Christians and Technology

The Christmas Pen

2008-12-22T00:23:00.000-08:00

It is said that the pen is mightier than the sword. Have you ever wished that you were a fly on the wall when words were written by a scribe some thousands of years ago? If you could only go back in time and actually get a feel of the atmosphere of the room when the pen was put onto paper or the quill to the scroll. Did the author speak as he wrote, what did the others in that room say to inspire or challenge him to write? Was the writing on the walls of a tomb done in eerie silence or under duress?

Would the historic words mean much more to us now if the pen had eyes and ears so that we could have an audio and video clip of the scene to complement the words? I am an aural and visual person. Words come alive when I hear and see the action surrounding it. After watching an exciting movie I get frustrated with the long 10 minutes of credits at the end. These silent scrolling of text with famous names are simply lines of words that I cannot hook on to anything. They fade from my vision and memory as fast as the fly’s footsteps on a clean glass window.

At this Christmas time, I want to talk about the modern Christmas gift gadget called “Livescribe” Smartpen. You may want to buy one for yourself or offer it as a gift to someone. Basically it a physical writing device like a ball point pen except it remembers every word you write as well as records the sounds of people and yourself as your write. It also has a digital camera built into the pen to record the environment at the time of writing. All these can be played back at anytime by linking it with a USB cable to your PC.

Some thousands of years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah made a bold declaration that would change the course of history forever in these words: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” - Isaiah 9:6.

How I wish Isaiah had the Livescribe pen when he wrote those words! But then I don’t really need one as those words were replayed in real life in the factual birth of Jesus Christ in 2008 years ago. The incarnation of Christ is replayed every year throughout the world at Christmas time.

At this Christmas time, the world is in crisis. Our solitary human-inhabited planet needs to know that no government will succeed without leaning on His shoulder. The Bible is alive with His power and in Him every person can find Counsel, Peace, a Heavenly Father and the only Mighty God. God did not send a pen or the scribe - he sent Himself.

A blessed Christmas to you. Jesus the reason for the season.

Google Ogles

2008-12-06T23:18:00.000-08:00

You thought Google Maps was great. Earlier Google provided a satellite view of any location or you could ask for a travel route map by entering your origin and destination - very useful features on its search engine. But last week, Google added yet another feature – Street level map. In New Zealand, you can actually travel in 3D through your own street and see your house – all this for free by using Google.

Many have raised the issue of Google encroaching on their privacy; others say that such an exposure would make it easy for burglars to identify what is on a property and how to get there. Of course, the civil libertarians and many Christians echo their slogan of the “Big Brother”.

I took the last few letters of Google and it forms the English word “Ogle” meaning “to stare at impertinently, flirtatiously, or amorously” (http://www.dictionary.com/). Is this how you feel about Google’s new feature? Has Google gone too far with technology? Do you really benefit from having the street-level view of your house as if you don’t know how your street or house looks like? Or do you feel proud and important that at last the world has public view of your private residence?

Looks like there is no hiding place anymore. Bette Midler’s rendition of the song, “From the Distance ……God is watching us”, rings in my head as I write this. The Bible does say that a time will come when people will seek to hide under rocks and caves to escape for the inescapable judgement day of God. No technology can hide us from God now or on that glorious or fateful day!

WEB 2.0 – HELLO THIS IS ME!

2008-10-28T02:53:00.000-07:00

The advance of internet technology from text-based messaging and static content to rich multi-media interactive publishing is now the expected norm. Web 2.0 has spawned so many social networking and publishing sites. People have become famous celebrities overnight or have become the internet pariahs after one blog page.

I was reading about a chap in Australia who advised his employee that he was too sick to come to work. When the employer asked for a medical certificate, he declined stating privacy issues. Little did he realise that his boss was reading the employees’ blog post in Facebook where he was proudly claiming that he was too trashed after a booze party and didn’t feel like going to work. When confronted by his boss with the employee’s own evidence, there was nothing else he could say but to tender his resignation.

Just have a look at Facebook, Youtube and many other social networking websites and blogs. The amount of personal information, private details and video clips shared on these sites begs the question, “Does the author know (or care) that the information is now open to the rest of the world?” Or is the intent to overexpose oneself for some form of claim to fame or self-gratification?

Have you typed an email and hit the SEND button and then within seconds you want to retract that email? Yes you can use your admin privilege and delete your blog entry. But while you are doing it, your content is already published for the whole world to see.

Has Web 2.0 created a false sense of privacy or an illusion that what you have just posted on your blog only appears on your screen and won’t be seen by many? When Adam and Eve sinned and were confronted by their Maker, they did not realise that they were naked either.

Caveat Emptor - “Let the buyer beware” is the term used in making a purchase. Before you rush into Web 2.0 announcing “Hello this is me” you may need to pause and consider a Web 2.0 caveat “Let the publisher beware that you and you alone are responsible for what you publish”. Web 2.0 may have a sting in its tail and you as its target for destruction! Have you been stung by your own web content?

Disruptive Technologies - They rock your world

2008-08-02T03:51:00.000-07:00

Don’t you hate disruptions especially when you just settled in on your favourite wooden armchair and snuggled with that frayed woollen cushion, and there is a knock on the door? You get up in a grumpy mood only to find that you have been delivered one of that luxury “Lazy-Boy” leather reclining chairs for your forthcoming birthday. It has an adjustable footrest, a button when pressed, smoothly reclines your chair to the degree you want. You are just flabbergasted but decide to return to your favourite wooden rocker.

Prof. Clayton Christensen coined the phrase, “Disruptive Technology” in 1995 to describe a simple, less expensive but innovative technology that challenges the status quo and eventually overturns it. Think of plastic that replaced wood, metal and glass, digital camera and film, disk storage and flash memory to name a few.

How you respond to disruptive technologies begs an answer. I have friends who still do not use email even though it is cheaper and faster. Bullock carts are still used alongside cars in many part of Asia today. I recently bought an excellent book on farm fencing. It has a colour front and back cover with photos but all the inside pages are scanned pages of handwritten instructions and illustration. Why bother going to a printer for this? The author could have sent me photocopies of his notes.

What technologies have disrupted your lifestyle? Which one have you adopted or are you still in still in the Dark Ages? Would you even tolerate such disruptions?

The greatest disruption Man has ever encountered was not a technology but a person called Jesus Christ. He disrupted Judaism, his sermons shook the foundations of the learned and the simple, his miracles blew peoples minds, his death disappointed his followers, and his resurrection infuriated Satan and revived the despondent disciples.

Disruptions are annoying and challenges your beliefs and the possessions you hold dear. We like things that are stale and familiar. In the wine world, noble rot is sweet! In the pig sty, mud is divine. In rotten flesh, maggots thrive. Disruptive technologies offer something better. Jesus will disrupt your world for the best.

Are you rotting nobly, enjoying the mud bath or wriggling gleefully in the stench?

Games Christians Play

2008-06-28T02:55:00.000-07:00

Heard of Christian geeks? These are the ones who sit rigidly in front of the computer screen. There is little or no dialogue or interaction with others. Only their fingers or thumbs move in rapid-fire succession. They are playing Grand Theft Auto, games that have guns bigger than Magnums or AK45s; or games that have Satanic content such as Doom, Quake and the Resident Evil series, let alone sexually explicit games.

The graphics and contents of computer games are spectacular and realistic. The player is totally engrossed, involved and often becomes an active participant in the game. The addiction is progressive – the player cannot wait to go to the next level. Meals are often skipped, social interaction with real human beings are ignored or forgotten.

The once exciting games such as Tetris, NASCAR and Flight Simulator are no longer thrilling or challenging enough. Christian children in particular are playing these new and violent games, often unconstrained by their parents. Many Christian parents join in this “fun” with their children on their Xboxes and computers without seriously thinking about its impact or consequences.

I don’t wish to be a spoil-sport either. I do enjoy computer playing computer games. However, I do wish to raise the issues of parental control, accountability, discipline and Jesus’ warning “If your eyes cause you to offend then ……….!”

A number of Christian programmers have also attempted to develop Christian Computer games such as David & Goliath to offer clean harmless alternatives. But the commercial games developers with their market dominance and financial clout are no match for Christian entrepreneurs. The games market is estimated to be worth $55.6 billion in 2008 and Christians do not have the wherewithal to compete.

What do you think about computer & video games? How much time do you allow your children to play such games per day? Are you addicted to your computer games to the extent that it affects your time with God, your family and others?

Are computer & video games a form of idol or Satan worship or is it harmless fantasy? Do you consider me a Christian spoil-sport barking at my own shadow?

Science and God!

2008-06-08T00:38:00.000-07:00

You are fearfully & wonderfully made!

Watch this video clip first. Then ask yourself the following questions?

Are you a coincidence, a freak of nature or a deliberate creation of God?

There is always this debate between science and God, atheists and evolutionists and Christians. Can theology and technology co-exist? What is your feeling after you watched this video clip? How do you feel about yourself? Let me hear your comments.

Life Diamonds

2008-05-24T02:05:00.000-07:00

What is human life worth? It all depends on where you are or where you were born. In Western countries a cat or a dog is often given more royal treatment than humans. It often costs more to feed the dog than a baby! There are many in this world who do not not know what they are really worth. Check out my recommended book on this post if your self-worth is way down and see how precious you are.

In many third world countries people and children die daily owing to starvation and disease and it is accepted as just one of those ephemeral events of the day and life carries on nonchalantly. In some of these countries body parts are willingly sold to pay for food and shelter and to move ahead in life.

From a sinful and mortal point of view, the Bible says that man is but dust and turns into dust at death. But from the perspective of the Heavenly Father, God sees each person as the apple of His eye – precious enough to die for (which Jesus did on the Cross), worth more than the sparrows and gems, and of eternal value.

From a technology perspective one company has picked up this precious worth of human life and has captured this literally. Have you heard someone compliment you by saying, “You are a gem?” This company can now physically turn a handful of your ashes at your death and create a perfect diamond! Your loved ones can wear you as a diamond pendant, a ring or as any jewellery. The company says: The LifeGem is a certified, high-quality diamond created from the carbon of your loved one as a memorial to their unique life.

Have I shocked you or do you think this is impossible? Visit http://www.lifegem.com/ and find out how it is done, the cost and the colours you can choose. You can turn your loved one into a real physical diamond within a few weeks for a price.

What do you think of the LifeGem technology? Would you invest in such a diamond? People treasure the ashes of their loved one by putting this in a vase or urn in the lounge. So why not turn a handful of that ash into a precious diamond? Would you contemplate wearing your monther-in-law as a diamond on your neck?

YouTube or GodTube?

2008-05-14T00:45:00.000-07:00

Talk about the tubes. We have plastic hoses, panty hoses, cables and wires – all some form of tubes. Then John Logie Baird, a Scotman came up with a different kind of tube in 1926. It now pervades most of the houses in the modern world – the picture tube called the Television. I do remember queuing up to watch the introduction of the black and white TV in the 1960s in Malaysia.

In the new millennium the Internet changed everything that has been physical. We started hearing music on the Internet but then came the ability to telecast yourself on the net and YouTube was born. It is now so simple to record any video clip on a good digital camera or even on your webcam and with a click of a few buttons you can expose yourself to the whole world. I think YouTube is a great idea. It provides free access to publicise almost anything and the environment is self-regulated. This means any person can netcast anything and there is no stopping or it is too late – the horse has already bolted. Many have become famous or notorious by being on the YouTube willingly, anonymously or maliciously.

For everything that is invented first there has to be copy cats or alternatives. For Christians we now have GodTube. Their logo caption says, “Broadcast Him”. Again the concept, though not original is a good Christian alternative. On the positive, it is an avenue for netcasting Christian content and it is mostly free, and is intended for “ministry and personal use”. It is a Christian social networking site and to that extent, it is a commendable service available to everyone – Christian or not.

Unfortunately, because we as Christians are still human beings with our warts and all and our differences, I do see some element of preacher self-promotion and “theology or preacher bashing” on GodTube. If GodTube is intended to “Broadcast Him” who are we really promoting on GodTube? How does the Christian GodTube portray itself to non-christians?

Have you indulged in YouTube and/or GodTube? What is your opinion? Which tube do you spend most of your time on? Will you quit going to church and just watch the GodTube video services instead?

Your Web Avatar

2008-04-28T01:03:00.000-07:00

What is an avatar? How does it differ from the web avatar? The term “avatar” comes from Hindu philosophy and simply means “incarnation” of a divine being, or the bodily manifestation of God. Hinduism also has various categories of these avatars. The word has become in vogue with the New Age thinkers, including self-motivation “business” seminars that now use the term for transformation of self.

With the proliferation of users on the internet, it is no longer easy to maintain one’s unique web identity. With so many Smiths on the net, choosing Joe Blogg as a name is no longer sustainable. So the word “avatar” has now become a web terminology where Joe Blogg can portray himself through a chosen image that he draws himself or gets someone to draw an image that he feels represents his true self. For example a picture of a Bulldog in 3D could become one’s avatar because that image depicts fearlessness, a person not to be tampered with or simply a cuddly flabby pet! To put it plainly, a web avatar is the “web presence” of one’s persona, one’s branding, a representation of one’s significant other or the real you!

On the positive, a web avatar is a portable web identity that is easily recognisable by others. But what baffles me is one’s need to really hide behind this “avatar-mask” - the Phantom you. Why not put up your own photo or your silhouette? Oh, one cites privacy and anonymity as reasons for the one’s avatar. MUDS, forums, the popular “Second Life” and other social networking websites enable you to create your own avatar. The images are not necessarily caricatures but accentuated symbolic entities of yourself.

I find it odd that many people both in real life and on the web do not want to really expose their true self. Come so far but no further seem to be the implication. Yet there seems to be the unnatural craving to “expose” oneself through these avatars and strange usernames. Are they trying to hide something yet seeking fame or notoriety? Read more about avatars in my recommended book for this post.

In the Book of Genesis we are told that God created you in His own image – you are a replica of God in essence and he intended you to be like him. But Satan enticed Adam and Eve by offering an alternate avatar – “you will be like gods”. Then man fell for it with a thud and lost the Paradise. Both Adam and Eve were then fully and literally exposed!

With webcams, live chat and YouTube, I ask you this – Do you still need an avatar to hide behind on the web? Will the real you please show up! What is your web avatar if you already have one? If you still prefer an avatar, what image would you choose for portraying your anonymous self on the web? Will web avatars seek re-incarnation and teleporting and soon spawn a new web religion called “webism”?

Digital Clicks

2008-04-12T01:05:00.000-07:00

When I was a boy I was fascinated by the magnifying glass and the power of the glass lens in displaying images. I then built my pin hole camera and graduated to a plastic $2.00 camera which took good quality black and white photos. At school I joined the camera club and learned to process B&W film in the darkness of my bedroom. It was a miracle to see the image slowly appear on the film and then on the photo paper, albeit in a dark room with wet hands and the strong smell of chemicals. In the late 70s I bought myself a Pentax SLR camera. It had a bayonet mount interchangeable lens and lots of new features such as the ability to actually see through the lens what was to appear on the film! I still have that camera and swore allegiance to using it for the rest of my life. Soon my loyalty was challenged when automatic cameras with fantastic speeds, functions and features came on to the market. I scoffed at the owners of such cameras as I believed that I was a better photographer because I had to use my professional judgement in manually setting the F-stops etc.

Then in the late 1990’s the manual clicks of my Pentax were to be forever changed by the sound of the digital click. The market began to be flooded with digital cameras with very expensive price tags – running into the thousands. But this time it was better than the Polaroid camera. One could see the image in real time and capture the moment and review it within the second! No film, no visit to the film processing shop, or having to wait the minimum 24 hours to get the prints.

In the year 2000, I traded a number of my manual cameras and lenses for a second hand Fuji FinePix 4900 Zoom Digital Camera. It has all the features of my Pentax SLR manual camera but I can capture and see the image instantly. It zooms out without the need to change the lens and I can take a close up shot of an ant within a few centimetres.

This digital camera has travelled with me to the mission fields in Myanmar, the slums of Bombay, the foothills of the Everest in Nepal and captured the birth of my first grand child. With majestic instance, I can connect my camera to my PC and email my photos to anyone around the globe. I can also leave my album (e.g. Picasa) on the internet for free and allow the world to see them. Today you can purchase a digital camera for less than $50. Read my recommended book to learn about digital cameras.

The bible talks about the “twinkling of an eye” and the transformation of the dead to life (I Corinthians 15:51-52). It says that this is a mystery. Likewise I see the power in the Digital Click. It is indeed a mystery and I have been transformed – I am a digital camera clicker. I sometimes wonder about the images I capture in my brain with each twinkle of my eyes. Will science one day be able to expose the millions of images somehow? Or is this storage going to be exposed by God at judgement day for all to see – a frightening thought. Have you moved on from your Kodak Instamatic or that chunky Polaroid camera? What is your click? – Manual or Digital?

E-Cash & E-Banks

2008-03-29T01:12:00.000-07:00

In many Asian countries it is not unusual to be given a piece of paper with a number when you visit a bank. The number indicates your queue number. You wait for your number to be called and then conduct your banking transaction with the teller. You then sign in triplicate, show your government-approved identity card with your photo, signature and both your thumb prints. You then have to wait (….and wait) often at the mercy of the bank clerks and officials before you can get anything out of them. Hey, after all it is your money and they think they are doing you a favour.

I rarely go to the bank these days, I mean, to transact business across the counter. My bank counter is my PC. I login and check my bank balance, transfer funds, pay my bills, buy shares, buy forex, pay my taxes and juggle my money all online. I can’t tell you the colour of money because I am dealing in electronic or digital cash. My bank is no longer bricks and mortar but an e-bank – open all hours.

Some Christians find my behaviour somewhat unusual. I know of one Christian who worked very hard abroad to earn some money to buy a house. He and his wife didn’t trust even the brick bank. They put their packets of US Dollars under their bed. Sadly a burglar broke in and took the lot! I won’t tell you how much. There are others with theological backing for not using electronic banking. They forecast the coming of the antichrist who apparently will hold the reigns of the banking world and will cause the cash crisis. Of course you have heard of the mark of the beast, barcodes and 666 in my earlier posts as reasons for non-participation in and non-adoption of e-banking.

In reality, paper and coin money is disappearing. Many merchants and shopping malls don’t carry cold cash. They prefer all transactions to be made via Credit Card or EFTPOS. Even travellers cheques are on the way out. At the end of the day money is just a number representing a value and today that number and value is represented by 0 and 1 on a bank computer.

For me e-cash and e-banks offer me the security, instant access, instant transaction at any time or any place. Jesus once ran out of cash (Matt:17) so he used an EFTPOS machine to draw out some money. The fact was - that EFTPOS machine had a different design. The cold cash came out of the mouth of a fish!

Are you a cold cash person or a digital cash and e-banking person? What’s your theological view on electronic banking?

Credit Cards or Curse Cards?

2008-03-16T02:15:00.000-07:00

Have you ever received an unsolicited letter with a “pre-approved” Credit Card or am I the only chosen one to be honoured like this? The accompanying letter usually praises you for your earning power and says that you deserve owning this prestigious card. You feel proud, empowered and cash rich! It’s like receiving a Christmas Card with a cash gift attached. The only catch is, the money is not mine, not what I have earned, inherited or even stolen. Yet the credit card gives me the power to start spending it straightway. In today’s article published in the New York Times, it says that Americans’ favourite pastime is not sport but buying something – mostly by impulse.

When Credits Cards were first introduced, they were only for the chosen elite with above average income. Today even a student can get a credit card. As for me, I have been using credit cards for over 20 years – owning one card from each major credit card company. They have been great for me as I don’t need to carry cash; I can use it when I travel overseas without having to worry about exchanging money. I have learned to use other company’s money without drawing out my own cash. To have this free credit, I had to be smart with my spending and paying it back within the month. In all these 20 odd years I have never paid a single cent interest to my credit card companies. I always paid the full amount due on the due dates, period. I was simply terrified at being charged the 18% to 22% interest rates if I failed. Use it the right way, it allows you to manage your money. Use it the wrong way, it makes you a slave.

What amazes me most is how many people in today’s society, especially young people use credit cards to do blind, impulsive purchases and clock it all up on their credit cards. But when the monthly statement arrives depression sets in and they can only afford to pay the minimum required. Soon the $100 owing becomes $1000 and the cycle repeats itself.

The New York Times article further states that credit card debt has grown to $60,000 to $100,000 for some people in the USA. I think it is very similar in other countries. I personally know of such sad stories among some of my friends.

As the Bible says, the real reason for all this is greed and the love of money. Secondly many Christians have failed to be good stewards of the money given to them and have squandered it like the prodigal son. Accountability to God is not in their financial vocabulary. Read my recommended book for this post to say goodbye to your debt.

For people who are unable to control the urge to spend or to zap it on their Credit cards, there is only one answer from Jesus. If your hand causes you to offend – then chop it off! I think this verse in Mark 9 was specifically written for the digital cash era. That’s what I did last week when I chopped my Gold American Express Card and my Silver Diners Club Card and posted them back to the respective companies. Not because I owed them money but I no longer wanted to pay their high membership fees.

I have come up with my list of names for credit cards - Money Cards, Charity Cards, Crisis Cards, Curse Cards, Christmas Cards, Cornered Cards, Cry Cards and Control Cards. What name would you choose for your credit card today? Are you managing your cards or are the cards managing you? There is a simple solution and it is called - the Scissors!

Christian Online Dating

2008-02-29T10:41:00.000-08:00

Can true love be ever found online? As a an English literature student I remember from Milton’s Paradise Lost, these passionate words Adam expresses to Eve when he encounters her for the first time in the Garden of Eden:

Flesh of flesh, Bone of my bone, thou art, and from thy state Mine never shall be parted, bliss or woe.

That was Eden and Paradise (now Lost) but now in the nebulous cloud of the Internet love and emotion can be sought (bought?) and found, expressed or rescinded all in a matter of a few clicks. It is now more than just text and still images - you can see the person live, chat and text! The Internet sets no boundaries for age, culture, colour or language, for what has come to be popularly known as Online Dating. It all started when the non-Christian dating sites first hit the net. Not long after Christian dating sites followed suit. I just Googled the words “Christian dating” and in a blink of an eye the search engine returned nearly 4 million occurrences of this phrase. If you think that’s a lot, try “online dating” and Google returned 85 million occurrences! This goes on to show that Online Dating is alive and well and the taboo once associated with online dating is now far removed. Whether one is there to catch, chat, to be introduced, to be netted, matched or simply to find contact and friendship this online behaviour is normalised, acceptable and even trendy.

I come from a culture where marriages are still (and preferably) arranged although the potential partners have the right to say no. I know of happily married Christian couples who found themselves online. I have also heard of horror stories where the web was so complex the relationship was woefully tangled or the web relationship only lasted till the next gust of wind.

Some Christians oppose online dating sites citing the spiritual sentiments discussed in the book I have recommended on this post "If I'm Waiting on God, Then What Am I Doing in a Christian Chatroom?" Others think that online dating sites are for desperate and lonely singles who haven't got the guts to face flesh and bone humans and say, "Want to go out with me?" Others say it is frequented by those whose "use by date" has expired or simply sitting on the shelves unwanted and untaken. One must also caution about many so-called online dating sites that are often a front for porn sites.

What about you? Have you used Christian or non-Christian dating sites? What was your experience like? Has it worked for you or would you recommend it to another Christian?

If you are new to online dating, I recommend you read "The Savvy Christian's Guide to Online Dating" - click the links on your right.

In a world of two-minute noodle soup, is online dating the quick fix panacea for friendship, courtship, romance, love and ultimately finding your lifelong spouse? Would you after having found that person of your dreams on a Christian Dating site truely respond as Eve did in Milton’s Paradise Lost these words?

Confirm'd then I resolve, Adam shall share with me in bliss or woe: So dear I love him, that with him all deaths I could endure, without him live no life.

Are Christians E-dummies?

2008-02-16T20:38:00.000-08:00

Have you seen the yellow and black books specifically written for dummies? As I see it, when it comes to technology, Christians can be in one of the three main camps. One group can be on the e-dummies side, the other on the Luddites court and the third on the technology-evangelist domain. I have been a computer teacher for some years now and have noticed these three clear distinctions. The question I’d like to pose is: “Which side of the Christian technology camp are you in?”

As for me I am a “technology-evangelist”. I have had a born again technology experience whereby I gave up my old habits and technologies such as the typewriter, the snail mail, queuing up at the bank etc and adopted a new lifestyle based on using computers, electronic devices and the internet. Just a day ago, I went to have dinner at a Christian friend’s home. He is a British trained accountant. I showed him my iMate Pocket PC. He had no idea what it was but was very fascinated when I showed him that this Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) also functioned as my mobile phone, my dictaphone, camera, e-book reader, calculator and I could connect to the internet to search the web or send emails or launch many applications as if I was at my desktop PC. When I told him that it did not have a keyboard and showed him how I could use my stylus and write something on the screen and it simply typed out my handwriting, he was blown away! Basically, he would fall into the category of “e-dummy”, someone who is ignorant when it comes to technology. This Christian friend runs his own business as an accountant and wants more clients. But he does not have a personal or business website. I have taught and know of many Christians who fall into to this group of “e-dummies”. For some reason (including ignorance), they have not adopted or only partially adopted new technology. I still have friends who say they use email but when I send them an email, I never get a reply. So I have to follow up my email with a phone call to ask them to log in and read my email!

The last category is the “Luddites”. These are people who have made a choice not to adopt or use computers or new technology. They cite spiritual, moral, philosophical, ethical, ecological, political, economic, social and a host of other reasons for resisting change. Instead they prefer to use the sledgehammer to break walls, hide their savings under the bed instead of putting it in a bank, send their letter by horse and cart if one was available instead of clicking “Send” on the email screen.

A study undertaken by the Barna Group in 2006 found that only 40% of the born again 90 million Christians in the USA had adopted 14 technological products and services used in that study. The study showed that while Christians did not lag behind non Christians in a number of areas such as owning a computer or TV, non-Christians were more likely to use a wider range of new technologies than Christians.

There certainly seems to be a digital divide between Christians and non-Christians. This digital gap was often thought to be related to socio-economic and generational factors. I agree that there is always going to be the divide between the haves and have-nots. But in this modern day and age, I am challenging Christians to rethink the adoption of technologies for kingdom purposes. So are you a Christian e-dummy, a Luddite refusing to let go your mechanical tools or are you a technology-evangelist wanting to spread the Good News via these new technologies and new media? Ultimately, if Christians don’t adopt such technologies, then the Devil will and already has! It is your call. You don’t have to be a Christian e-dummy anymore. Read the recommended books on this blog and learn from the web. Let me know where you stand or debate this issue with me.

Search and findability

2008-02-09T00:41:00.000-08:00

Last week Microsoft made an offer to buy Yahoo for a phenomenal amount of $US 44.6 billion. Why is there such a fuss about buying search engines? It all boils down to one thing - Man is a curious being. Searching and finding is one of the most satisfying endeavour of every person. Some thirty years ago the internet was invented and the Word Wide Web offered anyone, anywhere to place any document on the web. Soon it grew and got cluttered and looked like my office. You know the feeling, when you want to find something, you know it is there but you just can’t locate it. So the internet search engines such as Excite, Lycos, Hotbot, Alta Vista, Ask and others were invented.

Simply put a search engine is an internet tool that helps us to find documents (information) on almost anything on the internet. The service is free, easy to use and you don’t have to worry about collecting, collating, storing, indexing and cataloguing this huge, amorphous cloud of global information. So which search engine should I use? For quite sometime my favourite was Alta Vista but I have become a “Googlelite” because Google is the biggest and the most popular search engine. You are asking me, how big Google is? Well, Google has over 28 billion indexed web pages and 1.3 billion images. It has over 300 million searches per day! Today the verb “to Google” is officially accepted to mean to “search on Google”. That is why Microsoft wants to buy Yahoo! (the seconds biggest) to compete with the dominant player Google in order to gain the advertising market share worth hundreds of millions.

I have many Christian friends who use Google and other search engines but waste a lot of time because they can’t find exactly what they want quickly. Well there are 100 different ways to find your lost coin. But if you are smart you will use your torch or a metal detector. It is not in what you say, but how you say it. For some smart search ideas click here.

Wouldn’t be nice to have Christian Search engines showing only the Christian resources? If you are smart you can find all this in Google. But I did find some Christian Search engines for you. See the links on the right under “Links books and Articles”.

Did you know that God was the first person to do a "search" ? He did this search verbally in Genesis 3:9 – But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He is still searching for the lost coin, the lost sheep and you! My guess is, what God did verbally, you will soon be able to do with Google! Speak and you will find!

What do you think of search engines? How do you use them? Share some of your search ideas in response to this post by clicking on the comment link below.

Invisible Bible

2008-02-01T18:32:00.001-08:00

Over 40 years ago I first saw the epic movie “Ten Commandments” in Malaysia, a Muslim country. The parting of the Red Sea was then touted to be a great movie graphic achievement. I vividly remember the Bible being created from the rocks through the fiery lightening strikes resulting in the formation of the tablets of stone. This was then shattered into pieces when Moses smashed it in anger and disappointment at the sight of the Israelites worshipping the idols. The word Biblos, literally The Book is another name for the Bible and it conjures up a thick printed King James Version of the English Bible. How the book technology has evolved from tablets and scrolls to something that is no longer physically visible. (see www.biblos.com).

In India where I originally come from, the pastor and the more spiritual congregation looked at me with dismay when I did not carry my Bible to church – I was almost a pagan. Now I carry the invisible Bible in my pocket in the form of my Phone Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). The Bible has now become an e-book like thousands of other books available online to download or read, many of them available for free or for a fraction of the cost of the bulky, guaranteed-to-fade or dust-collecting printed hard copies. The power of eBooks is unbeatable. You can read on screen, search, bookmark, cut and paste content, highlight and flip pages without having to lick your thumb or curling the paper edges. You can buy ebook readers and by the way Moses’ tablet is back in vogue after thousands of years! You can read your e-Bible on a Tablet PC! I am all for e-books and e-Bibles. At http://www.gutenberg.org/ over 3 million eBooks are downloaded each month. How do you find this technology? Will you buy, download or read an e-Bible?

God is a spirit and is invisible. And now his Word has also become the Invisible Bible. It is so small you can save it on your USB flash drive, your PDA or your PC. I don’t worry anymore if my pastor looks at me disappointingly for not carrying the black book or for playing with my PDA in church. I am actually into the invisible Bible and I can truly touch and feel the invisible Creator!

Txt Msg Ur Srmn

2008-01-25T01:26:00.000-08:00

When I look at the youth (the SMS generation) in the shopping malls and on the streets, they are merrily using their mobile phones, not talking but texting. I even see people texting inside the church. The lyrics sung by Simon and Garfunkel some decades ago in the Sound of Silence reflects today's texting scenario.

“And in the naked light I saw. Ten thousand people, maybe more.

People talking without speaking…...”

As a language teacher, I wonder whether verbal/oral communication is coming to an end. Texting or text messaging has become very popular and is full of abbreviated words that look like they were just written by someone who just learned the alphabets, or typed on a keyboard with many keys missing! To me the whole language seems abnormal and the abuse of the English language.

I read on another blog about an Anglican Pastor who encouraged people to text him back in the middle of his sermon with questions on his message – in real time! He replied back by text while preaching at the same time. It was according to him a very successful trial because it reached people who were at church and those who were not there. I guess it gives a new meaning to the term "outreach".

If Jesus used different means to communicate the Good News to the poor and the Apostle Paul encourages Christians to reach the unreached by any means, then what is wrong in using txt msg 2 rch thse in the lang they cn undrstnd & the technlgy they use?

What do you think about the text-speak technology? In what ways do you use SMS technology in your ministry? Do you have any innovative ideas for its use in Christian ministry today?

Would you subscribe to a text message sermon? Would you buy an SMS TXT Bible? There is one available now!

Big Brother is watching YOU!

2008-01-19T02:15:00.000-08:00

In 1969 I was studying at a College in India when I read George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” and “1984” for the first time. His dystopian novel written in 1948 about what life would be like in 1984 was shocking enough but far-fetched, I thought then. The term “Orwellian” talks about a totalitarian state where the citizens are under constant surveillance. But I wonder now if Orwell had an inkling of the “totalitarian control” of other forces on citizens’ lives some 30 years after his book was written.

Some Christians believe that the Computer and now the Internet is the Big Brother. There seems to be some truth in this. When I started in the mainframe world, every piece of hardware had some form of hard-coded identity. But since the arrival of the WWW and the Internet I am identified by my IP address and the myriads of usernames and passwords I have to remember. Worse, someone invented “cookies” and every move of mine is now tracked when I am online on the Internet. This invasive surveillance in the Information Technology world is raising concerns about one’s identity, personal privacy and security.

OK, I can ditch my credit cards with those eschatological 666 symbols, I don’t have to worry about the totalitarian state as dictators and the Berlin Walls have collapsed; and thankfully democracy reigns in most parts of the world. But how can I live without my Internet? Yes, I still own my Intellectual Property (IP) but I don’t really own my IP address. Are you saying as Orwell did. “Big Brother is watching you?” So be afraid, very afraid? Ultimately is the Big Brother - My Computer?

The Disco Church

2008-01-10T00:14:00.000-08:00

Most churches today have moved on with the times. I recall being a member of a Baptist church some 25 years ago where the God-approved worship instruments were the piano and organ. On one occasion some senior members walked out because drums were used and the youth started clapping hands!

Some of the more dynamic and fast-growing churches today use lighting and sound accompanied by hi-tech multi-media technologies. You name it and we've got it - strobe lights, disco balls, spot lights, screens on either side of the pulpit where live images of the preacher is projected from data projectors worth thousands of dollars each. The stage is equipped with fog machines, monstrous speakers, tangle of cables, super-sensitive microphones and other paraphenalia.

I actually belong to one such church. I enjoy being there. No it is not all young people there. Yes I have seen some senior worshippers with earplugs in their ears but with their hands raised in worship. The worship is gloriously edifying and exhilarating. My wife and I attended the Hillsongs Conference in Sydney a couple of years ago where some 35,000 people worshipped in a similar setting. We felt the presence of God and the oneness of a multitude of Christians from diverse nations worshipping together. I saw a glimpse of what heaven would be like.

I do however wonder whether the Church has gone too far and become a "disco" church! If Jesus walked into our modern church today as he entered the temple 2 millenia ago and expressed his dissent at the money changers and all the commotion there, what would he do or think of the "disco" church?

The Mark of the Beast

2008-01-04T00:51:00.000-08:00

I am starting my first post with a controversial topic. During the recent Christmas and New Year holidays I stayed with some Christian friends. We had finished eating the left over ham and Christmas pudding. Late into the night, the subject of "666" came up in our discussion. I thought I should open up this topic to others for comment.

Many Christians seem to be pre-occupied or even obsessed with the number "666" and the "Mark of the Beast". For some reason computers and specifically the barcodes are often associated with the "mark". Some have even spoken against the use of any information technology!

Is the computer the real anti-christ? Should you avoid anything that has a bar-code on it? What about the use of credit cards? Is any form of electronic identity or verification technology to be avoided because it is tantamount to succumbing to the mark of the beast?

As for me, I have almost all the credit cards and all the items I buy at the grocery or at any other shopping centre seem to have the ubiquitous barcode. I cant avoid but enjoy the cacophany of barcode scanners where ever I shop. I live and breath technology. You name it and I either use it or want one. Am I doomed?

I am wondering as a born-again, charismatic Christian whether I should be selective when using or adopting technologies.

What's your take on this subject?

Please note, your comments will only appear after I have moderated it.