Here are a few questions about last night's reading - chapters 9-12 in Flickering Pixels.
In chapter 10, Hipps contrasts two cell phone commercials. The one with the father and daughter emphasizes how technology can bring us together, while the one with the wedding shows how technology can come between us and keep us apart. Do these two forces perfectly balance one another, or is technology better at one than the other?
Also in chapter 10, Hipps writes, "The human psyche isn't designed to withstand the full gravity of planetary suffering. Numbness and exhaustion are natural reactions. Feeling helpless and hopeless is nearly inevitable. The heart can only stretch so far so many times before it is worn thing and wrung dry." He argues that we should not always respond to where the need seems greatest - perhaps halfway across the world - but we must respond to the people who are near to us, whom we can actually see and touch. Otherwise we risk complete burnout and numbness. Do you agree? (As a side question, how would Hipps' claim about the limits of the human capacity to face suffering relate to our Christology and soteriology?)
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I would have to agree with Hipps in your second paragraph. I am constantly saddened by a congregations willingness to write checks and send them to far off lands when their are grave needs right outside their front doors. This numbness and hopelessness that Hipps speaks of has a lot to do with this. It seems overwhelming. It is so easy to ask, 'what could little old me do to help this huge problem?'
ReplyDeleteI do not know if the two forces are equal, but they both are powerful and can have effect on things. Cell phones, and for that matter email and texting, do offer us a better opportunity to keep in contact. I am old enough to remember when growing up in NY that phone calls to my grandparents in Ohio were a rather rare occurance. Holidays, Birthdays, and when there was a "family emergency" like my grandfather going to the hospital. The conversations were direct, and limited. We would get much more information on our annual visits with each other than from phone calls. Even when I was in college (88-92), I would make only weekly phone calls (Sunday 12:30, after church) to let them know "how I was doing" and to find out what was going on at home. Now with cellphones the idea of "long disance phonecalls" as being something unique or special is comical. We talk to people accross the country on our phones more often then we do with people that live next door. It does bring people closer together, but it also tends to eliminate the need to connect with those arround us. Our idea of Community has changed, no longer is it a geographical limitation, which has created a vast new set of issues when it comes to dealing with those we live around.
ReplyDeleteI'm really drawn in by your last question about the human capacity for suffering. I'm not sure if I agreed completely with Hipps. Yes, shock and numbness are typical responses, probably self-preservative in nature, to catastrophic or such large situations. But Christ's ability to empathize with the people in his life was amazing, and really spoke of the personable quality of our God. Our God is one of closeness as well, and we could certainly be better stewards of our time if we reached out with a physical hand many times rather than with a monetary handout like a check.
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