Image courtesy: wikiart.org Suffering, it’s a pretty ugly word isn’t it? Just the mere thought of the word can bring about suffering to some. It’s not hard to find, is non-discriminatory, knows no boundaries, can come-on suddenly or take time to develop, and can be short or long-term. And there are three things that are pretty consistent with suffering: You’ll experience some form of suffering during your lifetime You’ll know others who’ll experience suffering Satan loves it and hates it when we suffer because for some suffering takes them further from God while others who experience suffering draw nearer to Him The many faces of suffering Suffering, like the many people it inflicts, has many faces and comes in all kinds of shapes, sizes, and colors, including: Physical illness and/or disabilities Mental illness and/or disabilities Death Disaster Divorce Job loss War Violence Not receiving any love Not being cared for Hurtful words Bu...
I came across the above advice recently and while it's done in jest it got me thinking, from a religious standpoint, about the pros and cons of technology and whether or not it's helping or hindering religion. It’s no secret that technology has made it possible for the gospel to reach people in ways never imagined before thereby, on one hand, making technological advances pretty essential for religion as a whole. On the other hand when we see things like the saying above, we are seeing technology doing to religion the exact opposite of growth, and someone who’s recommending people who are lonely or feeling forgotten to turn to Facebook instead of God, is a perfect example of this. So do the pros of technology in religion outweigh the cons? The long arm of technology As Christians it’s our responsibility to spread God’s message and word, plus how through Christ we’re able to live this earthly life living with and in God’s divine grace rather than law. ...