A Book Review from Books At a Glance
by Nicholas Harsh
It has become somewhat of a truism to say that our world is advancing technologically at a pace unlike any other moment in history. That is not to say ours is the only moment in history that has seen major shifts in the “social ecology” of a culture due to technological advancements. This does mean, however, that the pace at which discoveries are made today presents unique challenges that pastors and church leaders should consider carefully. Neil Postman, writing over forty years ago, in his book Amusing Ourselves to Death, predicted the power that digital media would have on the formation of society. While he was not writing with a Christian perspective in mind, his book is nevertheless prescient in many ways. For this reason, I was eager to read Scrolling Ourselves to Death by Brett McCracken and Ivan Mesa.
Both McCracken and Mesa are gifted writers and mindful of the implications of technology on a person’s spiritual formation. McCracken is a senior editor and director of communications for The Gospel Coalition. Mesa is the editorial director for The Gospel Coalition. Both have authored several books and have written extensively on the ways in which media and technology impact a person’s walk with Jesus.
In their most recent book, Scrolling Ourselves to Death, they explore the ways that Postman’s observations still prove insightful for today. McCracken writes, “If the dynamics of the television age posed provocative questions for Christians in the 1980s, the dynamics of the internet age have only amplified the questions—and introduced many new ones—in the 2020s” (10). Thoughtful Christians know that the way one uses media and technology will impact their walk with Jesus. Scrolling Ourselves to Death attempts to provide thoughtful guidance to help followers of Jesus navigate an ever-changing world. McCracken writes, “For our own spiritual health, and to maintain a prophetic power and witness in a world being changed faster than it can even recognize, Christians in this cultural moment should slow down and think wisely about the ever-changing technologies swirling around us” (10). Each chapter is written by a different author (there are fifteen authors total), which gives each chapter a unique tone that often matches the chapter’s content.
The book is divided into three parts with an epilogue, presenting several concluding thoughts from Ivan Mesa. Part 1, titled “Postman’s Insights, Then and Now,” explores several ways in which Postman’s cultural observations proved true. Additionally, Part 1 shows how technology has impacted society in ways that Postman could have never imagined. McCracken writes, “New technologies shape our thinking: what we think about, the symbols and metaphors we think with, and the forums in which thoughts develop” (10). Using Postman as a starting point, the chapters in Part 1 introduce several of Postman’s core arguments with a specific focus on what has changed since he wrote the book.
Part 2, titled “Practical Challenges Facing Christian Communicators,” seeks to apply Postman’s thoughts practically. The challenges faced by preachers, teachers, apologists, and evangelists have certainly changed over the years. Part 2 attempts to bring thoughtful insight to the specific areas of pressure that pastors and church leaders feel in our contemporary context. For example, in Chapter Six, Collin Hansen writes, “Digital media reshapes the sermon by putting listeners in the position of authority and serving up content that confirms what they want to hear” (103). This is one of the many ways in which media and technology impact our present cultural moment. He goes on to say, “The best preaching tells us what we don’t always want to hear. The best preachers, committed to teaching us to obey everything Jesus commanded (Matt. 28:20), don’t abandon us to the algorithm” (104).
Not only does technology impact preaching, but it also impacts apologetics. In chapter seven, Keith Plummer writes, “Communication technologies and media play a crucial role in influencing a culture’s plausibility structures” (107). Perhaps one of the biggest differences between the cultural context in which Postman wrote and today is the simple fact that, increasingly, Christianity is viewed as implausible. This reality is accelerated by the media people regularly consume, the stories they are told, and the social imaginary of the culture. Plummer, quoting Felicia Wu Song, says, “Though technological affordances certainly do not determine behavior, it is important to recognize how they create environments that make some worlds and behaviors more imaginable and achievable than others” (107). This is the impact of communication technologies. This is the impact of our media-saturated world. Pastors and church leaders cannot simply assume biblical literacy today. Instead, using the Bible, they must help people develop a plausibility structure for the beauty and veracity of the gospel. This, however, does not mean that pastors must become social media influencers or TikTok aficionados. Plummer writes, “Gospel proclaimers need to go where the unreached are. But this doesn’t mean we must use the communication styles and practices of those we are trying to reach. ‘Meeting people where they are’ does not mean meeting people in the media forms they most prefer” (112). In fact, Plummer wonders if this tendency to embrace new mediums of communication has not actually hindered gospel proclamation. He writes, “What if some media formats actually work against the comprehension of the truths we’re trying to communicate? Young people are on TikTok, but we must ask ourselves whether TikTok’s form is well suited to theological reflection and gospel proclamation” (112). One is reminded of Marshall McLuhan’s well-known phrase, “The medium is the message.” More could be said about the impact of technology on ministry, but Scrolling Ourselves to Death does an excellent job of presenting the cultural milieu in which we live.
Part 3, titled “How the Church Can Be Life in a ‘Scrolling Ourselves to Death’ World,” takes a sometimes-forgotten perspective on the cultural moment in which we find ourselves. Often, those who “understand the times” most comprehensively are also the most cynical about the future. Certainly, the temptation toward this is understandable. If the church, however, is to maintain a prophetic witness to the world, we must embrace the same hope and confidence in this generation that has upheld Christians for centuries. The final chapters of the book provide practical recommendations and a hopeful vision for the church as salt and light in the culture. While the front half of the book can be somewhat discouraging, the concluding chapters of the book give a hope-filled vision of how the unchanging gospel still has the power to change lives in an ever-changing world. In particular, G. Shane Morris does an excellent job of presenting a view of technology that is, at once, clear-eyed and hopeful. For example, he writes, “Our eyes were made for more than reading. We have color vision, extraordinarily subtle and acute depth perception, and brains disproportionately dedicated to processing what we see. This is the very reason television and internet video, as mediums, are so appealing” (153). He goes on to explain that our desires are “pointers” meant to draw us to God. The reason why we have these desires, the reason why media can be so appealing, is because God has made us to enjoy sight. Morris makes it clear, however, that because we are embodied, we are meant to live within limits. Though it is not sinful to watch TV from time to time or scroll through a social media feed, there are limits to the joy and satisfaction that this can offer. Morris writes, “Try as we might, we can’t conduct our friendships exclusively over screens” (154). As Christians, we can live with countercultural whiteness simply by embracing the reality that we are embodied and need embodied relationships. Morris goes on to say, “Christianity is a physical religion involving tangible sacraments, face-to-face fellowship, and the participation in worship and word is physical spaces” (155). In other words, there are ways that Christians can embrace technology while maintaining a prophetic witness in the world. The final chapters of the book provide several practical examples of how to do this well.
Scrolling Ourselves to Death is an excellent book that provides a clear and thoughtful look at the ways that media and technology impact ministry in our current culture. The book has several strengths; I will mention two briefly.
First, the book navigates the balance between a clear-eyed assessment of our current cultural moment and a hope-filled gospel response. When it comes to the impact that technology has had on our culture, it is far easier to embrace extremes (Postman himself seems guilty of this at times). On the one hand, you have those who are skeptical of technology and think the answer is to retreat from culture. On the other hand, there are those who are quick to embrace technology without much thought of the implications it might have on his or her spiritual formation. This person will sometimes say things like, “The message never changes, but the way we share it does.” A statement like this, however, is (as Scrolling Ourselves to Death makes clear) optimistic at best and foolish at worst. For example, Joe Carter writes, “Technology is not neutral but rather a medium with inherent biases that can unintentionally shape our perceptions and values” (34). One of the major strengths of Scrolling Ourselves to Death is the way it avoids both the ditch of blind optimism and joyless cynicism.
Second, Scrolling Ourselves to Death carries the implications of Postman’s work forward in a way that is true to his position. Even though the book discusses things like TikTok and podcasts, Instagram and iPhones, it does so in a way that fairly represents the things Postman would have said if he were to write the book. Scrolling Ourselves to Death doesn’t try to spiritualize Postman’s work but instead shows how the thoughtful observations of Postman have radical implications for followers of Jesus today.
As McCracken pointed out at the beginning of the book, “Christians in this cultural moment should slow down and think wisely about the ever-changing technologies swirling around us” (10). Scrolling Ourselves to Death is an excellent resource and one that I would recommend to any pastor or Christian leader without hesitation. If one is looking for a great resource to begin thinking more carefully about the implications of technology on a person’s spiritual formation, Scrolling Ourselves to Death is a great place to start.
Nicholas Harsh