Thursday, June 4, 2009

Quote

"[The Internet] creates a permanent puberty of the mind. We get locked in so much information, and the inability to sort that information meaningfully limits our capacity to understand. The last stage of knowledge is wisdom. But we are miles from wisdom because the Internet encourages the opposite of what creates wisdom—stillness, time and inefficient things like suffering. On the Internet, there is no such thing as waiting; there is no such thing as stillness. ... This culture is on an extraordinary pace toward needing things to be more efficient. But that is a value that is ultimately antithetical to the gospel. I've never heard of efficient wisdom, efficient love, efficient suffering or efficient compassion."

Mennonite pastor Shane Hipps
author of Flickering Pixels: How Technology Shapes Your Faith
[Christianity Today, 5/09]


So what is your opinion?
What do you think?


4 comments:

Shelby said...

I agree 100% and can cite a recent example in my own life. My granddaughter had a "lesion type thing" in her throat; my stepdaughter looked up all she could find on throat lesions on the net and scared herself to death. It was all scary and she nearly crippled herself with fear because she didn't have the wisdom to go with the information.

If she'd had to wait for the excision and the biopsy results before she knew any of the possibilities, sure she'd have been concerned and worried (she's a mom!) but she wouldn't have had the info overload to push her into stark panic. (My granddaughter's okay, btw)

In my own Christian walk one of the hardest things for me, in terms of my NATURAL self, is to be still and listen and wait for the Lord to guide me. But when I AM able to do that, I DO find wisdom.

black betty said...

this quote had me thinking ALL day and ALL night long. i appreciate you posting it. you always have such wonderful posts.

love ya. mean it.

From the Doghouse said...

This may be one of your best posts yet, and I agree with it completely. We're in touch more than ever now, but we've lost the humanity that makes it special.

Carrie said...

I love that last sentence.

It's so true! We are totally an instant gratification society. Love at first sight, credit to buy whatever you want before you can pay for it, information at the ready.

Knowledge is NOT wisdom. Just because you know something doesn't mean you understand it or know how to apply it.

Love this!