christians, we must allow the Holy Spirit to guide ...
from Christianity Today Magazine http://bit.ly/2XGfknO
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