communication in a post modern world

[Orval]

I was just making a post in another area when this thought hit me, that I feel enslaved by technology.  I want to disconnect everything but find I cannot for fear of being isolated.  does this make sense?  People come to our home when we invite them for dinner or lunch and yet it does not seem that anyone just stops by anymore for the sake of friendship.  When we do get together with family and friends no one actually has discussions, references are to funny utube videos, or a movie, or some recent sporting game mostly they just sit around looking at their phone, texting one another while the person they are texting is in the room.  

 

In the last two years I have not had more that 3 or 4 meaningful conversations with anyone under 30 years of age unless I am teaching and a question comes up.  How is that we can be so "connected" and yet so isolated?  I go to church and (I love our church and pastor and our church family) it seems when the last amen is said everyone over 40 disappears we have a large congregation for a city of twenty thousand.  I get the feeling something is wrong but I can't put my finger on it.  We grow by 20 people per year, we have soul winning and special days, we are often told we are one of the friendliest churches in our area.  Our pastor is a tremendous preacher and teacher and yet with all these positives.  I do not sense the same corporate power of God today I sensed 40 years ago.  

 

I believe that technology is always calling for our attention right now and consequently we never have the time to get alone with God for a couple of hours, to dwell on what God wants to speak to us about one on one, to read the scriptures for an hour instead of reading a couple of verses and a 300 word devotion so we can get back to our friends who never come by to spend an afternoon or evening talking about the Lord.

 

I saw a picture on Facebook a few days ago that kind of summed up todays understanding of God and salvation.  The caption stated "yep I am on my way to heaven, I clicked "like" on a picture and typed Amen!"  I am not sure if people under 40 truly understand what "true fellowship" is?  I am not complaining per se just wondering how old I really am.  I realize I cannot go back 40 years but should I have to go back if we are a New Testament church?

Acts 2:46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
Acts 2:47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Edited May 22, 2017 by Orval

[No Nicolaitans]

A sign of the times as they say. As Daniel 12:4 says...people are definitely running to and fro, and knowledge has definitely increased.

As much as I enjoy Linux operating systems...from configuration to creating themes to building my own systems...I often find myself sick of it too and have to step away. 

I remember as a teenager, I could drive over to the next town, and I might meet another car on the way. Now...even in this rural area, it's a seemingly constant flow of cars. People are always on the move and have no time for anything truly meaningful. Though technology has opened the world to people, people have withdrawn into their own little technology cocoons...they are now living for technology instead of living life. 

[*Light*]

I often wondered if technology will be done away with during the Millennial reign of Christ on Earth. I don't find any indication from scripture that buildings and such will be destroyed after Christ's return. Of course the destruction during the Tribulation will be massive for a great many reasons. Just how the Kingdom will be administered in terms of technology and the like is not addressed in the Bible -- and reasonably so inasmuch as none of the present day technologies people are wondering about were even contemplated when the Bible was written (God, of course, knows all things, but it would have been highly inappropriate to put information about such things in writings originally given to people who had no clue what they were).

It does seem to be the case that all of the nations of the world during the Millennium will be required to come to the capital, Jerusalem, to represent their peoples at the festivals (Zech. 14:16-19). How that would be possible from a place such New Zealand, for example, using only pre-industrial age technology is hard to see. It might not even be possible to get to Jerusalem from, say Chile, in a year's journey, let alone come three times a year, without some of the transportation technologies we have today. We will have to wait and see. But we do know that we believers in the Church will share the reign of Christ, so we will be part of His administration during the Millennium (Rom. 8:17; 2 Tim. 2:12; 1 Pet. 4:13; Rev. 2:26-27; 3:21). And the role we will play individually will be greater or lesser based upon the job we are doing for our Lord here and now in growing, progressing and producing for Him.
     
And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. (Luke 19:17)

God Bless!

[swathdiver]

I think we will go back to using horses, would like to anyway.  NNs comments are spot on about the affects of technology on our lives.  The kids growing up nowadays immersed in it have no idea how deficient it has made them.  Indeed, they are deceived and think they are ready for anything, after taking their anxiety medicine and getting likes on Facebook.

In the days before hand held computers with phones in them, we used to actually memorize dozens of phone numbers and addresses.  A man could look at a map and drive their and remember his kin's phone number.  The memory of the people before that time was even more superior, for they had knowledge and ability passed down through books and their families on how to use the land around them for healing, diet, built their own homes and had a work ethic that is difficult to find these days.

[*Light*]

I'm probably one of the few people on this planet who doesn't have a cell phone; except for perhaps those who live in "third world" countries. I live in a modest home (a cottage) with nothing more than a gas stove, bathroom, small fridge, and a couch which I sleep on. I praise the Lord for my home because it's a major step up from being homeless at one time.

God Bless!

[Jim_Alaska]

I do have a cell phone Dan. Friends and family bugged me to get one for emergencies since I live very remote from anyone. This phone is for when I am driving, in case of an emergency. I never turn it on unless I have an emergency. It is a flip phone, no smart phones for me.

I am continually amazed at the world I see today. No one can even look at where they are walking, they all have their heads down, immersed in their own little phone world.

Don't get me wrong, a cell phone can be a good thing....FOR TALKING. But anyone, and I mean anyone I see, are always stuck to their phone 24/7. They can't even eat without being glued to their phone. No one calls anyone on their cell phone, everything is text, even if they are sitting next to the person they are texting.

[*Light*]

Passerby's not paying attention to the street because they're on their "smart" phone is truly a "dumb" thing to do. Someone in Hawaii actually died because of this sort of mistake; and another woman fell into a manhole while texting on her smart phone. For all I know . . . Satan is probably doing most of his dirty work while most people are looking down on their phones.

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Edited March 19, 2023 by ...

[DaveW]

Also available on kindle and in PDF.....

[Martyr_4_FutureJoy]

On 5/22/2017 at 12:09 PM, Orval said:

I am not sure if people under 40 truly understand what "true fellowship" is?  I am not complaining per se just wondering how old I really am.  I realize I cannot go back 40 years but should I have to go back if we are a New Testament church?

Acts 2:46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
Acts 2:47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

It seems the places "true fellowship" occurred decades ago,  are now gone.   Was it true or not true?   Are there publicly known places where true fellowship is happening daily ?   If so,  'cautiously?',  how long before other entities of religion, business, or government shut them down or silence  them or drive them into seclusion-secret meetings ? 

On 9/21/2018 at 4:15 PM, *Light* said:

Satan is probably doing most of his dirty work while most people are looking down on their phones.

For comparison,  for eye-opener maybe,  for look-see at Paul Harvey's 'prophetic' speech title "if i were satan" published or broadcast first around 1964 or so,  showing what he would do /so-to-speak/ if he were satan....   the things delineated to break down people, families, society that satan would do,  or rather did and has been doing,  are clearly put.   Things 'society' is blind to,  and how many fellowships are aware of at all ?