July 26, 2004 - Just a Little Bit Odd

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Just a Little Bit Odd
July 26, 2004

People often refer to me in hushed tones as being just a little bit odd. I take it as a huge compliment!

“ . . . the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto Himself, above all the nations that are on the earth . . .” (Deut. 14:2)

The Evils of the ~~Internet~~ Printing Press

Like the history of the Internet, the origins of the printing press are shrouded in vague, scattered mystery. The Chinese developed a delicate form of printing before much clunkier versions ever showed up in Europe, yet German-born Johannes Gutenberg is most credited for its invention. (That Gutenberg invented the printing press, however, is as likely as Al Gore inventing the Internet.)

Like most modern inventions, the printing press was greeted with enthusiasm by the bourgeoisie and met with skepticism and opposition from the foremost leaders of the day. The most authoritative rulers of the 15^{th century were primarily part
of The Holy Roman Catholic church, which wielded most of its power behind the
scenes where church and state were linked tighter than a snake to a tree. In the
pre-printing press era, the only books available were mostly Bibles or other
religious tomes painstakingly created over the course of several months by
cloistered monks. Because of their high value, only the church and the wealthy
(two phrases often synonymous) benefited from books and the inherent power of
knowledge. Whoever owned the books controlled the minds, thoughts, and actions
of the entire populace.}

The printing press threatened to tear this sacred power right out of the hands of the church and thrust it into the hands of the unwashed masses. The thought no doubt caused many a shudder and sleepless night among the religious rulers of the day. Indeed, Roman Catholic clergy were right to fear, for a Bible in the hands of Martin Luther – and his ideas rapidly spread via the printing press—struck a blow from which it has yet to recover over. No entity benefitted more from the printing press than the spread of effective Christianity.

“My godly wife and my lovely children would never tolerate such filthiness in our home, thanks be to God.”

“Oh, what perversion will they spread with this? What vile ideas? What twisted thoughts will be the outcome? Nothing good will come of this, I assure you! Doom and destruction—that will be the end result, men of God!”

“It will not last long, you’ll see! This is just a fad; it will die out soon. Why, look at them! They don’t even know how to use such things properly!”

“Of course he has strange ideas! He spends hours with his nose in one of them books. I tell ya, I didn’t raise him to say things like that.”

Whenever I hear someone extolling the evils of the Internet, I have to suppress a grin, wondering if some ponderous cardinal ever uttered something similar 600 years ago. Obviously, those long-dead rulers were partly right; a lot of bad came from the printing press—I mean, have you ever read one of those paperback romances? They’re awful! And yes, the Internet certainly has way too many dangerous alleyways and shady enterprises, but its enormous potential as a vehicle for change, growth, and progress could have never been predicted.

Just as a new age of enlightenment followed the printing press, so too has a new age of enlightenment followed the Internet. It is no coincidence that this epoch of surging information and a shrinking world is the time in which the Apostolic church is redefining itself, casting off traditions, seeking deeper understanding, reaching for new heights. Now here we are today, you and me, and there’s never been a more exciting time to be Apostolic. Nor a more crucial time.

As a “born and raised” twentysomething who thinks too much and knows far too little for my satisfaction, there’s nothing more fascinating to me than the world’s impact on Apostolics (that’s a word, right?), Apostolics’ impact on the world, and Apostolics’ impact on me. Not every blog entry of mine will be this lengthy or this deep (after all, this is my life we’re talking about here), but I do hope for the chance to explore the many myriad aspects of Apostolic life, liberty, and the pursuit of God.

Yes, I’m young; no, I’m not a font of wisdom or experience. Thanks for giving me a voice anyway, even if it is a little squeaky.