By Van Yandell
Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”
Are we being encouraged not to think? It appears this may be true, if not now, in the future. Perhaps this is a part of a scriptural prophesy indicating the appearance of the Antichrist.
Revelation 13:8 “All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Our inability to think and reason will increase his influence.
The implication from this verse is seen by some to indicate there will be a one-world leader and he will be revered and have supernatural powers. People will see him as the answer to all the world’s problems. We should remember from history, Adolph Hitler was seen by many of the German people as being supreme.
Hitler convinced the people the Jews were responsible for all the problems in Germany and they were convinced to kill six-million people in what has become known as the Holocaust. Having a propensity for silver-tongue rhetoric doesn’t make one divine, just verbal.
Developers of technology have inadvertently discouraged thinking. To have this computer correct my spelling is one thing, but to have it change a word or sentence to what “it thinks” I’m saying, is very frustrating.
Intentional or not, technology is taking away our ability to think and reason. In bygone days, we heard the term “common sense.” Good sense and reasonable decision making seems not to be required with computers doing our thinking for us.
The personal nature of so many seems to be in a state of decay. The daily drudge of staring at a computer screen that thinks for the operator is enough to destroy the individuality someone may have.
Many appear to have a rapport with their phones, but not with people. Interpersonal relationships are currently strained for some. This may have begun with mechanical calculators. Blaise Pascal invented a mechanical calculator with a carry mechanism in 1642. But like the printing press, it took production technologies a few hundred years to catch up.
Mass production did not reach an acceptable potential until after Eli Whitney’s development of interchangeable parts (1798) and subsequently the assembly line method of production.
Excessive television viewing has diminished our reading skills, including comprehension. Time spent watching TV has replaced the time we spend reading. Children’s lack of interest in reading has diminished language skills, and research reveals that children are becoming intellectually lazy, inattentive, and without imagination.
Research shows that electronic devices overload the sensory systems and contribute to delays in development which directly impairs communication skills, problem-solving and social skills (interpersonal relationships). Read an article or obituary from the 1800’s. You will see writing skills not seen in today’s world.
I well remember working in a pool hall when I was a child and much of my math abilities came from that experience. Simple math was a matter of necessity and to have a machine do the math was considered ridiculous. My dad had a plumbing and paint store and we figured material bills with pencil and paper. I sometimes figured bills in my head.
My dad told me not to do that because adults would not trust the “in-the-head” math abilities of a young boy. Customers really liked to see the numbers on paper. Later, with electronic calculators the math skills seemed to decrease. Not “using it has resulted in losing it” for this generation.
During my school days, we were required to memorize such things as the multiplication table, our ABC’s, the Gettysburg address, the Pledge to the Flag, John 3:16 and Genesis 1:1-3. To eliminate these has its price.
I recently tried to place an order by phone and was told, “I can’t take your order because the computer is down.” I asked, “Do you have a pen and paper?” All the response I got was “Huh?” That incompetence cost that company several dollars.
As the years passed, technology accelerated exponentially until today’s “totally dependent on electric gadgetry” age has made mathematical illiterates of many. To be able to function in a twenty-first century world is dependent on the power grid. Should the electricity stop flowing, our world will stop.
EMP (Electromagnetic-Pulse) is a condition that can interrupt the power grid and could not quickly be repaired. We may be assured the enemies of America are researching ideas to cripple us. A nuclear explosion in the atmosphere over the center of this country would instantly send us back to the dark ages.
Solar flares could also create an EMP. Terrorist attacks on the power grid computer system are more likely than other ways of stopping the flow of electrons (electricity).
Technology is a wonderful thing as long as it works. But when it shuts down because of an electrical outage, we will be crippled in our everyday function and our existence would never be the same. The food chain would be interrupted and people could be murdered for a loaf of bread. Examples of destruction are too numerous to even consider.
Conditions such as this are only going to become more prevalent with artificial intelligence on the rise. Hollywood writers and actors are panicking over AI. Designers and engineers of many products are at risk of their jobs being replaced. Teachers will become paper stackers (if there still is such a thing as paper).
When and if AI becomes a reality in the many aspects of our lives, the human factors of compassion, ingenuity and logic will become a thing of the past. If machines do all our thinking, we will have no need for any level of common sense and emotion. The human factor is constantly and quickly being eliminated.
So, where does religion, especially Christianity come into this scenario of mostly dire sounding events and developments? Like so many circumstances in life, it will be what we make of it.
As much of the world falls victim to artificial intelligence, it is the responsibility and opportunity of the Christian community to utilize whatever methods available to promote the Gospel of our Jesus. We must be intentional and creative in our efforts.
Perhaps AI is a part of God’s plan. Daniel 12:4 “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”
We are told that knowledge is increasing exponentially. In such a case, should not the Christian perspective of telling others about Jesus also benefit from such knowledge and innovations?
Since Jesus gave us a direct statement to “Go ye therefore,” it seems reasonable for Christians to investigate and attempt any and all methods possible to tell the world about HIM.
There is no excuse for any Christian not to evangelize. Acts 1:8 “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
While Acts 1:8 lists four geographic locations, the first responsibility of any believer is to tell their own family about Jesus. Statistically speaking, we are all surrounded with unchurched, unsaved people; at work, at school, in our social circles or even across the gas pump.
How many excuses can we offer for not sharing Jesus? He is not a big secret. He suffered, bled and died for the sins of the world, not a select few.
Thinking has not yet been forbidden. We must constantly be alert and aware of those around us and take every opportunity to share Christ Jesus. He was crucified for the remission of sin and resurrected. By believing this, one can have eternal life in the presence of God (John 3:16).
Van Yandell is a retired Industrial Arts teacher, an ordained gospel evangelist and commissioned missionary, from Fredonia, Kentucky; a part of the Bible Connection series.
