The Friday Update - Digital Modesty

Happy Friday,

Martin Luther said that whatever or whoever comforts us during hard times is our functional god. Please note, as is always true of idols, today’s nominees—the glowing rectangle in your pocket, the bottle in your cabinet, the screen in your living room—will work for a while, but all will eventually fail. Only God is God. 

Related

As an aside, it’s worth noting that the genres presently dominating the online world are politics, porn and gambling.

Overheard 

1) When it comes to discerning God’s will, we should note there is always a ship headed to Tarshish — i.e., conveniently and misleadingly going the wrong direction.

2) It would be nice if middle-aged men worried less about their bald spot and more about their blind spot.

3) Because digital technology is driving unprecedented change, there may be a greater chasm between today’s 15 and 50 year olds than there was between those born in the 10th century and those born in the 15th. 

4) If you only pray when you're in trouble, you're in trouble.

5) Although the US is declining, it retains the highest GDP, the most powerful military, the greatest technology and the most soft power — i.e., it remains the world’s Super Power.

6) We're living in a moment of deep political polarization and shallow spiritual formation.

Four

Richard Lovelace—the American theologian and author of Renewal as a Way of Life—suggested we rehearse the following four truths everyday: 1) I’m justified before God by Christ's work alone; 2) I’m free from the power of sin; 3) I'm not alone because the Holy Spirit is with me; and 4) Nothing evil or demonic can overtake me because I'm held in the Father’s hand. I like them all, but suspect the most important point lies with the word "everyday." 

Without Comment

1) Elon Musk’s $970B net worth means he’s earned $992/second during his working life.

2) Today’s men are 5X more likely to say they don’t have any close friends as men in 1990.

3) This study links praying for your partner with greater marital satisfaction.

4) The country with the most pyramids is Egypt Sudan.

5) In 2000, Europe and Africa had roughly the same population. Given trends, there will likely be 7X as many Africans as Europeans in 2100.

6) Nearly 1/3 of US States have passed laws permitting assisted suicide.

7) According to Hebrews, Jesus is praying for you, right now.

8) There are more AI data centers in the US (4.3K) than there are Home Depots (2K), Costcos (600) and Target stores (2K).

Quotes

1) “Jesus was as relaxed as a cat that has never been kicked.” — Dallas Willard

2) "Much of the secular intelligentsia seems content with a basic incoherence in its worldview, with an agnosticism that treats the essential questions about the nature of the universe and the destiny of man with a weary "Who's to say?" sort of shrug." — Ross Douthat

3) "I don’t need a church to tell me I’m wrong when I know I’m wrong. I need the church to tell me I’m wrong when I think I’m right.” — GKC (G.K. Chesterton)

WOTW

Honorable mention goes to backrooms (the fluorescent-lit, infrequently inhabited hallways found in parking garages, malls and corporate offices now populating the nightmares of ‘Zers) and kludgeocracy (a tech term - previously linked to "inelegantly patched” software programs - now used to describe any complicated and cumbersome system). Full honors go to digital modesty, which seems both self-evident and something a digital newsletter writer is probably not qualified to define.

Stories That Write Themselves

To the parade of past nominees—e.g., a British government's anti-corruption minister forced to  resign over ethics violations, the CDC accidental shipment of live Anthrax samples to unsuspecting labs and the DEA agents busted for attending parties funded by drug cartels—we can add the bed bug infestation that broke out in the building housing the Animal and Plant Inspection Services – i.e., the federal agency responsible for containing the spread of invasive pests. I’m so glad the church is never guilty of hypocrisy.

IS2M

Headlines on population decline and AI mayhem—especially in publishing, law, and finance—are pushing aside dire threats about Climate Change and health care reform.

Resources

1) Click here for my interview with Andy Crouch—a friend, public theologian and the author of several books, including The Tech Wise Family.

2) Click here to sign up for my The Life and Legacy of CS Lewis presentation in Little Rock, AR. It’s from 12-1:30pm on July 2 and includes lunch. 

Closing Prayer

“O Lord my God, my Light, my Wealth, and my Salvation, kindle in my heart a longing for that city where you are the everlasting light,
and where your saints will hunger no more, nor thirst anymore. There shall be no night, and no need of sun or moon, for you yourself will be their light, and they will reign with you forever. O lead me, Lord, through the changes of this present world into that blessed dwelling, where I shall see you face to face, and rest in the joy of your presence. Amen.” (Mother Teresa - 1910-1998)