Technology Idolatry
December 29, 2005
Took several books with me to read over Christmas break in Michigan, and I’m nearly through the second. The first, Hugh Hewitt’s Blog, was, dare I say it, disappointing. I expected a whole lot more practical “here’s how to have a great blog”, and what I got, instead, was a whole lot of cheerleading for the concept of blogging, supplemented by a lot of (somewhat repetitive) name-dropping. Overall, not what I’d expected, but hey, I got it at a cut rate, so I can’t complain, huh?
The book that I didn’t expect to grab me—in fact, a week ago, that I had no plan to read—is a little book called The Sacred Cow by John White, an IVP book written in the seventies. I was looking around our church’s library and the subtitle caught my eye: “Materialism in the Twentieth-Century Church”. Since I believe that to be a rampant problem, I thought I’d peruse it. Well, more on this in a later post, but suffice it to say that it was ironic that I took a break from reading this book to peruse the Ann Arbor News, and an article on “hover scooters” in the Connections section caught my eye, but most specifically, a couple of quotes on the impact of technology on our lives today. I guess hoverscootering gives on the sensation of flying, and thus this quote from one Robert Doornick, president of an entity known as International Robotics, Inc.:
People love the idea of being able to fly because you (sic) feel like a superhero.
Later on in the piece, Sherry Turkle, the director of the Initiative on Technology and Self at MIT (now there’s a position to hold, eh?) says,
Such technologies say who you are, how techno-savvy you are, how much you live in the future. It’s no longer what technology does for you, but what it says about you.
And thus it’s come to this, not that many of us haven’t long suspected it: we’ve become so materialistically decadent that the things we create to accomplish things are in actuality more valuable for the accomplishment of the stroking of our own pathetic egos.
And by the way, 30,000 children around the world will die today because of malnutrition and easily-preventable diseases…
Cold in the Night: A Retraction
December 23, 2005
Several days ago, I posted a piece that referred to an article by Dr. Throckmorton that dealt with what we understood to be political correctness vis a vis a Christmas celebration in Wisconsin. I am issuing a retraction of that post along with the verbatim explanatory letter written by Dr. T to some newspapers that carried his piece, explaining the problem.
Editor:
Thank you for publishing or considering for publication my recent article, Happy Holyday. The response to this piece has been significant with mostly favorable reactions.
My reason for writing has to do with some feedback from readers I have received pointing out that the Dodgeville School District in Wisconsin (mentioned in the article as the district associated with singing “Cold in the Nightâ€) changed their program to allow the traditional singing of Silent Night at the end of the program in which Cold in the Night was to have been sung. Furthermore, I have learned that the song Cold in the Night was to be sung by an unwanted Christmas tree character as a part of a pre-packaged school program called “The Little Christmas Tree’s Gift†and not by all children. I wanted to send along this postscript and correct any misunderstanding about this event. I attempted to verify all the details before the piece was sent out but the school district did not return my calls. I sent the piece to Mat Staver of the Liberty Council as well but heard nothing back from him. Many of you printed this piece before these changes were relevant but I wanted you to hear this from me first and not disgruntled readers.
If you have not run the piece and still wish to, an edited version is attached below. If you published this originally on a website, please use the edited version. In any case, it is archived here and here on the Internet; you are welcome to use the edited version.
The culprit in this was apparently Liberty Counsel, according to the good doctor. A lump of coal in Mat Staver’s stocking…realizing that when we write, we used trusted sources, we need to be as careful as possible that our stories are correct. Egg is on everyone’s face on this one…I apologize to my readers.
Democratization of Iraq Complete!
December 23, 2005
Democrat or Iraqi? I report; you decide.
Yes, the job of democritization is done, and we know this thanks to this headline on FoxNews.com; the Sunnis have learned well from the Democrat Party:
Iraqis Protest Election Cheating
Yep, like good Democrats everywhere, every election now with an unfavorable result will be attributed to cheating…
A Few Thoughts on Dover
December 23, 2005
I recognize that I’m several days late weighing in on the Dover decision rendered Tuesday. Readers expecting me to sally forth with an opinion have no doubt been disappointed; the wait is over.
Here is the statement which Judge Jones found to be an “establishment of religion”:
The Pennsylvania Academic Standards require students to learn about Darwin’s theory of evolution and eventually to take a standardized test of which evolution is a part.
Because Darwin’s Theory is a theory, it is still being tested as new evidence is discovered. The Theory is not a fact. Gaps in the Theory exist for which there is no evidence. A theory is defined as a well-tested explanation that unifies a broad range of observations.
Intelligent design is an explanation of the origin of life that differs from Darwin’s view. The reference book, Of Pandas and People is available for students to see if they would like to explore this view in an effort to gain an understanding of what intelligent design actually involves.
As is true with any theory, students are encouraged to keep an open mind. The school leaves the discussion of the origins of life to individual students and their families. As a standards-driven district, class instruction focuses upon preparing students to achieve proficiency on standards-based assessments.
The Constitution says that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion…” It was the rightful concern of the founders of our nation that there be no “state church” such as existed in most of the nations of Europe. One must ask, regarding this statement of fact to be read in ninth-grade classrooms, what “establishment of religion” is being “respected”? It honestly strains credulity to suggest that this amounts to a violation of the framers’ intent that there be no “establishment of religion”. Saying “with an open mind, consider the possibility that an Intelligent Designer might account for the origin of life” equals “stand with me and sing the first three verses of ‘Amazing Grace’”. It boggles the mind.
Now, that said, it’s likely that Judge Jones was relying on stare decisis, the accumulation of judicial precedents, in ruling thusly. This, then, gives us sober understanding of how far off-track, in just this one area of constitutional interpretation, our judiciary has gotten off track. What many of us will miss, I fear, is that as far as we’ve strayed from the intent of the framers in this area, so have we strayed in many other areas. I daresay that if the fathers of our country were resurrected, they’d have no clue that they were living in the country that they had founded.
But I will concur with the judge on one point: there is no question that we are dealing with religious concepts when we get into Intelligent Design. What the judge does not, or cannot, understand, is that in dealing with the question of “where did life come from”, we are dealing with a fundamentally “religious” concept no matter what our conclusion. Darwinist fundamentalism is every bit as “religious” as the teaching of Intelligent Design—arguably moreso, in light of the actions of the Darwinists vis a vis Dover.
This is a bump in the road, to be sure, but the gaps and holes in Darwinist fundamentalism are so many and so varied that the castle will crumble soon enough. In the meantime, read William Dembski’s blog to keep up with events…
Plaintiff: “Be Tolerant…of my Intolerance!”
December 22, 2005
Well, it’s 1984 finally, 21 years too late; Orwell called it “doublethink”, and Wikipedia quotes the novel’s definition:
Doublethink is the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them. … To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing in them, to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it becomes necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just so long as it is needed, to deny the existence of objective reality and all the while to take account of the reality which one denies—all this is indispensably necessary. Even in using the word doublethink it is necessary to exercise doublethink. For by using the word one admits that one is tampering with reality; by a fresh act of doublethink one erases this knowledge; and so on indefinitely, with the lie always one leap ahead of the truth. (pages 35, 176-177)
Fast-forward to a few minutes ago, when I’m driving in my car and listening to the news, and Ms. Kitzmiller, the main plaintiff in the Dover case (more on that in another post or three) said that now was a time for healing in the Dover area, and that she hoped that people could exercise “tolerance” of other people’s points of view.
If the irony of that statement hasn’t immediately hit you between the eyes, wake up! Earth to you…earth to you…come in, you…
The entire case was an exercise in the utmost intolerance, intolerance of even the slightest mention, apparently, of the possibility that Darwinian fundamentalists might not have the corner on truth that they think they do. Now that she’s (at least temporarily) won, she wants us to be tolerant.
George Orwell would be proud.
Jack Hayford Speaks the Truth Regarding Christmas
December 17, 2005
I don’t always agree with Jack Hayford, but I respect the man, and in his usual calm, considered demeanor, he speaks truth regarding the closing of evangelical megachurches on Christmas Day.
He said what I’ve told several folks: okay, so you can’t have the dancing bear and the three-ring deal; fine. Unlock the doors; get a guy on a guitar; pray and share some Scripture, and go home. We could stand to do without some of the “major productions” that pass for church these days anyway…
Thanks, Crossroads, for this post.
Yep, T.O….It’s All About YOU
December 17, 2005
Once again, the mouth that roared/whined/dissed/pouted has found something to complain about.
Eagles Used Me, Called Me Selfish
You know, the one main theme of all of T.O.’s ramblings is clear: the world revolves, night and day, around me. When people grow up, they realize otherwise. Perhaps one day, Terrell Owens will do just that.
This phrase comes from the 1978 "Jonestown massacre" in which most members of the Peoples Temple cult, blindly following their leader Jim Jones, committed suicide by drinking cyanide-laced Kool-Aid.
Osborne: A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God
Schlossberg: Idols For Destruction
