There are a number of sages throughout history who have said, essentially, that it is vitally important that we know what we do not know. Here are a few you might recall reading:
“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.” – Confucius
“The more we learn, the more we discover how much we do not know.” – Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi
“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.” – Stephen Hawking
But what does this have to do with technology and relationships?
Since we are becoming increasingly comfortable and astoundingly reliant on technology, it would behoove us to know what all this might be doing to us. But many of us don’t think about consequences because we don’t know what we don’t know. Enter this current Radix issue.
Of the four interviews that we present, each touches on technology from different specialties and perspectives:
- John Dyer, who is both a theologian and technologist, talks about his recent book People of the Screen: How Evangelicals Created the Digital Bible and How It Shapes Their Reading of Scripture;
- Felicia Wu Song, cultural sociologist, author, and lecturer, discusses the importance of personal presence and the often performative nature of social media (and why this matters);
- Chris Martin, a specialist in social media strategy and communications, talks about his fresh-off-the-press book The Wolf in Their Pockets: 13 Ways the Social Internet Threatens the People You Lead; and
- Paul Taylor, proficient in both pastoring and technology, provides some perspective on technology and the pulpit – along with his take on CHATGPT (hint: it might not spell impending doom to the world).
Along with those, we have other folks who offer their insights too – on technology but also on the recently released film Jesus Revolution. Plus, as always, we offer poetry to feed the soul and spirit.
So here’s to some hopeful engagement – M