Technology and stuff

I need to redo my notes for preaching tomorrow but it's too hot just now. So I'll attack it in an hour or two when the sun has gone down at least a bit !

Meanwhile people have been talking about technology. Tim Challies thinks we should avoid using electronic Bibles and describes the book as the perfect technology. Al Mohler tweets using twitter. I only use Twitter to update Facebook - don't ask me why I do it like that, someone persuaded me to. Anyway I am looking forward to when Youtube, Twitter and Facebook merge to form YouTwitFace.

I confess to missing my Palm pocket computer. On it I had several Bible translations together with various Bible commentaries, some great Christian books, including the Institutes and lots of Bunyan, and I regularly read novels on the Palm. I could compare translations so easily ! Not only that but a program taught me French conjugation and tested me. I miss it a lot.

Why don't I still use it ? It broke ! I tried replacing it with a Windows Mobile device but they're not the same, you know. Also now that I use my mobile phone more I need the space in my pocket !

Christians are by nature conservative. We seem to instinctively fear new technology.

But should we ?

I would much rather live in the 21st century than any preceding one. Hey, at 50 I'd be a very old man in much of history whereas in 2009 50 is still pretty young ! Healthcare. Transport. Heating. Communication. In so many domains technology has improved our lives.

Not only that but the book itself is a relatively recent invention. Before the popularisation of the folded book, the codex, people used scrolls. Scrolls have an advantage over books. No page breaks.

However the portability of books was a huge advantage and then, once printing presses made them affordable, the technology brought amazing benefits.

Does anyone now doubt the God-givenness of the invention of the printing-press and the renewal and reformation that accompanied it and benefited from it ? Some doubted it then !

Books are great. My house is stuffed with them, but in my Palm I had a whole library in my pocket. The internet gives me many libraries at my beck and call. Sure you miss the smell and feel of the paper and the heft of a book in your hands, but guess what - we don't have to have page breaks any more ! And publishing is now so cheap and easy that many books can be distributed free. Many Christian publishers now distribute fine copies of their books free in pdf format. Bless them !

If God used the printing press to such grand effect what will he do for those people who embrace the new techologies and prayerfully use them for the glory of the Prince of Peace !