I’ve always been an advocate of integrating faith and technology , but after reading Shane Hipps Flickering Pixels, I definitely need to re-evaluate.
Hipps suggests that technology has already shaped our faith and the way we see the world more than we realize. He borrows a lot from Marshall McLuhan’s theory that “We shape our tools and afterward our tools shape us”.
If you suspect that technology is leading us towards a more fragmented faith, extreme individualism, increased social awkwardness, distorted views on beauty, and taking our imaginations captive… while wondering if there’s anything redemptive in all of this, check out Flickering Pixels.
As one small way of leveraging technology while participating in community, a group of us are co-blogging chapter by chapter reviews of the book on ChurchCrunch. You can see my more in-depth reflections on chapter four here.
by Lon on October 18, 2008
Barack Obama drew a crowd of 100,000 at a rally near the Gateway Arch in St. Louis on Saturday, the AP reports. McCain spent the day campaigning in North Carolina.
CNN projects that if the election were held today, Obama would be guaranteed a win, even without including any of the toss up states. Realclearpolitics.com and fivethirtyeight.com are both projecting landslide victories of 350-370 electoral votes, well beyond the 270 required.
Obama continues to caution supporters to ‘remember new hampshire’ when the polls seemed to be wrong. The polls will undoubtedly tighten, but I don’t see any way for the Republicans from facing complete embarrassment.
Some thoughts and questions
I met my first Canadian Obama fan who’s been following the campaign closer than I am… and has contributed to the campaign and distributed the audacity of hope to friends. wow, way to go Zaya!
As much as I love Obama, I don’t think he’ll ‘transform washington’. He’s going to have a massive hole to dig out of.
What I do think will be transformative, is the impact 10-20 years from now due to the the number of young adults that have been engaged because of Obama.
The first black president has a ring to it, but why isn’t Obama touted as the first half-white or bi-racial president?
Is there any chance McCain might take the high road and end this campaign with some dignity?
The more people seem to know about Palin, the less they seem to like her. At least with independents. Troopergate was a mess.
Obama and McCain roasted each other at a recent charity function. Both quite funny.
Chuck Todd’s really become quite a political superstar analyst this election cycle, but I think the Microsoft Surface table he’s been using is totally lame.
I finally got around to looking at the platform of the Canadian Christian heritage party. There’s twice as right winged as the Republicans. I’m embarrassed by their platform. I hope that doesn’t get me into trouble.
I wonder what politics this year has revealed about evangelicals?
A few thoughts from Paulo Coelho, of The Alchemist fame.
- Men can never stop dreaming. Dreams are the food of the soul. Martin luther king jr. reminds us that Jesus asked us to love our enemies, not to like them.
- Peace is the last thing we need if we want to realize our dreams
- The busiest people I have known in my life had time for everything.
- Those who did nothing were always tired and could hardly cope with the little work they had to do, always complaining that the day was too short. In fact, they were afraid of fighting the good fight.
- Because we do not want to see life as a great adventure to be lived, we begin to feel we are wise, fair and correct in what little we ask of our existence.
- We feel we are ‘mature’ in leaving aside the ‘fantasies of childhood’ and guaranteeing our personal successes.
- Our dead dreams begin to rot inside of us and affect the whole atmosphere which we live.
by Lon on January 9, 2008
by Lon on December 30, 2007
Since posting earlier on Wolfgang Simson’s Houses that change the world, I’ve began reading the follow-up, or big-brother, of that book titled the Starfish Manifesto.
A few interesting thoughts so far…
On the church entering Babylonian Captivity… the Holy Spirit is no longer the driving force of the Church, Mammon is. Part of this captivity is the current obsession with hyper-activist, high adrenalin programs and methods and approaches, celebrated as saviors for a run-down system.
The current average cost for Christian evangelism and missions is $330,000 for every newly baptized person.
We have stolen the church from God, and he wants it back from us thieves.
God wants a veil-less church without pulpits and clergy-laity distinctions. A pastor, no matter how godly he conducts himself, actually
stands more in the way of this than he is of help, because he has become a symbol of that very discrepancy.
* I had read the pre-release edition – The book will be available officially in June 2008.
Also you can find the audio downloads for the Wolfgang Simpson Conference 2005
* Posted at LeadNet Books as well.
** A 2009 reworked copy of starfish manifesto is now availabe here.
