Now, I don’t mean to tear down the CNN Belief Blog, but when I read Lisa Miller’s post about technology ruining churches, I was a bit bothered. I did consider that she has a lot of experience in writing about religion, being a former religion editor from Newsweek and all, but I felt that this article was a stretch on reality. It probably didn’t help, however, that she started out by noting that we are at the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible and publishers are working on producing “an abundance of gorgeous doorstops”… as well as referring to the event as “hoopla”.
Miller talked about technology and how far she thinks it’s going in terms of interfering with the Christian church. One sentence that stuck out to me was, “With Scripture on iPhones and iPads, believers can bypass constraining religious structures – otherwise known as “church” – in favor of a more individual connection with God.”
My immediate thought was, “Isn’t an individual connection with God the entire point?”
I have written a few posts in the past where I’ve discussed the benefits of using social media at church, as well as one about using the smartphone app, YouVersion, where you can read the Bible right from your phone. Miller talked about the app and her disapproval of it, saying that any Biblical interpretations have been removed from the text. She might have a point there, but with so many people around the world not having access to a Bible at all, an app such as YouVersion could make it possible to put one in their hands.
My thoughts: Technology can be more beneficial than harmful if used correctly.
How does your church feel about using new technology?