Tech Companies: A New Religion?
Video from ReligionForBreakfast
Our New Idolatries: The Temples of Technology
You and I are idol worshippers of something, that is our nature, God made us to worship. Yet in our sinful natures, we are always in rebellion against God. That means we get sidetracked by the world, the flesh (life aside from God), and the Devil (yes demonic entities are trying to interfere in your life). And we just make bad mistakes, we give in to the culture, temptation, pier pressure, you know monkey see monkey do. Christians are no better and many of us today have been fooled into worshipping our technology as the answer to life's problems OR we crave the distraction from actually living out our lives.
But life is short, we may die today or tomorrow. Wasting our lives should not be an option yet many of us have done it and continue to do so today.
So today be reflective, can you delete your social media accounts, can you return to face-to-face relationships? - Andy
How Society and Technology Became Partners in Changing Our Lives
"Ancient and modern human civilizations have both benefited from and been impeded by the technological innovations, inventions, and engineering applications used within societies to perform specific tasks. For societies to thrive and evolve, technological innovations have become necessary, while at the same time, the culture, ideals, and aspirations of human societies have shaped how those civilizations have created, benefited from, and been impeded by technology.
As technological systems are invented by humans and reflect the very essence of a population’s needs and culture, human societies/civilizations and their technology have become inseparable from one another. The cyclical nature of society and technologies is one where each factor greatly affects the other, starting with human societies and resulting in the development of different technologies to meet the needs of society. Those technologies change the way societies behave and operate - which also affects and evolves their economies, producing a potentially greater need for more technology, resulting in a cycle. This co-dependent relationship of co-influence and co-production has been the case from the beginning of history, resulting in two major forms of this synergistic relationship co-evolving, depending on the type of society in question:." from the article: How Society and Technology Become Partners in Changing Our Lives
Discipled by Algorithms
Where Is ‘Big Tech’ Leading You?
"My wife and I ask each other a routine question about technology — and it may not be what you expect. Yes, we ask if the other heard us, and we ask to put down the phone for a while during family time. We, like most families in the digital age, have a ways to go to instill better technology habits in our homes. But the most frequent question we ask each other is, Did you see this online?
While that may seem like an odd question to ask, it reveals a much deeper issue with technology, one we often fail to consider amid concerns about screen time, app limits, and Internet filters. The question reminds us that we live in a personally curated and expertly crafted world of information, driven by algorithms that often wield significant influence over our lives and our outlook on the social and ethical issues of our day. The world you see online is often very different than what I might see, which in turn makes it difficult to address many of the root problems of our day.
Is Technology Neutral?
In this past year, many Christians are beginning to wake up to the reality that technology is not a neutral tool that we simply choose to use for good or ill.
From the ways that misinformation and conspiracy theories alter our perception of truth and reality, to the massive exposés of major social media companies about how their products are changing our social fabric, it has become clear that technology is not simply a tool; technology is a force that can radically shape our lives, often by pushing us toward specific ends that clash with the goals of the Christian life.
Take, for example, the ways these tools push us to comment on every breaking news story or cultural event the moment they happen. We are encouraged (and often far more than encouraged) to immediately share our opinion, often without context or knowledge of a particular issue. Instead of cultivating wisdom and restraint (James 1:19), technology often pushes us toward gut-level reactions, partisan talking points, and appeals to our tribes, all while we craft and manicure our online identities.." from the article: Discipled by Algorithms
Recognizing Idolatry and 7 Idols Present in Our Lives Today
As adults, my brother and I laughed over memory with our mother, one we had not easily forgotten. Back in the early 1960s, Mother used to “go to town” to pay bills. In those simpler days, parents could leave their children alone in the car without worry that someone would snatch them. So it was on such a day that Mother left my brother and me in the car while she ran inside the newspaper office. “Stay in the car,” she told us. “Otherwise, you’ll get a spanking when you get home.”
She went in. We jumped out of the car ran around on the sidewalk, and then got caught. Mother stayed true to her word. As children, we cried uncontrollably. As adults remembering this, we laughed.
Looking back on that now, I don’t believe Mother hurt us. But there was a separation between a loving parent and her children, and for me, that was the deepest wound. Mother was the queen of our world, and she took that role seriously. She held to firm discipline, but she also loved us unconditionally and well.
Big “G” or Little “g”?
In the latter chapters of Genesis, we read how the Hebrew children came to Egypt to live. They were welcomed with open arms and given a lush piece of land. However, when the Book of Exodus opens, 400 years have passed. and the Hebrews are slaves to the Egyptians. In time, God brought a deliverer, Moses, who led the Hebrews out of Egypt back to the Promised Land. Shortly after leaving Egypt—and after the Hebrews had seen countless miracles by the hand of the Almighty—God and Moses had a little “sit down” on Sinai. Here, God gave The Ten Commandments, the first one being “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:2,3).
“Gods” were clearly something the people understood. Their ancestors had worshipped other gods. In fact, Abraham, the father of their nation and faith, had been brought up in a polytheistic home. Their “mother” Rachel had snuck household idols out of her father’s home and hidden them in her camel’s saddle. For 400 years, they’d lived among a people who worshipped the most complex pantheon of gods than any other civilization in the ancient world. Gods such as Osiris, his wife Isis, Horus, Seth, and Ra.
Once they arrived in Canaan, rather than destroying everything as God had ordered and keeping Him the Most High God, they found themselves surrounded and influenced by gods such as Baal, Asherah/Ashtoreth. Israel, although warned against it, also fell prey to the worship of Molech (Leviticus 18:21, 20:2-5; Jeremiah 32:35, 2 Kings 23:10), a god of sexual sin who required child sacrifice.." from the article: Recognizing Idolatry and 7 Idols Present in Our Lives Today
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