Welcome again, my
friends. Digital Disconnect
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episode #10. I'm
your host Scott Ritsema.
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This one is such a
joy for me to present.
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I am very happy to have a relief
from the previous episodes
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which are really having to
dig deep into an understanding
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of the mind
manipulation and the propaganda,
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and the social engineering,
and the assault on childhood
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and the demonic inspiration
in the entertainment industry.
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Whew! Glad to have those
particular episodes behind us
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as we take delight and joy
in being people of the Book
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in the age of the app.
Let's begin with prayer.
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Father, we thank you so
much for the Book of Books.
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We thank you for whom
it tells: Jesus Christ,
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our Savior, the Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world.
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We pray now as we
understand the digital age
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and how we can re-capture
a love for the written word
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and the physical printed paper
volumes that we are so blessed
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to have. Our prayer is that
You would give us inspiration
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something better than excessive
media and endless media
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and something to
behold Jesus through.
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In Jesus' name, Amen.
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I want to begin with a graphic
that I want to put on the screen
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for you that will give us
a little historical context.
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Do you know what that
is on the screen there?
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What is that invention
that happened 500 years ago?
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500+ years ago.
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What you're seeing
there is the printing press.
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The printing
press... its invention altered
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human society and
the course of history
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like almost no other
invention prior to it.
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It enabled people for the
first time in human history
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to have a copy of
the Bible for themselves
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in their own language.
They called it Gutenberg's folly
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because the powers that
be didn't want the common man
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having access to the
Word of God for himself.
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And not just the Bible...
as if that's not enough...
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but volumes of the written word
to experience an understanding
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of science and God's creation.
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Of history and prophecy
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and the passing out of tracts
for the witnessing and the
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winning of souls.
The next 400 years
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after the invention
of the printing press
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was just building upon
building upon building of truth
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and greater enlightenment
and deeper understanding
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and reforms in human society.
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It brought
freedom of conscience.
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It brought in enlightenment
with civic virtues.
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We wouldn't have the foundation
of the American Republic
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if it weren't for
Gutenberg's printing press.
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And we certainly
wouldn't have Martin Luther's
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Protestant Reformation
which we praise God for.
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And we live in a time where
book reading and the physical
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printed page seems to be
kind of going out of style.
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So let's spend some time
thinking about digital reading
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and digital immersion
vs. the opportunity to read
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and for our children to
read books in their hands.
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Now the reading
circuit involves and integrates
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several different
areas of the brain.
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This is amazing because
you don't have a dedicated
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reading circuit in your brain
that's given you from birth.
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It comes to being
through two hemispheres
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across 4 lobes per hemisphere
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and five different
layers of the brain...
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and all of that wired
together in a reading circuit.
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We are "fearfully and
wonderfully made" by God.
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Once the brain learns how to
read you can just pair all that
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together in a
millisecond. It's incredible!
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And one cognitive neuroscientist
named Dr. Maryann Wolf
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has spoken of the
benefits of book reading
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and how research has actually
shown that when you are a
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book reader you enhance in your
abilities at critical thinking,
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at creativity... So
there's Biblical virtues
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right there. God
created us in His image
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and He is the Creator.
We are small c creators.
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"Come now let us
reason together. "
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Being critical thinkers.
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She also points out
that research has shown
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personal reflection increases
the more we are book readers.
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So the Bible says:
"Examine yourselves
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whether ye be in the
faith. " II Corinthians 13:5.
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Examining ourselves...
personal reflection.
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And empathy is the fourth thing
that book readers tend to do
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more. "Love your
neighbor as yourself. " Right?
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In fact, speaking of
empathy, Stanford Research
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has shown that when people are
reading a narrative in a book
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when they are reading it
deliberately and not just
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quickly reading
through it for the story
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that the mirror neuron activity
empathizing and stepping into
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the shoes of the
people you're reading about
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actually is enhanced when
you're reading deliberately
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and contemplatively and
not just speeding through
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like our media
comes at us these days.
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Now I've read in the Bible that
we are to love the Lord our God
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with all our heart and
soul and mind and strength.
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Loving God with all our mind.
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Have you ever thought
about what that might mean
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in an age where the
mind is being dumbed down?
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Is media dumbing us down?
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Well if you look at research
dating all the way back to
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the 1980's they were showing
that increased TV viewing
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was dumbing people down.
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Beyond that you
fast-forward to 2003
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and that's when the
digital age is starting.
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You know, Internet.
Not mobile devices yet.
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But by 2003 a
generation of TV and video games
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and the beginnings of the
Internet were already witnessing
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two grade levels lower
of performance in children
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in school than
they were in the 1970's.
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So we dropped
two full grade levels
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in our academic abilities.
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So how about the modern
times then with mobile devices
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and endless
Internet and Smartphone use?
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Is that taking its toll the same
way that the first generation
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of media took its toll?
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Well, since the
advent of the Smartphone
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just in a decade period of time
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you had a dropping in SAT scores
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13 points in language and
in reading in just 10 years.
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Now that's pretty significant.
Language and reading
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13 point drop. Then
you look at the largest
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study on media use and
child development ever done.
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$300 million
federally-funded study.
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And they found 5th graders
who were doing just two hours
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of screen time per day
it reduced their cognitive
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and academic abilities as
well, particularly in thinking
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and language scores.
So we can sum that up
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and say the media mind
is becoming dumbed down.
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The mind of Christ can be
intelligent in the Word of God,
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intelligent in critical thought.
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And most of all, we can
develop the character of Christ
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as we are in His
Word. Now that's not to say
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of course that
digital devices can't be used.
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We can do Internet searches
and these things are a great
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blessing. I like
having on my phone...
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I can search the
Bible. I have an app for
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a whole host of books, EGW
writings, apps. So many great
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things that we can
use these devices for
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for our intellectual
enhancement. But going back to
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the basics sometimes
can bring a greater benefit
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than you might think.
Digital everything isn't always
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superior to the
analog version if you will.
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Now I'm discussing intelligence
and critical thinking
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and loving God with
all of our mind not to make
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academic attainment some
sort of spiritual hierarchy.
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You're aware of the
fact that William Tyndale,
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the famous
Reformer, said to the elitists
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of his time: "You know
if you give me the Bible
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in the common tongue I
will have a boy who stands
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at the plow to know
more of the Word of God
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than you
doctors of the church. "
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You professional
papal theologians.
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So pretty confrontational
words from Mr. Tyndale.
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He distributed English Bibles &
was burned at the stake for it.
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But the idea is that
anybody can come to a knowledge
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of salvation through
Jesus Christ no matter how smart
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we think we are. So I just
want to put that in as a proviso
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for people. "Oh, I got C's
in school. Oh no, I'm not as
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good of a Christian. "
No, that's not the case.
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But the more we can
understand the Word of God
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intelligently the more
we can be guarded against
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potential deception 'cause
the devil wants to deceive.
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And if thinking skills
and language skills are down
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because the media is
dumbing people down, I suppose
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Satan delights in that
'cause it makes easier prey
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in this generation that's
coming up with these lower
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basic skills that are
required for Bible reading.
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So we want to be intelligent
learners of the Scriptures.
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But you might say: "OK, what
about educational technology
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then? " You heard in an earlier
session about the Waldorf-style
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schools. And they do some things
that we wouldn't believe in
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New Age sort of leaning things.
But they do a lot of good things
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like back to the
basics getting children's...
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their hands in the soil and
gardening and chalk/chalkboards.
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Low-tech schools.
That's one of the trends.
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You see two divergent
paths on the graphic here:
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the "no-tech" school
where screens are off limits
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even at home and then
others in the AP it was reported
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US classrooms are
starting to resemble arcades
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where they "gamify"
the process of learning
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and everything becomes a
process of doing it digitally
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online and scoring
points or whatever.
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And that's all the
learning interface we have left
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because that's what motivates
them. And so we kind of
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enable that and tap into that.
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And people are well intentioned
but the approach of going
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low tech is
proving to be superior.
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So the first graphic there
where you saw where screens
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are not part of the
educational process...
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Look at this graphic:
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Reading into
the article it says:
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So the more we're using
"educational technology"
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the lower the
performance is going.
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And that was in one particular
investigation by the OECD.
00:10:10.41\00:10:15.44
But a Durham University
study looked across 48 studies.
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This is called a meta-analysis
where they study all the studies
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and they're looking at,
OK, tech-based interventions.
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"We're going to help the
struggling kids. We're going to
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get them involved with computers
and educational technology. "
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They found that traditional
methods of intervention -
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a tutor sitting there
caring about the person -
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pencil and paper -
those are superior to the
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tech-based interventions.
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In the meta-analysis
of forty-eight studies
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that's pretty definitive.
00:10:41.37\00:10:42.70
And then you have a
headline that came out
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in Time Magazine. This was
quite a provocative headline.
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Not surprising from Dr. Kardaras
who we heard from earlier.
00:10:48.64\00:10:52.21
But he says: "Screens in schools
are a $60 billion hoax. "
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He says: "This is
a massive enterprise,
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a big, well-funded entity,
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a monolith of
high-tech educational technology
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being foisted
into the schools. "
00:11:06.09\00:11:07.60
He says: "It's not
doing a thing. It's a hoax"
00:11:07.80\00:11:10.30
is what he called it. But
basically if you want to use
00:11:10.50\00:11:12.33
more objective
scientific terminology
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we have decades of
research showing that
00:11:14.70\00:11:17.57
educational technology is not
adding any performance value,
00:11:17.77\00:11:21.14
cognitive increase or academic
success for our young people.
00:11:21.34\00:11:25.48
So the verdict is
coming in on that pretty well.
00:11:25.68\00:11:27.78
But we start early you know.
We have the baby on the iPad
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sort of thing that we've
looked at in previous episodes.
00:11:30.95\00:11:32.92
But let's think about books.
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What can we be
doing instead of that?
00:11:34.76\00:11:36.19
How many of you delight in
having the toddler on the couch
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sitting on the lap?
You see the graphic there.
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It's called shared attention
and it's a joy to read to
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those little ones.
They're pre-readers.
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And you know what's happening
when you're reading to them?
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Their language
development is forming.
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Their literacy is forming
when they're being read to.
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They don't have to
learn to read at age 5.
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That gives them no advantage
over a kid who learns to read
00:11:58.98\00:12:01.55
at age 7. In fact, all
other things being equal
00:12:01.75\00:12:04.42
the kid who learns to
read a little later actually
00:12:04.62\00:12:06.42
out performs it when
we force it too early
00:12:06.62\00:12:08.42
and it's this unpleasant
thing. But what they DO learn
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at 3 and 4 and 5 and 2
00:12:11.53\00:12:13.80
is they're learning phonics
sounds and they can distinguish
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those phonics
sounds better by age 5
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than kids who aren't read to.
00:12:19.83\00:12:21.50
And that exceeds their literary
capabilities later in life.
00:12:21.77\00:12:24.87
What a blessing that is
to have that foundation laid
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so they can be people of
the book in the age of the app.
00:12:27.51\00:12:30.38
And also, by the way, they're
hearing sentence structure.
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They're hearing verbiage;
they're hearing different types
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of ways of speaking that
you wouldn't necessarily speak
00:12:35.82\00:12:38.29
as parents in the home. But
when they hear it read to them
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then they're starting
to be able to comprehend
00:12:42.52\00:12:44.53
literary types of language and
how we speak in literary form.
00:12:44.73\00:12:49.03
Maybe I should say how
we used to speak because
00:12:49.23\00:12:51.37
today we give the toddlers apps.
00:12:51.57\00:12:53.57
Well, I like what Dr.
Dimitri Christakis said:
00:12:53.77\00:12:56.47
"Toddlers need laps not apps. "
00:12:56.67\00:12:59.31
That's a clever way of
putting it, but you might say:
00:12:59.51\00:13:02.18
"What is the big difference
if our young people are reading
00:13:02.38\00:13:04.71
a book on a screen vs.
reading it in a paper book? "
00:13:04.91\00:13:07.25
I've already revealed a
little bit of a bias in favor of
00:13:07.45\00:13:10.55
the parchment... you
know, the printed page...
00:13:10.75\00:13:12.89
the physically-bound book.
00:13:13.09\00:13:15.22
A lot of people like
you know digital reading.
00:13:15.42\00:13:17.79
No sin in that, of course.
00:13:17.99\00:13:19.33
But when they looked at and in-
vestigated reading comprehension
00:13:19.66\00:13:23.37
when you have books
vs. like enhanced e-readers
00:13:23.57\00:13:27.14
where the kids in school
they read this and there's a
00:13:27.34\00:13:28.90
little pop-up or you know
little bells and whistles.
00:13:29.10\00:13:31.51
They actually found that
reading comprehension is better
00:13:31.71\00:13:34.18
in physically printed
books than in the enhanced
00:13:34.34\00:13:36.91
eBooks. And this was
studied way back in the 1980's.
00:13:37.11\00:13:40.28
Do you remember the
Apple computer that came out?
00:13:40.48\00:13:43.85
I remember my friend got
one and it had the mouse.
00:13:44.05\00:13:46.65
Oh yeah, you
see the image there.
00:13:46.86\00:13:48.59
My friend goes:
"I got a computer! "
00:13:48.79\00:13:51.49
I'm like: "Oh, yeah,
we have one of those.
00:13:51.69\00:13:53.29
It's a Tandy 1000. You
have to type everything away. "
00:13:53.50\00:13:56.36
He goes: "No...
ours has a mouse. "
00:13:56.56\00:13:58.63
I'm like: "A mouse? Why
would you want a mouse? "
00:13:58.83\00:14:00.77
"No, you've gotta see this.
" And he's moving it around
00:14:01.17\00:14:03.34
and it's moving on the screen.
I'm like: "Whoa! That's neat. "
00:14:03.54\00:14:05.81
Well anyway, they studied
that in that age of hyperlinks
00:14:06.01\00:14:08.81
and clicking on the hyperlinks
00:14:09.01\00:14:10.38
in the late 80's they found that
reading comprehension was lower
00:14:10.58\00:14:14.05
when there's an
option to click on a link
00:14:14.25\00:14:16.15
than when it's the same text
in a book and there's no link.
00:14:16.35\00:14:19.35
Because the brain is divided.
It's thinking: "Should I click
00:14:19.55\00:14:22.22
on this or not? " So a
little different. I like links.
00:14:22.42\00:14:24.63
There's no obviously sin
in using Internet research.
00:14:24.83\00:14:27.20
I've done a lot of Internet
research for these seminars
00:14:27.40\00:14:29.56
as you've noticed... a
lot of online screen shots
00:14:29.76\00:14:32.10
but never wanting to
just surrender and sacrifice
00:14:32.50\00:14:35.90
and say good-bye to
the physical paper books.
00:14:36.10\00:14:38.41
'Cause then the real test
came. They said: "Now let's
00:14:38.61\00:14:40.94
compare physical paper books
vs. non-enhanced e-readers. "
00:14:41.14\00:14:45.48
So it's on a screen but
there's no bells and whistles.
00:14:45.88\00:14:48.25
There's no things to
click and links to distract you.
00:14:48.45\00:14:50.42
It's just the
paper vs. the screen.
00:14:50.82\00:14:53.05
And they found even then
the paper comprehension was
00:14:53.25\00:14:55.32
better when you're reading
it in a physical paper book.
00:14:55.52\00:14:58.69
And so they kind of came
down to it at a meta-analysis.
00:14:59.26\00:15:02.66
Dartmouth University looked
across the board at all the
00:15:02.86\00:15:04.70
studies on that and
found reading comprehension
00:15:04.90\00:15:06.80
is better in
physical paper books.
00:15:07.00\00:15:09.90
Now listen to the one
from the Washington Post here:
00:15:10.31\00:15:12.54
So the verdict is in. The
media mind is more scattered
00:15:36.16\00:15:39.23
and distracted. You know
we talked about the stress
00:15:39.43\00:15:41.57
and the multi-tasking
in a previous episode.
00:15:41.77\00:15:44.51
The mind of Christ we
can become more focused.
00:15:44.71\00:15:47.64
And the focused attention is
something that we are lacking.
00:15:47.84\00:15:50.45
In this age of being
inundated with so many images
00:15:50.85\00:15:54.32
and messages and
notifications and distractions
00:15:54.52\00:15:57.09
the idea of focused intensity -
00:15:57.49\00:15:59.65
the way that we have learned
as a human race over the past
00:15:59.85\00:16:03.43
particularly 500 years to
think logically and linearly
00:16:03.63\00:16:07.46
and in a systematic way -
00:16:07.66\00:16:09.46
is being moved aside in favor
of this new digital onslaught
00:16:09.66\00:16:14.64
of information. And if you
think about what real literacy
00:16:14.84\00:16:18.57
is about, you know, as
readers of the Word of God
00:16:18.77\00:16:20.71
and of history books
real literacy includes things
00:16:20.91\00:16:23.81
like metaphors and
things like logical narratives
00:16:24.01\00:16:27.45
and a conceptual framework
that can form your thinking
00:16:27.65\00:16:30.85
around contrasting
ideas. Like: the media mind is,
00:16:31.05\00:16:33.82
the mind of Christ is.
00:16:34.02\00:16:36.02
There's a logical conceptual
framework there that we've been
00:16:36.22\00:16:38.33
going through. Critical
thinking; long attention spans
00:16:38.53\00:16:42.00
for deep analysis is being
lost in the "insta culture. "
00:16:42.20\00:16:46.63
We are living in the
insta everything time:
00:16:47.04\00:16:49.87
the world of the sound
bite; the here-and-now moment;
00:16:50.07\00:16:53.21
the frozen moment in
the social media impulse
00:16:53.41\00:16:55.91
that I receive and
the impression I get
00:16:56.11\00:16:58.11
at an emotional
level almost exclusively
00:16:58.31\00:17:00.88
when we are living
in the digital world
00:17:01.08\00:17:03.99
instead of being people who are
thinkers and contemplate things,
00:17:04.19\00:17:08.29
evaluate things. And
we have security in Christ
00:17:08.49\00:17:11.43
to know we don't need to
be swayed this way and that
00:17:11.63\00:17:14.20
by the trends and the
course of the culture around us.
00:17:14.40\00:17:16.87
We've lost the concept
of long-term consequences
00:17:17.63\00:17:21.00
in the "insta culture. "
00:17:21.20\00:17:22.54
The here-and-now
present moment is divorced
00:17:22.74\00:17:25.74
from the concept
of cause and effect.
00:17:25.94\00:17:28.51
So the media mind, frankly,
just becomes more shallow.
00:17:28.71\00:17:32.11
But the mind of Christ
deep: deep in the Scriptures,
00:17:32.31\00:17:35.92
deep in the things of God.
00:17:36.12\00:17:37.55
Now there was a very alarming
publication, a very alarming
00:17:37.75\00:17:41.12
report that was put out
in the UK. This would be
00:17:41.32\00:17:43.36
similar across
the Western world.
00:17:43.56\00:17:45.16
And they were looking at how
do college admissions officers
00:17:45.36\00:17:49.16
say the young people are doing
who are coming into college age.
00:17:49.36\00:17:53.13
They've come through
this digital revolution.
00:17:53.34\00:17:55.10
How are they doing with
their abilities in terms of
00:17:55.30\00:17:58.04
the memory and other facets?
Take a look at the graphic.
00:17:58.24\00:18:00.74
"All I've gotta do is
'Google' it... I don't need to
00:18:20.66\00:18:22.60
have a memory.
00:18:22.80\00:18:24.13
We've outsourced
our memory to Google!
00:18:24.17\00:18:26.23
Google is the external
hard drive of what used to be
00:18:26.43\00:18:29.27
the human brain and memory
00:18:29.47\00:18:31.11
and we just
access that when needed.
00:18:31.31\00:18:32.87
Why do I need to have facts
swimming around in my head? "
00:18:33.07\00:18:35.61
Well: to assimilate
them with previous knowledge
00:18:35.81\00:18:38.61
with understanding of
beliefs and convictions.
00:18:38.81\00:18:40.72
The human brain God gave
us is there for a reason.
00:18:40.92\00:18:43.52
But we outsource our collec-
tion of information to Google.
00:18:44.25\00:18:47.02
We outsource our
storing of facts to Google.
00:18:47.22\00:18:50.16
Well, is Google going to
start doing our thinking for us
00:18:50.56\00:18:53.13
then? "I don't
know. Google it. "
00:18:53.33\00:18:55.56
"I don't know. Google it.
" Well the founder or the CEO
00:18:55.96\00:18:58.63
rather of Google's parent com-
pany, his name is Eric Schmidt,
00:18:58.83\00:19:02.40
he admitted in an
interview with Charlie Rose
00:19:02.60\00:19:04.87
he said, quote: "We
are altering cognition
00:19:05.07\00:19:08.01
and affecting deeper thinking. "
00:19:08.21\00:19:10.81
Now that's a mild
way of putting it.
00:19:11.01\00:19:13.92
"We are altering people's
ability to think deeply. "
00:19:14.12\00:19:17.49
Altering it? Yeah.
Reducing it; diminishing it
00:19:18.35\00:19:21.32
in a way that is
problematic and harmful
00:19:21.52\00:19:24.49
for peoples'
ability to be individuals
00:19:24.69\00:19:26.73
and to love God with
all their mind, frankly,
00:19:26.93\00:19:29.13
and ward off against the
deceptions. And a corporation
00:19:29.33\00:19:31.93
that I may not trust very well
00:19:32.13\00:19:33.67
is going to be
doing our thinking for us
00:19:33.87\00:19:35.80
'cause they admit they are
altering cognition and affecting
00:19:36.00\00:19:38.47
deeper thinking. And
the memory... oh the memory
00:19:38.67\00:19:42.48
is going. Some people
think their memory is going
00:19:42.68\00:19:44.81
since they're getting old,
and that might be the case.
00:19:45.01\00:19:47.32
My mom sometimes says that.
"Oh, I must be getting old. "
00:19:47.52\00:19:50.55
But I've noticed sometimes
my memory isn't what it just was
00:19:50.75\00:19:53.59
and I'm not old.
So is it possible that
00:19:53.79\00:19:56.86
all of our memories are
suffering in the digital age
00:19:57.06\00:19:58.99
to the extent that we
are inundated with so much
00:19:59.19\00:20:00.96
of the media and all
the distractions and stress
00:20:01.16\00:20:02.96
and everything.
Prefrontal cortex reducing
00:20:03.33\00:20:05.17
as we looked at.
Well they've studied this.
00:20:05.37\00:20:07.40
Having your Smartphone nearby
00:20:07.60\00:20:09.90
takes a toll on your
thinking the headline says.
00:20:10.11\00:20:12.77
Then there was Lloyd's
Insurance. Have you heard of
00:20:12.97\00:20:14.61
this Lloyd's
Insurance Group? They actually
00:20:14.81\00:20:16.31
wanted to take a look
at household accidents
00:20:16.51\00:20:19.05
and the propensity for
people to leave a boiling pot
00:20:19.25\00:20:22.35
going and it causes problems
or a bathtub is not, you know,
00:20:22.55\00:20:26.25
is left on and it's
plugged and there's no release
00:20:26.45\00:20:28.22
and it ruins the house or
lost keys & things like that.
00:20:28.42\00:20:30.96
So they looked at that:
how forgetful people are
00:20:31.16\00:20:34.20
with things like that. And
they found in just 10 years'
00:20:34.40\00:20:36.97
time they estimated a
50% drop in the memory span
00:20:37.17\00:20:43.04
of the industrialized
world's human brain.
00:20:43.24\00:20:45.67
So in other words, the 12-minute
memory span that previously
00:20:45.87\00:20:49.14
existed is reduced to
lower than six minutes
00:20:49.34\00:20:52.21
of remembering what I was
doing. "Oh yeah, what am I doing
00:20:52.81\00:20:55.48
again? " So we're struggling
with the media mind becoming
00:20:55.68\00:20:58.75
more forgetful. And this isn't
the most important spiritual
00:20:58.95\00:21:01.26
virtue but it shows
what's going on in our brains
00:21:01.46\00:21:03.86
that we are suffering a bit.
The mind of Christ: we want it
00:21:04.06\00:21:06.33
to be retentive when I
hear a sermon, when I memorize
00:21:06.53\00:21:09.20
Scripture. When I
know what I'm tasked to do.
00:21:09.40\00:21:11.80
I'm not getting off
task; I'm not forgetting.
00:21:12.00\00:21:14.30
And just the bottom-line
question that I ask myself
00:21:14.50\00:21:17.47
in this digital age
is: if we are just simply
00:21:17.67\00:21:20.81
receiving passively and
going along with the current
00:21:21.01\00:21:23.81
that big tech is declaring
unto us, inviting us into,
00:21:24.01\00:21:27.08
is it kind of like
row, row, row your boat
00:21:27.52\00:21:29.98
and the stream of culture
takes us where... "Oh, wait!
00:21:30.19\00:21:33.25
Where is it taking us? "
00:21:33.46\00:21:34.79
It could take us right
off of the Niagara Falls
00:21:34.82\00:21:37.26
if we're not
careful. We need to just pause
00:21:37.46\00:21:39.63
and ask ourselves: "Is
the status quo that I have
00:21:39.83\00:21:43.93
unknowingly entered into here
00:21:44.13\00:21:46.84
what I want? What
God wants for my brain? "
00:21:47.04\00:21:50.01
"For my
children's development? "
00:21:50.21\00:21:51.57
Using technology is
a blessing. Absolutely!
00:21:51.97\00:21:55.88
And it's a
double-edged sword, is it not?
00:21:56.08\00:21:58.18
Where are the lines? How
can we find some boundaries
00:21:58.38\00:22:01.35
where it's not
digital everything taking over
00:22:01.55\00:22:04.22
our relationships as
we've looked at in the past
00:22:04.42\00:22:07.09
and our study in
this particular session?
00:22:07.29\00:22:09.62
Reading books. I
like the concept of books
00:22:09.82\00:22:12.16
because it was the Dark
Ages that sought to eliminate
00:22:12.36\00:22:15.33
people from reading the
Bible in their common language.
00:22:15.53\00:22:19.73
But then something was prompted
in my thinking about this
00:22:20.14\00:22:24.27
as just a history guy
and thinking about the trends
00:22:24.47\00:22:26.74
of history I've read
in the Bible prophecy
00:22:26.94\00:22:29.81
that the persecution and
the ideology of the Dark Ages
00:22:30.01\00:22:34.65
is going to be
repeated in the last days.
00:22:34.85\00:22:36.48
So is there going to be some
kind of revival of a Dark Ages
00:22:36.89\00:22:40.69
human society mind?
00:22:40.89\00:22:43.19
I know the persecution
is coming. That's clear.
00:22:43.39\00:22:45.93
What precedes and
facilitates that persecution?
00:22:46.33\00:22:49.20
Is it a societal passiveness?
00:22:49.40\00:22:53.10
An inability to
question and identify truth
00:22:53.30\00:22:55.70
for ourselves? Are we
possibly entering into
00:22:55.90\00:22:58.67
a new Dark Age in
terms of the minds of people?
00:22:58.87\00:23:01.84
Not just dumbing down
in an intellectual capacity
00:23:02.04\00:23:04.68
but the ability to even think?
00:23:04.88\00:23:07.02
The ability to
critically think and evaluate.
00:23:07.22\00:23:09.68
If that is the case
then Revelation 13 would
00:23:10.25\00:23:13.36
make a lot more sense
in light of people just
00:23:13.56\00:23:15.86
"wondering after the beast
wherever he shall lead them. "
00:23:16.06\00:23:17.99
And we know media
manipulation is happening.
00:23:18.19\00:23:20.26
The worldly schooling
system is creating automatons.
00:23:20.46\00:23:22.66
Is the dumbing down
and the inability to read
00:23:23.16\00:23:25.90
along the same lines? There was
a scholar named Maggie Jackson
00:23:26.10\00:23:29.84
who defined the Dark
Age philosophically as
00:23:30.04\00:23:32.54
"an abyss of forgetfulness. "
00:23:32.74\00:23:35.38
Are we remembering history?
We're the "insta culture. "
00:23:36.24\00:23:38.58
"Who cares what is in the past?
00:23:38.78\00:23:41.85
Boring old history people. "
00:23:42.05\00:23:43.69
"Prophecy? Oh that's the future.
00:23:44.09\00:23:45.59
All that matters now is
my instant pleasure seeking
00:23:45.79\00:23:48.72
or to-do list right now. "
00:23:48.92\00:23:50.49
But as people of the
Book history and prophecy
00:23:50.69\00:23:53.83
are critical to our
understanding of the present
00:23:54.03\00:23:56.40
and how we live in the present.
00:23:56.60\00:23:58.10
So it challenges us
to go deeper and pan out
00:23:58.30\00:24:00.74
and be bigger picture thinkers.
00:24:00.94\00:24:02.84
So what is the goal here
as far as the literacy and the
00:24:03.04\00:24:05.54
book reading stuff? Are we
trying to totally do with...
00:24:05.74\00:24:07.48
do away with online
reading? Are we saying: "No,
00:24:07.68\00:24:10.11
we ought to not
have the Internet?
00:24:10.31\00:24:11.75
We're going to try to
uninvent the Internet. "
00:24:11.95\00:24:13.28
No, not so... but
maybe we can try to foster
00:24:13.31\00:24:16.32
what some scholars have
called a "biliterate brain. "
00:24:16.52\00:24:19.82
'Cause reading online is
different than reading in books.
00:24:20.02\00:24:22.49
We ARE better fact
chasers online by the way.
00:24:22.69\00:24:25.63
So there's an advantage.
You're quick finding a fact;
00:24:25.83\00:24:28.30
you can find it in online
text faster than you can find it
00:24:28.50\00:24:30.77
in a book. Why? I don't know.
00:24:30.97\00:24:32.57
But it's not control F.
Ooh, I like that function
00:24:32.77\00:24:35.14
to find a word on
the page. I'm a big fan
00:24:35.34\00:24:37.21
of using the Internet
but I also want to retain
00:24:37.41\00:24:39.81
my ability to
read. REAL literacy.
00:24:40.01\00:24:42.61
Deeply...
comprehension going deep.
00:24:42.81\00:24:44.81
Linear logical thought patterns
00:24:45.01\00:24:46.61
and then re-train the
brain on how we read online
00:24:46.82\00:24:50.49
so we're not jumping
from this to this and we have
00:24:50.69\00:24:52.85
no attention span. So
re-train for online reading
00:24:53.05\00:24:55.86
that goes deeper. We don't lose
our critical thinking capacity
00:24:56.06\00:24:58.96
and retain our book reading.
00:24:59.23\00:25:01.53
'Cause we're not retaining
book reading at this point.
00:25:01.73\00:25:03.50
The sad reality is 1/3 of teens
have not read a single book
00:25:03.70\00:25:07.24
in the past
year. Now in the 1950's
00:25:07.44\00:25:09.77
nearly all 12th graders had
read a book in the previous week
00:25:09.97\00:25:12.71
'cause they had to for school.
00:25:12.91\00:25:14.24
In 1976 that had come
down to 60% of 12th graders
00:25:14.44\00:25:19.15
would say in a survey that
they read a book or a periodical
00:25:19.35\00:25:23.62
most days of the week.
00:25:23.82\00:25:25.45
So 40% drop from
the 1950's to the 1970's
00:25:25.65\00:25:28.79
when you see... you
know... the inundation of TV.
00:25:28.99\00:25:32.63
But by 2016 only 15%
00:25:32.83\00:25:35.70
of 12th graders today in
a survey say that they read
00:25:35.90\00:25:39.63
a book or
periodical on a weekly basis.
00:25:39.83\00:25:42.50
Now the Bible does say knowledge
will increase in the last days
00:25:42.90\00:25:45.41
so how would you fit
that in to the equation here?
00:25:45.61\00:25:48.24
'Cause it seems like
in the information age
00:25:48.44\00:25:50.48
we're inundated with information
00:25:50.68\00:25:52.61
and so you know
what's the problem with that?
00:25:52.81\00:25:56.18
Well, we're becoming dumbed
down and it's being outsourced!
00:25:56.38\00:25:58.65
So if knowledge is increasing,
what kind of knowledge?
00:25:58.85\00:26:01.49
Is there a difference between
information and knowledge?
00:26:01.69\00:26:04.16
Information you can
access at the click of a mouse
00:26:04.36\00:26:06.80
or the tap of a mobile device
00:26:07.00\00:26:09.06
may be different than knowledge.
00:26:09.26\00:26:10.70
When the Bible talks in Daniel
about knowledge increasing
00:26:10.90\00:26:13.50
it is speaking about spiritual
knowledge, knowledge of the
00:26:13.70\00:26:15.60
prophecies. And THAT is one
thing we do not want to neglect
00:26:15.80\00:26:19.71
in these last days: the
knowledge of the Word of God.
00:26:19.91\00:26:22.21
So you might ask the question:
"We're in the information age.
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In the last 25 years has
humanity increased and had
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a deeper experience
with the Word of God? "
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We can look it up on
the app on the phone.
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We have so many
tools for Bible study.
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I would venture to say the
benefits of these technologies
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have been overshadowed
largely by the dangers.
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TS Elliot the famous poet said:
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There is a difference, isn't it?
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A computer can do knowledge
or can do information rather.
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You remember when the
computer won in Jeopardy?
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His name was Watson... the
computer was called Watson.
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He won Jeopardy
'cause he's got all the facts
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you know. Information and
facts is not the same thing
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as knowledge of the divine.
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We've gotta go into our Bibles.
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Reflection on our lives
and on our relationships.
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Prayer. These are
the ways we go deep
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with Jesus and have
the knowledge increase.
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But books will not die. I
believe that the canvasser
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will have work to do
until the very close of time,
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till the very
close of probation.
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And we know there's books
in heaven: the Book of Life,
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the Book of Remembrance,
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the Book of Records. And
we have our names written
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in that Book of Life.
We are people of the Book.
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And how do we make
sure our names remain
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in that Book of Life and
our sins are blotted out...
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not our names...
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is we make sure to
be in the Book of Books.
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Are we studying the Word of God?
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In a subsequent session we'll
look at boredom in the Bible
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and how the digital
age is creating a distaste
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for the Word of
God in many people.
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But we can revive that
and have the hope and promise
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that Jesus will give us
His presence and His salvation.
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