Book Review (part 2 of ?): The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture
By: Shane Hipps
Subtitle: How Media Shapes Faith, the Gospel, and Church
Amazon page
Chapter 3
With the foundation laid in the previous chapters, Hipps proceeds to show how media has changed society and the church in the past. Writing (at first ideographs or pictograms) provided an alternate way to store information form oral tradition, and gave raise to scribe/priest classes. Later the development of the alphabet greatly increased the ability of writing.
Hipps says alphabets, which by their nature are abstract, helped create a more rationalistic philosophy (reaching its' height in the ancient world in Greece). Thus philosophy in the West had strong elements of linear, sequential, abstract thought, whereas in China (which didn't development) philosophy centered on more nonlinear, holistic, intuitive thought. I thought this idea was interesting, but Hipps fails to consider India which did development alphabets but nevertheless their philosophy developed much closer to China's that the West's.
After the collapse of the Roman Empire, papyrus became more expensive and rationalism in the West experienced a decline in influence. As a result, according to Hipps, the Church in the Middle Ages developed an increasingly mystical and sacramental theology. When cheap paper was introduced into Europe in the 12th century a scholastic revival of Greek philosophy occurred, but it had little impact on the vast majority of people.
In event with vast historical impact (and much studied by historians), Gutenberg invented the printing press in the 1440's. The printing press made books available like never before, and enabled the Reformation to succeed (similar movements had occurred before but they were able to be repressed). No new media were introduced for 400 years, and with all that time to adjust to the printing press greatly aided the raise of Modernism.
In Modernism, Medieval tribalism, mysticism, and sacramentalism began to be replaced by individualism, objectivity, abstraction, and reason. These ideas influenced the church as well as culture.
- Preaching became the chief focus of church gatherings
- A tendency to focus more on the more abstract parts of scripture, such as Paul's letters, than the stories in the gospel which were more popular before.
- The communal nature of the Church weakened.
- Emphasis on doctrine details, sometimes emphasized head knowledge while neglecting life change. This emphasis on doctrinal detail often came at the cost of unity, hence the fragmentation of Protestantism. (It should be noted that the influence of modernism was less in the Roman Catholic Church, likely due to its regard for tradition).
Technorati tags: The Hidden Power Of Electronic Culture Shane Hipps Marshall McLuhan Media Culture Technology Printing Press
Subtitle: How Media Shapes Faith, the Gospel, and Church
Amazon page
Chapter 3
With the foundation laid in the previous chapters, Hipps proceeds to show how media has changed society and the church in the past. Writing (at first ideographs or pictograms) provided an alternate way to store information form oral tradition, and gave raise to scribe/priest classes. Later the development of the alphabet greatly increased the ability of writing.
Hipps says alphabets, which by their nature are abstract, helped create a more rationalistic philosophy (reaching its' height in the ancient world in Greece). Thus philosophy in the West had strong elements of linear, sequential, abstract thought, whereas in China (which didn't development) philosophy centered on more nonlinear, holistic, intuitive thought. I thought this idea was interesting, but Hipps fails to consider India which did development alphabets but nevertheless their philosophy developed much closer to China's that the West's.
After the collapse of the Roman Empire, papyrus became more expensive and rationalism in the West experienced a decline in influence. As a result, according to Hipps, the Church in the Middle Ages developed an increasingly mystical and sacramental theology. When cheap paper was introduced into Europe in the 12th century a scholastic revival of Greek philosophy occurred, but it had little impact on the vast majority of people.
In event with vast historical impact (and much studied by historians), Gutenberg invented the printing press in the 1440's. The printing press made books available like never before, and enabled the Reformation to succeed (similar movements had occurred before but they were able to be repressed). No new media were introduced for 400 years, and with all that time to adjust to the printing press greatly aided the raise of Modernism.
In Modernism, Medieval tribalism, mysticism, and sacramentalism began to be replaced by individualism, objectivity, abstraction, and reason. These ideas influenced the church as well as culture.
- Preaching became the chief focus of church gatherings
- A tendency to focus more on the more abstract parts of scripture, such as Paul's letters, than the stories in the gospel which were more popular before.
- The communal nature of the Church weakened.
- Emphasis on doctrine details, sometimes emphasized head knowledge while neglecting life change. This emphasis on doctrinal detail often came at the cost of unity, hence the fragmentation of Protestantism. (It should be noted that the influence of modernism was less in the Roman Catholic Church, likely due to its regard for tradition).
Technorati tags: The Hidden Power Of Electronic Culture Shane Hipps Marshall McLuhan Media Culture Technology Printing Press
posted by Freethinker at 10:11:00 PM
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