"Why do people choose the substitute over God himself? Probably the most important reason is that it obviates accountability to God. We can meet idols on our own terms because they are our own creations. They are safe, predictable, and controllable; they are, in Jeremiah's colorful language, the 'scarecrows in a cornfield' (10:5). They are portable and completely under the user's control. They offer nothing like the threat of a God who thunders from Sinai and whose providence in this world so often appears to us to be incomprehensible and dangerous . . . [People] need face only themselves. That is the appeal of idolatry."
- David F. Wells
Friday, February 17, 2012
It wouldn't surprise me at all if this turns out to be one of those "it's funny because it's true" things.
Another reason to retreat from meta-life and spend more time living real life.
Favorite quote: "400 billion tweets and not one useful bit of data was ever transmitted."
[H/T: Forward Progress]
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Comments on "Well, I Thought So":
2. Bill
- 02/17/2012 10:21 am CST
Facebook does definitely have an upside. But the downsides are starting to overwhelm that for me. I've been off of it for a few weeks (other than responding to messages sent to me rather than via email). I'm happier and more focused.
Agreed on the old friends thing. It's wonderful, but also sobering and depressing to find old friends (and I did student ministry for a long time and now do college/young singles so I get this in spades) who don't really seem to care about the Lord anymore.
3. Bill
- 02/17/2012 10:22 am CST
Also, I agree that there are certain people (Jared is one) who use Twitter, FB and blogging to great effect.
I think there may already be a fakeJaredWilson, but I'm not sure. I don't have a twitter account to check on that.
4. Bill
- 02/17/2012 10:28 am CST
The quote from this vid that I think takes the cake is this one:
"The CIA has been so thorough in convincing the nation that constantly sharing information about everything you're doing is somehow desirable instead of deeply unsettling"
Take out "the CIA" (at least I hope so) and the rest of that quote is bang on.
6. Quaid
- 02/18/2012 10:08 am CST
Everything in moderation.
I think much of the negatives of FB can be mitigated simply by not posting too many details on your info page and not spending all your life on there.
I enjoy Facebook, but that's probably because I only spend, on average, an hour or two/week on the site. I do not update my status with what I am doing minute-by-minute. I can't stand it when people tag my location and often un-tag myself from such posts.
Having said that, the Onion is brilliant.
7. salguod
- 02/18/2012 1:01 pm CST
There are three fake Jared accounts (that I found anyway):
notjaredcwilson
notjaredwilson
fakejaredwilson
Only the first was really ever active, and it hasn't been for a while.
Wait, that last one looks brand new, first tweet on Valentines day. Hmmm, nhe? :-D
Leave a Comment:
It is funny and it is true......at least most of it. My favorite line was "that's how they caught my brother".
Facebook has an upside. I grew up on the West Coast and moved east when I was 16. I've connected (free) with a lot of old friends. Some of whom I've talked to on the phone and even been able to see again. But the downside is that I now realize that a lot of my friends on Facebook are pretty vapid and uninteresting. I didn't want to know that.
Re: Twitter. John Piper is a Twitter beast. So, by association, Twitter must have value. However, he's so serious on Twitter that I've had to start following comedians to balance him out. The "Daily Keller" on Twitter however, is awesome.
Jared's fun on Twitter too.....he makes me laugh a lot and occasionally inspires me. I've thought about making a "fake Jared Wilson" Twitter account (if there isn't one).....but I need to build a body of work first. Maybe if I start one I can give some authorship rights to folks here.