Book Review: Theology in a Digital World

 

Theology in a Digital World by David Lochhead ©1988 UCPH (95 pages)

This piece by the late David Lochhead [1936-1999] (https://grokipedia.com/page/david_lochhead), United Church minister, theologian and professor is part of the early discussions of the role of computers in the life of the church. Written in the early days of personal and home computing and the very early days computer networks it is ahead of its time.

In 1988 many of us had barely even used a computer and when we had it was not to communicate with others – it was for word processing, or spreadsheets, or games. There were some early adopters who had been playing with programming for much of the 1980’s and those of us who went to see the movie War Games (1983) knew that it was possible for computers to connect across the miles – though that was in a setting that was both comedic and terrifying at the same time.

Lochhead was an early adopter. He was part of early networks like UCHUG and ECUNET and saw the potential for what these new possibilities (he calls the computer a possibility machine) could mean for the church. He also saw the need to give thought to how these changes needed to be intentional and would change the church. Still he is very positive on what he sees coming.

Each of the book’s 6 chapters is something that was first prepared for another purpose: public lectures, worskshops, addresses at conferences. The earliest dates back to 1984, which means it truly was ahead of it’s time. In 1984 the only computers I had seen in person were school machines with green screens and only operated using commands – menu-driven machines were yet to hit the market. As such there is some repetition of themes and comments over the course of the book.

Lochhead talks about how the computer changes communication patterns, looks at some of the theological questions that this new technology brings up, and how we might find ourselves using it. He is clear that the computer (even in what we would now call early early stages) can make big changes in how we are the church, how we build community. He is also clear that the computer is a tool (and more than a tool) and that it itself is not salvific, that, as he says at one point “That Computers have heir place in the Kingdom, I have no doubt. That computers will create the Kingdom, I have no illusion” (p.80). In the final chapter,”Toward a Theology of Information”, he talks about the differences between information and knowledge, facts/data and interpreting/organizing them to find meaning. I would have liked some more discussion about where things like truth and wisdom fit in to that discussion.

I found that Lochhead was somewhat prescient in this book, written on the cusp of a new world. At the same time so much has changed in the last 40 years as this new world has changed a few times. In the late 1980s any computer networking was text only, with all the limits that written text has in full communication. Now we share images and audio and video. It was a fairly small percentage of people who were involved in networks at that time – now with the advent of social media it has blossomed into something so much bigger. Lochead sees both the positive and negative effects of a ne technology (as he names that is the reality of any new technology). He is, I think [speaking with knowledge of what the Internet has become and how it has re-shaped/is reshaping our society] overly optimistic. I often found myself wondering what he would say in 2026.

This volume raises good theological questions, ones that continue to be relevant as we continue to be re-shaped by the possibility machine of the computer. The die has been cast, we can not go back to the pre-computer way of being. More changes are building (eg. the rise of AI). We still have to ask the questions. We still have to be intentional about how we build community using the tools and reality of our time. What is our theology in an increasingly digital world?

"Bible-Based" Culture

 All the time there are voices around us calling for a change to build a society based on "Biblical Values" or a "Biblical Worldview".

SOmetimes those voices become louder or more prominent than others. One example of this would be Turning Point USA and Charlie Kirk. Another would be last week's Alberta Christian Leadership Summit. [SIde Note, a friend and colleague of mine attended this Summit and here are his thoughts.]

Now there are a number of problems with this quest to build society on some "Biblical Worldview".  Among them:

1. It is arguable that there is not one Biblcal Worldview, that the full text of Scripture contains multiple worldviews
2. It is not in doubt that in modern Christianity (in North America these voices always claim to speak for all of 'true' Christians) there are multiple understandings of what one means by Biblical Values or a Biblical Worldview
3. In a pluralistic world it is wholly inappropriate to build society around one religious set of standards
4. Theocracy damages both the faith community and tradition it claims to support and the pluralistic community it is imposed upon.

However I do believe that as people who are guided and informed by our faith we are called to consider the type of world God would have us live in. As people who pray "thy kingdom come on earth" we have an obligation to consider what we mean.

So from time to time I do ponder what a society shaped by Biblical values (as I understand them) might look like...

Such a society would be shaped wholly by love of Creation, the world that God loves.
It would be a place where the newcomer, the stranger, the wanderer, the refugee, the immigrant would be welcomed into the community.
It would not be about enforcing homogeneity, it would name and accept pluralism.
Discussions of Human Sexuality would be focussed on respectful relationships instead of rules and traditions
In this society there would be strong rules and laws ensuring that all are provided for, that their basic needs are met. In Torah there were rules about not harvesting too well, to leave produce for the gleaners to find later -- what is the 21st century equivalent of gleaning?
We would take seriously the stewardship of the earth as commanded in Genesis, we would only take what we need as commanded with the manna in Exodus.
We would know that allowing great inequality is a problem.
We would encourage sharing of things in common so that all would benefit (See Acts 2)
We would be encouraged to subsume self in favour of community, or at least to find a new balance between the two. WE not ME

WHat might you add?

How I hope to Spend my Summer...

As part of marking 25 years of Ordained ministry this year I am taking a Sabbatical leave. When I requested the time I said this:

...plan to take the time to look into newer ways of being the church in an increasingly digital world. This would include some reading (starting with David Lochhead’s ahead-of-its-time book Theology in a Digital World if I can get my hands on a copy) and interviewing people who have/are been involved in online work within the church...This investigation can include looking at both “how can we be a hybrid church” and different ministry models in a world where more places can not afford full-time ministry. Obviously this is an area that could quickly become a D.Min level project so some paring down of ideas will have to happen.

Now as I find myself 2 months away I find I should maybe give some thought to what this might look like. When I was ordained in 2001 there was not much talk about how the internet might change how we do church. It was still really Internet 1.0 at the time. There were some websites starting to pop up sharing prayers and sermons, some churches were experimenting with webpages. 3 years earlier Wood Lake Books had published a book called Get Me to the Church Online which was a listing of churchy websites -- I am sure many of the websites in the book are now defunct, I think I left my copy in Atikokan when we moved in 2010. Social Media and widespread online video conferencing were a few years in the future. I have no memory of any discussions at seminary about how the internet might impact our ministries.

Leap forward 25 years and the reality is soooooooo different. Through things like Zoom and Google Meets and Microsoft Teams (and Skype before them) many of us attend meetings virtually rather than by driving to the location, a real boon for those serving outside major centers. Those same technologies allow for Bible Studies where people out of town can take part. Particularly since COVID many churches now livestream their worship services thereby increasing the number of people who can take part in those experiences. Some do this simply with a stream on YouTube, FacebookLive, or Vimeo, others have chosen something like Zoom where there is more opportunity to be interactive. There are, or at least were, arrangements made where multiple churches can worship together with different spots doing different parts of the service. There was (I think still is) an entirely online congregation within the United Church. I know of one place where the minister alternates between a period onsite and a period at home but interacts with the church digitally. As it has in many parts of our culture, the Internet has transformed the ways we can do church.

I think the church uses online community in at least a couple of ways. One is marketing. Facebook pages, Instagram feeds, TikTok, websites... all are ways of getting our name and image out there. We need to explore how best to make use of these tools. That might be part of what I explore this summer

The other way we can use the online reality is to make it part of how we are a community of faith. How do these tools help us build community? As I look at that questions I am wondering how to fit the answers into a couple of frameworks. One is the 5 marks (or Core Ministries) of the church: Liturgia, Koinonia, Didache, Diakonia, and Kerygma. How does/can online community work with offline community to feed each of those? The other is the framework laid out by Janet Gear in Undivided Love. Gear talks about the different tables that are gathered at the Banquet of faith: Evangelical, Ecclesial, Missional, Ecumenical, and Spiritual. How can online community work with offline community to feed each of them?

Hmm still sounds a bit too broad. We will see what comes of it. Because the purpose of Sabbatical is not just to find work.

AS one of my colleagues said to me, Sabbatical is also about Sabbath. So part of the time will be finding other, non-church, things in life. This should include trying to improve my physical shape (otherwise I have to start replacing wardrobe). It might include relearning what I once knew about piano and guitar. It will include some family time. Maybe even getting a chance to visit camp again????

SO that is the hope/plan/dream for four months this year. I wonder what it will end up being in reality???