Screens demand our attention and screens disciple, teach and train us. With the complexity of technology today, it is not strange to feel lost and wander how to navigate through life. A Christian can often experience as living in a shift from Jerusalem to Babylon. In Babylon, the Bible is one of many voices that interpret human experience. It is not viewed as the central authority over people and society.
The book, Faith for exiles, by David Kinnaman and Mark Matlock published by Baker Books in 2019 is helpful in helping Christians how to live in this technological world, which they refer to as digital Babylon. It is a timely reminder that Christians don’t have to conform in order to survive. It encourages those of us with deep convictions not to cower but to boldly speak truth with wisdom and love.
The main thesis of the book is this: The goal of discipleship today is to develop Jesus followers who are resiliently faithful in the face of cultural coercion and who live a vibrant life in the Spirit. The authors then try to show how a follower of Jesus should be resiliently faithful in the face of cultural coercion.
This is more than a book review; take it as a summary plus my personal reflection put together.
In the face of coercive, spirit-depleting, and screen-obsessed society, cultivating the following five practices helps to form resilient faith:
Practice 1: To form a resilient identity, experience intimacy with Jesus
This first practice is aiming at clearing religious clutter to experiencing intimacy with Jesus. The Christian hope is found in one grounding his identity in Christ. The human problem has always been that men seek for themselves broken cisterns to ground their hope and life. Christ is the Christians all in all. We find in Jesus the truest answer to who we are (children of God) and what we are meant to be (representatives of God’s glory). Learning from Scripture, we see that God’s people always participated in an identity-forming the way of life. Example, in the book of Daniel, we read about young exiles who allowed their habits of devotion to God to define them. Following Jesus means finding the ultimate answers to big questions in the person and work of Jesus, questions of identity, life, relationship, meaning, purpose, legacy and significance. Following Jesus means that we find the very essence of ourselves at his feet.
Practice 2: In a complex and anxious age, develop the muscles of cultural discernment
Exercising cultural discernment means taking part in a robust learning community under the authority of the Bible in order to wisely navigate an accelerated, complex culture. This is the ability to compare the beliefs, values, customs, and creations of the world we live in (digital Babylon) to those of the world we belong to (the Kingdom of God). And once we’ve made that comparison, to anchor our lives—including our use of technology—to the theological, moral, and ethical norms of God’s kingdom. It is not a small think to say that one of the attacks of this age is the attack of the mind. The agenda seems to be of making man a not thinking person. Thus, as exiles in digital Babylon, disciples need a richer, more resilient life of the mind. Example, the highly personalized digital environments frames and filter reality so that it’s hard to know what is real, and that is the push behind AI (artificial intelligence). We can’t live in times of complexity without wisdom, the human capacity to understand life from God’s perspective. One way we can do this in a church context is that we need to teach critical thinking, how to evaluate and understand propaganda, fake, and real, truth and post-truth, worldview and theology. In any given circumstance, one must know what is right, what is wrong, what is missing, and what is confused.
Practice 3: When isolation and mistrust are the norms, forge meaningful, intergenerational relationships
We have more tools of communication at our disposal than ever before, and there are truly wonderful elements to life in the modern world. Yet in spite of all the technology that connects us, the isolating conditions we face show no sign of letting up. The solution to this kind of isolation is by spending time together in and through the church. God has design man to live in a community. Thus, to be an effective disciple of Jesus in digital Babylon, we have to confront the myth of lone-wolf, do-it-yourself (DIY), sole-proprietorship discipleship. And for that to happen, our churches must be places that cut through generational clutter and reconcile people to one another in and through Christ. One of the ways we break down walls of mistrust and isolation is to cultivate vulnerability, to interact with others without wearing masks or putting on pretenses. Creating meaningful relationships within the church can’t be simply about encouragement of positivity. Meaningful relationships often arise out of difficult disagreements along our journey together.
Practice 4: To ground and motivate an ambitious generation, train for vocational discipleship
Vocational discipleship means knowing and living God’s calling, especially in the arena of work, and right sizing our ambitions to God’s purposes. Christian vocation is about discovering what God is calling us to do and learning how to contribute to the work he is already doing and wants to do—including his work in our workplaces. Christians should be the ones in every workplace who resolve conflict, help their coworkers deal with grief and loss, and shine a gentle light of truth on our brokenness as coworkers, bosses, and employees. Christians are called to do their work with integrity, no matter the type of work, and all work is dignified in God’s eyes if it’s done with the right motives. Thus, the believer needs to find their fulfillment in their workplaces because they are using their God-given talents and graces. A worthy goal for our churches is for every young and old person to mature and be able to say, ‘I know who God has created me to be and how my purpose fits with his plans for the world’. Thus, in this complex digital world, we are to be involved and play our God-given part to play, for the welfare that we contribute to it is also our welfare to enjoy and for the glory of our God.
Practice 5: Curb entitlement and self-centered tendencies by engaging in countercultural mission
Christianity is meant to be at odds with purposeless, going through-the-motions life. God is powerful, active, and intentional, and he wants his followers to play a part in the redeeming of people and to restoring the world to himself. Digital Babylon is still a mission field and not a hell that cannot be redeemed. And the God of the universe wants us to be part of his mission! He does not need us to do his work, but we have the privilege of joining with him, the master craftsman, in the mission to reconcile the world to himself. Countercultural mission is what we do together as the body of Christ, the local church for the sake of the lost world and the glory of God. It is about the people of God resolving to be on mission together, some going and some staying to support the sent-out ones, but all on the missions. And the Christian must know that participating in God’s countercultural missions is a life well lived. Besides God’s common grace, missions—preaching the gospel, is the only imperative hope we have for the world, even this digital Babylon.
Conclusion
We should not underestimate the indoctrinating power that digital Babylon wields. We can’t go back to Jerusalem; we cannot go back to the old sweet times that were godly friendly. We should plan to stay and figure out how to grow disciples here and now in digital Babylon and to be faithful until the end. The Christian life is a counterculture journey, for it is a light shining in darkness. This is exactly what the world needs. It is impossible for light not to change darkness, unless that light is hidden.
Grace to the Nation 