More reflections from Flickering Pixels by Shane Hipps…
The invention of writing gave people the luxury of thinking apart from the tribe without the concern of those thoughts disappearing. As reading and writing became available to more and more people, the community was no longer needed to retain teachings, traditions, or identity.
People spent more time alone – this isolation created a strong sense of individualism.
Community in the print age has been understood primarly as a collection of discrete individuals working concurrently on their personal relationships with Jesus. The church…lost sight of itself as the body of Christ. Under the influence of the print age, our experience of faith gradually moves from something that is personal to something private.
Writing gave us a detachment to measure objectivity, clarity and perspective. However, we began to believe that our objectivity was absolute.
We started reading Scripture under the illusion we could know God’s mind with unbiased clarity of vision.
I was born into a country founded on the principles of individualism and freedom. How has that shaped our way of seeking community?
What elements of our faith are missing because we’re so individualistic?
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