I think this is an important video, telling the story about how one man's faith in God is replaced (to some extent) by the internet. It's where religion becomes the interconnectedness of separate individuals working for good. There are a lot of very Christian themes that come through this talk and I think it's an important video to watch.
It might make you tear up.
It might make you want to tell him all about Jesus.
It might make you wonder where the church is in the story.
It might help you see technology in a new way.
You might just agree with everything he says.
(Also, know that you might be asked to offer up an email address in order to watch more than about five minutes of it.)
HT/Matthew Paul Turner
Watch live streaming video from pdf2011 at livestream.com
Wow! Powerful and dramatic story of this young man's spiritual and physical journey. I am struck by how others outside of Christianity will create and articulate a theology for a new generation if we do not. Bringing God into the internet discussion is a powerful tool to justify it being at the center of our lives. How would others hear us talk of internet fasts? It would be like abandoning God! Subtle but dangerous teaching going on here.
I love your sentence, "I am struck by how others outside of Christianity will create and articulate a theology for a new generation if we do not." Perhaps Mr. Gilliam's church upbringing wasn't able to articulate a meaningful theology for him. Could we United Methodists do any better? Could I?
We have seen secular society invent theologies over the years. The one I disdain was written by the insurance industry to explain natural disasters as "acts of God." And then there is the one about God's will that is used to explain everything from a miscarriage to untimely death. We in the Church often abdicate to infantile and elementary theologies that have little depth or common sense.
The examples you give each try to provide answers why bad things happen where a more appropriate response may be mystery. I am comforted that our younger generations seem to be able to live with the questions better than the generations before them. I guess it has to do with the whole postmodern way of looking at life.