Several years ago I was invited to give a talk to some high school students at a church in Toronto. During a question and answer time at the end one of them asked me this question: How do we know what is or isn’t true online?Wow, what a question! In short, it’s becoming increasingly difficult … Continue reading How do we know what is or isn’t true online?
social media
Gobble gobble gobble
We’ve been spending some time with Philippians 4:8-9. That’s where Paul says this: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen … Continue reading Gobble gobble gobble
Deep fakes, AI, scammers and news: What’s real?
It’s getting more difficult to know what’s real. “Deep fakes” are a growing genre of videos. They make it look like someone is saying or doing something, but it’s all fabricated. A tech wizard has digitally recreated someone’s voice or body movements. When it comes to the news, we often wonder what parts of the … Continue reading Deep fakes, AI, scammers and news: What’s real?
Take back your mind
In the previous devotional I said that the battle is waged from a place of stillness. I was speaking about the personal and spiritual battles we face. Whenever we have to face hardships, we want to do so from a place that is calm, focused, rested and ready. In Psalm 131, David says: “I have … Continue reading Take back your mind
Three unhelpful over-simplifications
We live in polarizing times. There are days when I feel that our news programs, social media feeds, and ways of communicating, are set-up to be combative and divisive. But hear this warning from Colossians 4:6: “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer … Continue reading Three unhelpful over-simplifications
Entangling media
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus…” (Hebrews 12:1-2). In these verses, the writer of Hebrews is drawing imagery … Continue reading Entangling media
Resisting the opinions and emotional climate of the crowd
Mark Sayers describes a problem that many people encounter: “We want the freedom and autonomy of radical individualism while being dependent on the opinions and emotional climate of the crowd.”* Do you see the tension? We love to think of ourselves as rugged individualists who don’t need anybody else, thank you very much. Yet at … Continue reading Resisting the opinions and emotional climate of the crowd
The whirlwind of argumentativeness
Recently I was asked if I thought our world was becoming more argumentative. Although I don’t have any hard data on the issue, it does often seem to be the case. [If you want my full response to the question you can click on the link below.] What I can say is that:-we are in … Continue reading The whirlwind of argumentativeness
The polarizing internet
The internet has a polarizing effect. Recently a well-respected Christian organization posted a blog. Since it touched on the topic of politics, the comments came fast and furious. (Apparently, politics can be a touchy subject these days. Have you noticed?) Unfortunately, the comments were highly charged, accusatory, derogatory, and unfair. Have you noticed how quickly … Continue reading The polarizing internet
Looking for answers in all the (wrong) places
Looking for answers in all the (wrong) places The “Up!” Devo for September 8 If we look for answers in incorrect places, we’ll get answers that are incomplete. For example, sitting on my desk are three textbooks. One is for the Greek language, one is for philosophy, and one is for psychology. If I try … Continue reading Looking for answers in all the (wrong) places
