Page or Pixel

Around 1440 the printing press was invented and it revolutionized the way that people communicated and shared information. For the last 570 years we have relied primarily on the printed word for information. Newspapers, magazines and books have been our primary source of information. However the times have changed, people no longer go to the USA Today for their news, they now go to www.usatoday.com and other news websites. Printed books at Barnes & Noble are being replaced by eBooks on the Kindle, Nook or iPad.

The pixel has replaced the page.

People are now turning to less traditional venues for information, if you want to know the latest breaking news story you should probably sign in to Twitter, not turn on the TV. During the Iran uprising of 2009 the US Government worked with Twitter to delay their scheduled site maintenance because Twitter was the primary venue that people in Iran were using to get the real story out. They weren't waiting for the evening news or the morning newspaper, they were posting what they saw in real time for the world to see.

Gone are the days of heavy, book-filled backpacks, because many College students can now get their textbooks via Kindle and iPad. I imagine that the day is near when the traditional textbook is obsolete in most American colleges. And why wouldn't these devices replace the textbook? I have a hard time finding reasons for not switching to this new technology.

In my own life this is true. I consider myself a news junky and last year I did something that, a few years ago seemed ridiculous for a news junky to do, I cancelled my newspaper subscription. I found that by the time the morning paper got here I had already heard most of the stories. It has also changed Church for me. I now use my iPhone as my Bible in church. I always have it with me, I have access to dozens of translations, commentaries and tons of notes, so why wouldn't I use it? Is the Word of God any less Holy if it is read via Pixel rather that Page? I don't think so.

The Internet is here to stay, mobile devices and web browsing are how people communicate and stay connected. The choice is ours if we want to change with the culture or not. Does that mean that we all need to rush out and buy a new iPad just so that we can stay at the forefront of technology?

Well...Yes. ;o) Kidding.

Sort of.
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How has technology changed the way that you communicate or get information? Do you think that technology has improved our communication or do you think that it has made communication shallow and less personal?

I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.

This is a post from Deviant by Justin Wise. Check out www.bedeviant.com for more from him. It is one of my favorite sites and I think that you will enjoy his postings!
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I had a refreshing conversation with a friend recently. So wonderfully refreshing.

We were talking about how Christians in this culture have come to be known as the people who hate abortion and homosexuals. Forget the life-giving relationship with our Creator, we want to make sure people know what we’re against. We’ve painted ourselves into a corner and there doesn’t seem to be a foreseeable way out.

My friend then shared the most vivid, truthful analogy I’ve ever heard regarding the mess we Christians have put ourselves in. He said:

Imagine going to a job interview. You’ve got the nice, pressed suit. You’ve got the resume ready to go. You’ve got your list of references. You’re on. You’re waiting to to be interviewed by the boss when the secretary comes over and hands you a dixie cup. She says, “Sir, we’d like you to take a dump in this dixie cup. Drop a dooce. Number Two. We’re going to be evaluating all of our candidates based on what they put in this cup. Thank you.” So now, the resume doesn’t matter. The suit doesn’t matter. What you have to offer doesn’t matter. You’re not be evaluated on those things. You are, quite literally, being judged by your crap.

Wow. Bold. Brash. But isn’t it the truth? In this analogy, Christians are the nicely-dressed job seeker with tons to offer. What we have to offer, of course, is a life transformed by Christ.

The person doing the interviewing in this analogy is the culture–they’re inspecting our “refuse” (to put it lightly). They want to see if our “crap” is the same as everyone else’s or if there’s something different about us.

My friend went on to say that when we make our faith about anything other than Jesus, when we make it about abortion or immigration laws or politics or homosexuality debates or drinking (or not drinking), we give the culture “crap.” We give them exactly what they thought we would give them. Junk. Refuse.

As we ended our conversation he said to me in closing, “There’s got to be a third way.” Amen. There’s got to be a way to get out of the corner we’ve painted ourselves in. The only question that remains is how?

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So, what do you think? Is he right? I think so.

But how do we change or get around the perception that most people have of Christians?

My thought is that there is no quick answer. It will take a lot of real Christians representing the real Jesus before people start to see that we are about Jesus, not issues.

Be Real, Be Honest and Love People.