I spend a good part of my day and almost all of my frustration on handling electronic (computerized) equipment. The computer, telephone, TV, Kindle, and car weigh heavily on my life.
I remember the day when my wife and I decided to rid ourselves of our electric can opener. It was a long time ago and far and far away. We were even then trying to help our environment by not using as much energy. While it was hardly a significant contribution, we were proud of ourselves. Since then, unto this day, we have used an old-fashioned opener to our great frustration.
As we get older, a can is harder to open. Our openers are not what they should or could be. By the time I’m done opener a can, I am exasperated. The best thing to do under these circumstances is to avoid eating food out of any cans at all (impossible). Both the greater clarity and confounding of old age have shown that our original purifying act of ridding ourselves of our electric can opener along with not buying a new one was more stupid than noble.
What does all of this teach us? With the computer age comes both good and bad. The computer I couldn’t do without including speaking to those who are reading this article. I need my telephone. I like to read off my Kindle. While the car is giving me warnings of inattention and wants to run my life like the nanny state wants to help me by telling me what I should or shouldn’t do on many occasions, I need it to get from one place to another. Though adequate to the Amish, I don’t wish to apprehend a horse and buggy. In the traffic where I live, I wouldn’t last on the road for one trip. I enjoy the variety on TV though most of the programs are substandard (I don’t care to watch them). Everyone one of these devices brings with them frustration. Sometimes the computer does its own thing. The TV remote requires an engineer’s degree. My telephone crowds my mind with information I don’t need. The Kindle does not exude the warmth of a book and is too small for my big fingers and lack of coordination. There is the good and the bad!
What do I do? I keep the machines, try to keep my frustration at a low level, and exert the great virtue of patience. We will continue using the can opener we’ve got. No electric can opener, even for Christmas, is likely.
What does all of this have to do with evangelism and apologetics? It means one thing. Use modern wonders, most particularly the computer, to communicate the message of the Gospel. Such media are not good or bad. They are neutral. What is good or bad is our use of them. We use them rightly when we extend the mercy and love of Christ to the world. The days of papyrus and vellum for communicating the message are long gone, though paper remains with us. So we will use paper (printing invented in 1453) and the machine to do what is so important–name Christ among the nations.
Michael G. Tavella
December 5, 2024
Saint Clement of Alexandria, Priest and Hymnwriter, ca. 210