Cultural Apologetics
He powerfully demonstrates how technology is not neutral, and carried within it are the seeds of our own destruction as our loves and longings are redirected toward the petty and perverse.
Paul M. Gould • Cultural Apologetics
Another argument against technology. I’m reading this book on the Kindle app on my iPad. I read the Bible, do Bible Study daily, listen and memorize scripture all on digital platforms. Sure, technology can be used negatively, but it can also be used positively, which I believe by definition makes it neutral? It will certainly be interesting to see how AI plays into this. I am afraid, as we have already observed with AI girlfriends, etc., it will have an overall negative impact on society. But, again, we have also seen a lot of positives with AI. I would argue technology is simply another tool, like guns, shovels, pens, or otherwise. Surely, all of those implements could be used for good or harm, rendering them neutral.
Ockham argued for a view called nominalism. Nominalists reject belief in universals. There are no shareable essences in the world. Whatever traits chickens have in common can be explained without an appeal to universals. So too for every other creature in the world, including humans. They share things in “name” (nomen) only in virtue of the absolut
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Finally, Paul confronted their rank idolatry. In Acts 17:29 Paul moved the discussion out of the familiar world of the Greeks and into a distinctively Christian view of reality.
Paul M. Gould • Cultural Apologetics
As Paul noted in Athens, human beings are inherently religious (Acts 17:16, 22). We all worship something: either the true God or some created portion of reality. “Idolatry is inherently a rejection of God’s authority and a quest for self-definition, self-importance, and self-fulfillment on our own terms.”
Paul M. Gould • Cultural Apologetics
Christianity is good for two reasons. First, because it is true, and being rightly related to reality is a good thing. Second, Christianity is good for the world because you get Jesus, and when you get Jesus you get everything.
Paul M. Gould • Cultural Apologetics
Fourth, in the face of horrendous evils, such as the massacre of the innocent, rape, or murder, there is the human demand for not only condemnation but damnation.
Paul M. Gould • Cultural Apologetics
When Christians begin to regard Jesus not only as beautiful but as brilliant and wise, it will shift the way he is perceived in our culture.
Paul M. Gould • Cultural Apologetics
Dallas Willard reminds us, and “God wants to be present to our minds with all the force of objects given clearly to ordinary perception.”14 Yet most of us don’t experience God in such a concrete, ordinary way. Something seems to be missing from the equation. According to the Bible, what’s missing is the work of the Holy Spirit. With the help of the
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To summarize, cultural apologetics is defined as the work of establishing the Christian voice, conscience, and imagination within a culture so that Christianity is seen as true and satisfying, and it has both a global and local component. As we shall see, this definition allows—even necessitates—the use of philosophy, science, and history as well a
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