In the Oct. 11 “Towers,” we venture into the church’s latest and perhaps most rapidly growing mission field – the world of technology and social media. Observing the massive change recent technological trends have brought upon human communication, “Towers” provides readers with biblical and theological perspective on “the new Gutenberg,” the revolutionary phenomenon that is social media.
- Southern Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr. considers in his article, “After the Revolution,” the Christian response to the digital age: “Like the Reformers who seized the opportunity afforded by the Gutenberg Revolution, we must see the world of new media as an area for Christian truth-telling. Our engagement with new media is driven by impulses that are evangelistic, missiological and grounded in apologetics” (page 3).
- Aaron and I (Josh) offer theological, pastoral and missional perspective in an extended piece on social media. The article gives particular attention to the issues of content and medium, technological literacy and priority: “The church should utilize technology because of her call to reach sinners with the Gospel in the uttermost parts of the earth (Acts 1:8), and some of the uttermost parts currently reside in cyber-space and augmented reality” (pages 4 and 6).
- Jim Hamilton, associate professor of biblical theology at SBTS, gives readers an intensive foretaste of his forthcoming book, God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment (Crossway), in his interview with Aaron (pages 8 and 9). The issue also includes Aaron’s review of Hamilton’s book (page 10).
- Mark T. Coppenger, professor of Christian apologetics at Southern, considers the wonder of human creativity and accomplishment in his article “Quanta and Quiddities” (page 6).
Other content for “Towers” includes:
- contributing writer Robert E. Sagers’ interview with Justin Taylor about the nature and art of blogging (page 5);
- Peter Gentry, professor of Old Testament interpretation at Southern, challenging standard evangelical views on God’s holiness (page 7);
- a Southern Story featuring Boyce College’s latest hire Scott Connell, instructor of music and worship leadership (page 12); and
- several imbedded QR Codes throughout the issue that allow mobile devices (iPhone, Android or BlackBerry) with the app to access video content on social media (see cover page at top-right of post; pages 3, 15 and 16).