| Beloved, Jonathan Edwards was a postmillennialist who had a very optimistic view of the future, and it was a future that included expansive communication technology. Of those living in the millennium (which he believed to be a future golden age prior to the second coming), Edwards wrote, “They will have better contrivances for assisting one another through the whole earth, by a more expedite and easy and safe communication between distant regions than now. The invention of the mariner’s compass is one thing by God discovered to the world for that end; and how exceedingly has that one thing enlarged and facilitated communication! And who can tell but that God will yet make it more perfect; so that there need not be such a tedious voyage in order to hear from the other hemisphere, and so the countries about the poles need no longer to lie hid to us, but the whole earth may be as one community, one body in Christ.” We are living in such a day when we can speak, hear, and even see people from the opposite side of the globe with the click of a button. But Edwards might be surprised to find out that such technological progress has not ushered us into a spiritual golden era. While there certainly are some amazing benefits arising from the incredible communication technology at our disposal today, one wonders if the church is really the better off for it. What will future generations say when they look back on how our “enlarged and facilitated communication” rendered “a tedious voyage” to Sunday worship or to visit a fellow Christian in face-to-face fellowship and service unnecessary? What will they say about the digital worlds wherein Christians from around the globe can endlessly engage with each other (i.e., social media)? Will it be seen as a unifying factor or a radically polarizing and divisive factor? Will they espouse Edward’s optimism as they look back? I propose instead that it will be the death of postmillennialism! I’m half joking, of course. But the reality is that such technological optimism is hollow (whether coming from Jonathan Edwards or Elon Musk). I’m not a gloomy person. But I’ve been thinking a lot about digital technology from a Christian worldview lately as I prepare to write a short book on livestream in relation to the institutional church, and my studies have been less bright and more bleak. For these communication technologies, uncritically used, have the potential to dehumanize and even dechristianize us. And you don’t have to look far to see that potential being realized in big ways. Alright, enough depressing thoughts for one day. I just found Edward’s words fascinating in light of our recently eschatological discussions in Daniel. We’ll be thinking more about the various millennial positions this Sunday morning, and as always, I am eager to dive into God’s word with you! Yours in Christ, Pastor Nick |
