tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977070148845323820.post2797473715717062064..comments2023-04-12T06:03:35.454-07:00Comments on Tonight's Reading: Dumbing Down the Church? (Church? what is this thing called Church?)Let's Bookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831054494195507934noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977070148845323820.post-82293634378169892032011-01-20T15:58:24.386-08:002011-01-20T15:58:24.386-08:00Barb, I guess my whole post was prompted by the th...Barb, I guess my whole post was prompted by the the fact that there seems to be a movement away from presenting scripture to deepen our knowledge, toward "telling a story to 9 year- olds" as Don Miller puts it. If the sermons I hear really did deepen my knowledge, then I wouldn't be asking these questions.Let's Bookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11831054494195507934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977070148845323820.post-56948491647648525182011-01-16T20:57:06.668-08:002011-01-16T20:57:06.668-08:00>If not, what is the purpose of listening to a ...>If not, what is the purpose of listening to a sermon?<br /><br />For believers listening to a man appointed by God deepens our knowledge of the scripture he presents.<br /><br />It is scriptural that we "not forsake the assembling of yourselves together". We are commanded to meet together and share in prayers and music. It uplifts us and draws us closer to the One who died for us.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977070148845323820.post-10298387232757110802011-01-14T15:22:15.115-08:002011-01-14T15:22:15.115-08:00I don't know Steven Johnson (obviously I shoul...I don't know Steven Johnson (obviously I should, though). <br /><br />Jesus' use of everyday objects in parables did employ the technology his audience would have been familiar with, but his teaching was anything but dumbed down. People today still argue about his meaning. So I don't know that I buy that just because he used stories/simple sentence structure that his teaching was "dumbed-down."<br /><br />On the one hand, we are technologically much more sophisticated in the electrate age. On the other, we do keep hearing that kids are dumber now, that they're not as well-prepared for college, etc. I wonder if any of this has to do with attention span. Twitter, texting, etc. have all taken the length of typical communications way down. Maybe as a society we are losing the ability to sustain thinking (exemplified by me taking a break from doing homework to write this comment).Let's Bookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11831054494195507934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977070148845323820.post-41449023737644649622011-01-14T11:24:09.815-08:002011-01-14T11:24:09.815-08:00Grace, I think Walter Ong/Steven Johnson collectiv...Grace, I think Walter Ong/Steven Johnson collectively offer an answer to the 9-year old/parable question: it likely points to how increasingly smarter/media savvy human beings have become over the centuries, right?Insignificant Wranglerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15950540902913057757noreply@blogger.com