Tag: technology

The Clairvoyant Text

Gary Pollard

You’ve probably felt distant from the scriptures at some point because of their archaic origin. If we’re honest with ourselves, it can be difficult to resonate with texts so far removed from our own experiences. We have aircraft that’ve operated in excess of 85,000 feet altitude, traveling at over three times the speed of sound. We manufacture mind-bogglingly complex things at a microscopic scale with ease. Robots perform surgeries. We can stare at the Orion Nebula, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Venus, and other celestial wonders in our backyards with cheap, mass-produced telescopes. Unfortunately, we also have weapons capable of erasing hundreds of thousands of lives in a fraction of a second. 

This barely scratches the surface, and anyone who likes to research the limits of human ingenuity knows that “DARPA1 is always about 25 years ahead of what the public is aware of.” The phones in our pockets are millions of times more powerful than the guidance computer that put man on the moon2, and even the AGC was lightyears ahead of anything a shepherd in antiquity could comprehend. 

We live in a world that feels, in many ways, totally disconnected from the one that birthed the divine texts we rely on for guidance and godly living. So what makes them useful, relevant, or invaluable? Their use of symbolism and their appeal to transcendent principles. It’s as if the authors of the New Testament were aware of the trajectory humanity would follow! Why not communicate using mathematics? We consider math to be the universal language — something that has its roots in vastly ancient times. But math can only reach a limited number of people: few can understand it adequately (least of all me). Instead, the New Testament writers employed stories, parables, and first principles to set up a system that would never be truly irrelevant. 

No matter how advanced our technology becomes, its principles will always be powerful. “Take care of the vulnerable.” “Love other people, even your enemies.” “Live like you’re going to stand before a judge after you die.” “Put the needs/desires/feelings of other people ahead of your own.” On a more concrete level, the New Testament speaks of earth’s impending destruction — a final one this time. We have the passage in Hebrews (quoting Haggai), “Once again I will shake the earth, but I will also shake the sky.” The geological record (and our own eyeballs) shows incontrovertible evidence of colossal destruction at some point in the past. Earth was repaired (cf. Ps 104), but is destined for complete destruction and final repair (cf. II Pt. 3). All of its messages have the same power today that they had millennia ago! 

The language of the New Testament can be understood by just about anyone, especially if using a half-decent, Easy-to-Read3 translation. That the New Testament doesn’t bog itself down with messages relevant only to the culture of the ancient world is a powerful evidence of a divine origin. There are other internally-consistent, well-attested ancient writings with seemingly-anachronistic scientific knowledge and profound philosophical principles — but these can only be understood after immersion in their historical-culture contexts and symbolisms. Few have the time, energy, or desire to do so. Even in their day, that knowledge was closely guarded, available only to kings, elites, or the initiated. The New Testament presents many of those same principles (without the baggage, of course) in language any truth-seeker can comprehend. The message of the New Testament tangibly alters the feelings, perceptions, and behaviors of its adherents in ways that only benefit everyone — if practiced without the interference of human traditions and bad motives. God’s word stands on its own and needs no assistance.  

So, the message of the New Testament remains as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago. Rather than feeling disconnected from it, we should appreciate its extreme value more than ever! It has never been more relevant to our world than it is now! Our “advances” have had an inversely proportional effect on our capacity for goodness. Only God can save us, and we welcome his return. 

You have to be aware of this: There are some terrible times coming in the last days. People will love only themselves and money. They will be proud and boast about themselves. They will abuse others with insults. They will not obey their parents. They will be ungrateful and against all that is pleasing to God. They will have no love for others and will refuse to forgive anyone. They will talk about others to hurt them and will have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. People will turn against their friends. They will do foolish things without thinking and will be so proud of themselves. Instead of loving God, they will love pleasure. They will go on pretending to be devoted to God, but they will refuse to let that “devotion” change the way they live. Stay away from these people!   

1 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Its former director (Lukasik) once said, “If you need a weapon system and don’t already have it developed, it’s too late.” 

2 I realize this is increasingly considered controversial. Whether man visited the moon or not, the AGC is a real component on a real spacecraft which can be viewed today at the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA. 

3  I’m not biased at all. 

“You’ve Got Mail”

I began preaching full-time in 1992 in a small west Alabama town near the Mississippi border. It was one year before Tim Berners-Lee released the code that became the world wide web, allowing images, video, and audio to be transmitted from servers to computers using existing phone lines. This was more commonly called “dial up.”

Neal Pollard

I began preaching full-time in 1992 in a small west Alabama town near the Mississippi border. It was one year before Tim Berners-Lee released the code that became the world wide web, allowing images, video, and audio to be transmitted from servers to computers using existing phone lines. This was more commonly called “dial up.” For the first three years of my preaching, I typed up Bible classes and sermons (if I didn’t hand write them) on a Brother word processor (it was a typewriter/keyboard attached to a computer monitor). 

Let’s just say that the past 30 years have brought a lot of change in the world of technology. During the ’90s and ’00s, email was king and texting was a complicated, time-consuming, and less desirable alternative. In those days, AOL was the emperor of email. Using a modem (Google it), your computer would connect through the phone and AOL would greet you with, “You’ve got mail” (if you had email). A 1990s movie by that title will give more context to what it was like.

Did you know that dial up internet access is still available? About 160,000 households in America still use it. But on September 30, it will cease. A critical chapter of internet history will be relegated to the museum of technology’s past, like the rotary phone (Google that, too).

I appreciate a few ways this illustrates the work of the church today. First, some changes are desirable and necessary. We can embrace new ways of doing things God preserved in Scripture (Matt. 9:17). As our elders are fond of saying, “We will think outside the box, but inside the Book.” Most of us embraced fiber-optics and satellite, then found dial-up tedious and time-consuming. Old truths can wear new clothes, so long as the truths are not altered (cf. Rev. 22:18-19). See Power Point, newly-written, Scriptural songs and hymns, live-streaming, etc.

Second, while what man creates, invents, and innovates is ever-changing, God’s Word is all-sufficient, timeless, and essential (2 Tim. 3:16-17; Matt. 24:35). No discovery will make it obsolete or irrelevant. It shall stand forever, a rock that cannot be broken or weathered by time or trends (John 10:35). See women’s role (1 Tim. 2:11-15), baptism’s role in salvation (Matt. 28:18-20), the nature of marriage (Eph. 5:31), marriage, divorce, and remarriage (Matt. 19:4-9), etc. 

Third, we should tenaciously defend and fight for truth (Jude 3), but we should take a different tack with tradition. We certainly should not elevate it to be on a par with truth. We must not put it above the truth (Mark 7:6-9). We should not strain relationships and fellowship over matters not “tied down” in Scripture (Romans 14). See Bible translations, modest, but less formal, worship attire, order of worship, etc. 

160,000 households are clinging to dial up until the last possible minute, but then it will be gone. Let’s avoid that spirit when it comes to God’s Word and His work. Where change does not violate God’s will, let us hold it as a matter of indifference. Where the change does violence to it, may we be found nowhere near it! 

Three Things That Will Rebuild Healthy Communication

Internet technology in all its forms has become such a helpful aid in so many instances. But as with every blessing, Satan stands ready to use it to undermine relationships, destroy community and civility, and wield it to wreak havoc on our mental, social, and spiritual health.

Neal Pollard

In 2024, Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist and professor at NYU, wrote The Anxious Generation: How The Great Rewiring Of Childhood Is Causing An Epidemic Of Mental Illness. While the book is written from a secular, evolutionary world view, it is incredibly insightful and masterfully observant of an extremely troublesome transformation many of us see happening in our world. An entire generation has reached maturity having known and used only smartphones and tablets, consuming the readily available and easily accessible contents of their virtual smorgasbord. This has radically reformed communication at the most basic levels.

Haidt points to four epidemic issues accompanying the mass retreat into the virtual world of a phone-based (versus real life) communication. Online communication is characterized by :

  • Being asynchronous–Not in real-time; Delayed (Building anxiety as one wonders why the other is silent or non-responsive)
  • Lack of embodied signals–Emojis and likes instead of facial expressions and body language (an inadequate substitution)
  • Performative interaction–Posts that perform, project perfection, and are artificial instead of honest, genuine intimacy.
  • Social comparison–Interaction built on comparison which devastates one’s own self-esteem and self-worth

In so many cases, we have lost the ability to communicate and build authentic relationships “here in the real world.” What Haidt suggests for Gen Z will actually help us all, from the oldest living generation down. This technological world, with all its benefits, has assaulted our communication skills.

Practice Face-To-Face Communication. Opt for the face-to-face, or at least the phone call, rather than relying on chats, text messages, and other communication that is not occurring in real time. Think of how much of what God has created us for in this world requires real-time interaction–evangelism, worship, marriage, childrearing, friendship, correction, etc. Biblical passages and principles assume the give and take of people in the same space talking and listening to each other. As the One who made us, He knows how we best operate (Eph. 4:29).

Put Away The Phone. It is simple and seems like eminently common sense, but because our phones are addictive (Haidt and others provide crushingly incontrovertible proof) we lean on them like crutches. Real-time, real connection requires full presence and complete attention to the person in front of us. Conversation and communication can be difficult and requires intentionality, at best, and the massive distraction of our devices fairly cripples our ability to courteously, thoughtfully value the one with whom we’re interacting.

Postpone Online Responses. My wife enacted a policy several years ago to answer social media messages only once per day, early each morning. Her logic is that before the advent of the internet, people had to wait for returned phone calls, snail mail letters, and face-to-face conversation. We’ve become such instant gratification junkies, wanting and needing to stay connected constantly. Ironically, we tend and nurture these virtual communications to the neglect of people we know well in our everyday lives. Do we have to answer those texts (all 50 of them) this very minute? Or can (should) it wait?

Internet technology in all its forms has become such a helpful aid in so many instances. But as with every blessing, Satan stands ready to use it to undermine relationships, destroy community and civility, and wield it to wreak havoc on our mental, social, and spiritual health. Perhaps investing in a bit of old-fashioned, real-life communication skills can help us stem the tide of our massive crisis in connection.

“Nomophobia” 

Monday’s Column: Neal at the Cross

pollard

Neal Pollard

That’s not a typo for another popularly-used term.  It’s actually a “thing,” at least according to a 2010 study by the UK Post Office.  It is short for “no-mobile-phone phobia” (Tim Elmore, psychologytoday.com). There’s even a website called nomophobia.com, and they identify “the four fears of Nomophobia”—broken, lost, stolen, or useless smartphones. While that site operates “tongue in cheek,” there are a bevy of experts more than ready to talk about how this is an epidemic impacting especially youth in our culture.  University of Connecticut School of Medicine’s Dr. David Greenfield has done much work in this study. He points to the problem of a dysregulation of dopamine, “meaning that it motivates people to do things they think will be rewarded for doing” (clever, cutting, or flamboyant Tweets, posts, pics, etc.) and that it can foster people’s addiction to the internet and technology (Madeline Stone, businessinsider.com). Greenfield adds, “That feeling you’re going to miss something if you’re not constantly checking is an illusion — most parts of our lives are not relevant to our smartphones. What happens on our devices is not reflective of what happens in real life” (ibid.).  There are even digital detox programs, in the United States as well as other countries around the world.  Psychiatrist Dale Archer gives this advice, “Stop texting while you’re driving. Don’t take it into the bathroom with you. Have a rule not to use your phone when you’re with your friends. If you’re on a date, make a rule that you’ll both check your phone for a maximum of 5 minutes every 90 minutes. It’s all about setting simple rules that you can follow” (ibid.).

Amateur psychiatrists and specialists everywhere can quickly diagnose this condition in their spouses and significant others, their children, and their friends, but they may be myopic to their own inordinate practice (see every airport, doctor’s office, restaurant, etc.).  Addiction to, or at least habitual abuse of, smartphones and similar technology is simply the latest and a more obvious example of a long-standing human tendency.  Paul told Corinth, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything” (1 Cor. 6:12). In context, Paul is beginning a discussion of the sin of fornication after having talked about Corinth’s generally sinful past from which they had been forgiven.  Paul’s desire was not to be “mastered” (ruled, reigned over, Louw 37.48) by anything.  He later writes about the self-mastery and discipline necessary to live the Christian life (1 Cor. 9:24-27).

Cell phones are just one possible impediment to this.  There are so many other possibilities we must keep aware of, things which can derail us from our purpose and focus in this life.  So many of them are fine in balance and moderation, but we can allow them to consume and even overtake us.  A fear of being without those things is only one of the attending problems.  Being ruled by anything or anyone other than Christ is the overriding concern.  We are all served well by looking carefully at the things in our lives and make sure we have no master other than Christ.

“Go To The Ant, You…DARPA?”

Neal Pollard

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency was formed in 1958 for technological advancements and has been responsible for so many of the gadgets and conveniences we enjoy today. They use a variety of means to “both advance knowledge through basic research and create innovative technologies that address current practical problems through applied research” (darpa.mil). SRI International, one of the agencies DARPA partners with, “has taken inspiration from the giant mound of insects, to create their own swarms of tiny worker robots that can put together mechanical assemblies and electronic circuits” (Michael Trei, dvice.com). The military has given thought to using these robots to rebuild and repair, even in the midst of battle.  Who can foresee where this technology may show up in our daily lives?

People can be incredibly brilliant and innovative.  There is no limit to our imagination and invention.  Yet, this (and many other examples) points up to God in at least two ways.  First, our intelligence points to an intelligent designer. Moses informs us that we are made in the very image of our Creator (Gen. 1:26-27).  Second, our brightest developments and designs are drawn from what God’s created world.  Solomon once admonished, “Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise, Which, having no chief, Officer or ruler, Prepares her food in the summer And gathers her provision in the harvest” (Prov. 6:6-8).  They say imitation is the highest form of flattery.  How ironic that in a world growing more unbelieving, mankind keeps paying tribute to the wisdom and power of the One who made it all.

DON’T BE A “BORED AGAIN” CHRISTIAN!

Neal Pollard
Steve Martz recently wrote a book he entitled 77 Talks To Bored-Again Teens. Explaining the rationale for his book, Martz says, “With teenage attention spans decreasing as fast as new channels appear on satellite TV, it’s not just a case of presenting the gospel as it stands and hoping they ‘get it.’ In this post-modern age you have to hit them in bite-sized chunks to make an impact and make tentative steps into their world.” There is no doubt that our world is changing, and most of us change with it to a greater degree than we realize. This blog post, your congregation’s PowerPoint, your dish, your DSL, your i-stuff, and a thousand other gadgets are shrines paying homage to such change. These things may indeed challenge the perseverance of our attention span.

Yet, with all due respect to Martz’ attempt at accommodation, I think his premise misses the point. Without intending to, Martz is trying to improve on God’s means of communicating His message. If it is not still “the foolishness of preaching” whereby God seeks to reach and save mankind, what can man invent to better it (cf. 1 Cor. 1:21)? However, I am certain that there are “bored again” Christians of all ages scattered here and there. I agree that there should not be any, but let me suggest some other ideas for breaking out of these doctrinal doldrums.

Break out of the entertainment mindset. Each of us should remind ourselves every day, “It’s not about me.” Humor-filled, emotionally-tugging, and feel-good lessons may touch a more superficial part of us, but we should remember that listening to a sermon or singing a spiritual song is not the same as watching a good (?) movie or listening to our favorite musical performer. Read the sermons of Peter, Stephen, and Paul. Vegetable-Soup For The Israelite Soul or Your Best Roman Life Now was not the foundation for their lessons. Andrew, Bartholomew, and Philip were not a traveling drama troupe or praise team. The Greeks and Romans had actors and actresses, stage and plays. The early church was not interesting in tickling a funny bone; they wanted to save the soul.

Renew your relationship with God. The Christian life can become more exhilarating and exciting the longer you live it. As your inward person is renewed daily (2 Cor. 4:16-18), you will find God, His Word, His promises, His love, and heaven more real to you. Even as your body breaks down, people disappoint you, and others desert Him, you can find Him dearer and closer to you with each passing day. Even as living the Christian life brings tears, sacrifices, and persecution, it will not seem boring to you! Paul is pretty discouraged at times in 2 Timothy 4, but he never once sounds bored. My grandpa would say that boredom means you have too much time on your hands anyway!

Find somebody to serve. Boredom reflects the luxury of thinking about and tending to self. Stephanas and his house devoted themselves to service. The Bible does not say, but I cannot imagine them being bored (cf. 1 Cor. 16:16). Christians have been liberated to serve (Gal. 5:13). Through serving one another and in all serving the Lord, we will find great satisfaction and reward (cf. Eph. 6:6-7). I have seen few true servants that were unhappy, much less bored. This is a sure remedy for the “bored again” Christian.

Someone once asked a preacher, “What is worldliness?” A teenager in the class answered, “It’s letting the world set the standards.” That may be the best definition I have ever heard. Let us not let the world set the standard for spirituality, excitement, or enjoyment. Those trying to medicate themselves with entertainment are heart-sick folks! True excitement and joy comes in overcoming this world (cf. 1 John 5:4). Don’t be a “bored again” Christian!

Why Has There Been A Decline In Public Responses?

Neal Pollard

While I am certain that there are those who will say that they are still seeing as many public responses in their assemblies as ever, most will observe what I have observed.  As I think back to my childhood, public responses to the invitation were commonplace—nearly every service.  When I first began preaching, public responses requesting baptism or public repentance by members very regularly occurred.  Steadily, particularly in the last five to 10 years, such responses have declined. The burning question is, “Why?”

One might point to the growing influence of the world and its impact on the heart of hearers.  One may point to weaker, less distinct preaching.  One could talk about how potential responders will feel judged or condemned by the others present.  One could speak of the philosophies and world views of the age, whether secularism, naturalism, postmodernism, or emergent theology.

Though these are no doubt factors, I am not fully satisfied with them.  Weren’t these stumbling blocks in place in previous generations.  The names of the philosophies may have changed, but they were there. Consider another theory.  Are we losing the traditional, real social connection and fellowship of days gone by as we lose ourselves in the virtual world of social media (some of the same desensitizing factors could apply to TV and movies, too)?  Before you dismiss this theory, consider some reasons why I promulgate it.

  • Some use social media as their “confessional” or front pew, where they confess their failings in marriage, attitude, speech, or actions.
  • On the other hand, social media outlets—particularly those having photos as part of their makeup—create an artificiality.  We don’t post unflattering pictures (and may plead with those that tag us in them to delete them), don’t generally admit to weaknesses of character or anything that may make us seem inferior to others (financially, socially, intellectually, etc.).  Image replaces integrity.
  • Increased time on social media, cultivating that virtual world and its relationships, may be robbing us of real-time, real-life relationships.  We often neglect those in front of us for those we’re “visiting” by phone or tablet.

How might this impact public responses?  Are we meeting the needs of James 5:16 and 1 John 1:9 via the virtual world? Are we afraid to show vulnerability, need, or weakness, lest we be deemed “inferior”?  Have we desensitized ourselves, losing the ability to be “real”?  There may be huge holes in my theory, but I suspect there is at least some truth to it.

What can we do to reverse the trend? Hopefully, giving it some serious thought is a start.  We cannot reduce ourselves to mindless minions who are consumed with the superficial while disconnecting from the authentic.  We must renew a dedication to fellowship and relationship, now more than ever!  The people on Pentecost were disturbed enough by clear, divine teaching to make that known in the clearest terms (Acts 2:37).  Let’s help the church be a place of real connections and relationships so we can help each other when spiritual needs exist.