THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE
The plethora of recent technological advances, meant to facilitate communication, entertainment and, overall, make our lives easier, in actuality seem to produce the opposite effect: serving to distract rather than connect; fostering alienation instead of socialization; and encouraging the destructive condition of self absorption while our fellowman suffers. This "Ghost in the Machine" is not the Holy Spirit and may be, in reality, a malevolent presence seeking to create harried, self-centered lives incapable of doing any good for anyone.
News programs this week broadcast a tape of shoppers in California suddenly devolving into a violent mob, striking and running over each other just to purchase a Sony Play Station3 video game console. Some of these consoles would be quickly sold again on E-bay for a two thousand dollar profit, but many participants appeared ready to kill just to be the first owners of what is essentially a juvenile, fantasy-oriented activity that requires a lot of time and accomplishes nothing. These were average everyday citizens of our modern society. What happened to them?
The signs are all around us. Another recent report related the dangers of distracted cell phone, MP3 player and personal assistant(i.e. Blackberry, RTM)usage. People using these appliances, oblivious to their surroundings, have caused traffic accidents, pedestrian mishaps, etc., and have been the victims of muggings in subways, malls, and on busy streets. Parents lament the demise of the traditional family dinner hour and other family-oriented activities because members are preoccupied with instant messaging, maintaining their personal blog or Web sites, burning movie DVD's, downloading music files, and/or participating in chat rooms on the Internet.
Pastors are confessing Internet pornography addictions to their congregations-- technologically induced moral handicaps that interfere with and sabotage their work. College and high school instructors complain that their students are "too dumb," unskilled, and narcissistic to create compositions of any worth, being more interested in the shallow aspects of popular culture, that reach them through media conveyences, than any significant social issues, and "dumbed down" by instant messaging and Internet slang. Many other symptoms of this pervasive technology O.C.D. malady are evident to all of us, but it proceeds to metastasize without hinderance.
The public was amazed by the Amish community's ability to respond to the senseless mass killing of their schoolchildren with humility, faith, grace, and even compassion toward the killer's family, yet are still disturbed by that religion's rejection of most modern technological "conveniences." The Amish were inspired by the Lord's instruction to "be not conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable, and perfect will of God" (Rom. 12:2). They are assured that He gave us an instructional manual on how to live lives that please Him--the Holy Bible, one that requires serenity, study, prayer, and fellowship to be equipped for our task.
Modern Christians can learn a lot from the Amish. The Holy Ghost we share defeats the ghost in the machine every time.
J. Wallace
News programs this week broadcast a tape of shoppers in California suddenly devolving into a violent mob, striking and running over each other just to purchase a Sony Play Station3 video game console. Some of these consoles would be quickly sold again on E-bay for a two thousand dollar profit, but many participants appeared ready to kill just to be the first owners of what is essentially a juvenile, fantasy-oriented activity that requires a lot of time and accomplishes nothing. These were average everyday citizens of our modern society. What happened to them?
The signs are all around us. Another recent report related the dangers of distracted cell phone, MP3 player and personal assistant(i.e. Blackberry, RTM)usage. People using these appliances, oblivious to their surroundings, have caused traffic accidents, pedestrian mishaps, etc., and have been the victims of muggings in subways, malls, and on busy streets. Parents lament the demise of the traditional family dinner hour and other family-oriented activities because members are preoccupied with instant messaging, maintaining their personal blog or Web sites, burning movie DVD's, downloading music files, and/or participating in chat rooms on the Internet.
Pastors are confessing Internet pornography addictions to their congregations-- technologically induced moral handicaps that interfere with and sabotage their work. College and high school instructors complain that their students are "too dumb," unskilled, and narcissistic to create compositions of any worth, being more interested in the shallow aspects of popular culture, that reach them through media conveyences, than any significant social issues, and "dumbed down" by instant messaging and Internet slang. Many other symptoms of this pervasive technology O.C.D. malady are evident to all of us, but it proceeds to metastasize without hinderance.
The public was amazed by the Amish community's ability to respond to the senseless mass killing of their schoolchildren with humility, faith, grace, and even compassion toward the killer's family, yet are still disturbed by that religion's rejection of most modern technological "conveniences." The Amish were inspired by the Lord's instruction to "be not conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable, and perfect will of God" (Rom. 12:2). They are assured that He gave us an instructional manual on how to live lives that please Him--the Holy Bible, one that requires serenity, study, prayer, and fellowship to be equipped for our task.
Modern Christians can learn a lot from the Amish. The Holy Ghost we share defeats the ghost in the machine every time.
J. Wallace
posted by Purgatory Penman | 1:55 PM
1 Comments:
Jeffrey, I could not agree more with you. My whole background is technology, having had over 20 years as an electrical/electronic design engineer.
I find the flood of technology overwhelming to all my senses. I find we spend inordinate amounts of time supporting the very technology that is suppose to serve us and make life more efficient. We just traded one form of effort for another. The time and energy technology frees for us, is just consummed in supporting the technology itself.
All this sensory overload and support creates stress and anxiousness--a frayed spirit.
I find myself using technology less and less and enjoying silence and a good book more and more.
But then of course without technology we would not be conversing with you. The Lord works in mysterious ways.
Tony
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