The Dangers of Knowledge

I am an editor of Sunday school curriculum by day (superhero by night, aka, Captain Platypus), so I work on lessons pretty much daily. Today I worked on a lesson about technology. I looked at a lesson that was written about the same topic in 2005. I was shocked to see the difference. Much of the old lesson was unusable. It opened my eyes to the speed of technological change we are experiencing.

  • The old lesson barely referenced cell phones. They were an afterthought
  • Radio was repeatedly mentioned.
  • Obviously no tablets were referenced.
  • It touted flat-screen televisions as a new thing.
  • There was not one single use of the phrase “social media”.
  • The only reference to online communication was through email, IM, and chat capabilities.
  • Texting was never mentioned.

And it struck me that a couple of recent major events would have never happened in 2005. Namely, the overthrow of Egypt’s leadership (supposedly spurred on by social media), and the Occupy Wall Street movement, also supposedly fueled by social media. And I’m sure countless other things (sins included) would have been ousted without our new technology.

Technology is great, when used for good. But how often is it actually used for good? I’ve read that Internet porn gets WAY more hits than Facebook on a daily basis. No one addresses this issue, yet it holds thousands upon thousands in chains daily. How many young children get exploited because the Internet makes it possible? How many murders take place because a simple Google search shows these would-be-murders exactly how to carry out their plans? How many would-be-saints are sucked into sin because technology provides an open sandbox for evil?

The upside of technology is fantastic, but the downside is unthinkable and unfathomable. So no one addresses it. We simply wipe it away as if it doesn’t exist. But it’s there. THEY’RE there. Those exploited children are there. Those porn addicts are there. Those contemplating murderers are there. All because technology enables them to be there. Upside? Sure. Downside? Yeah, and somebody needs to start addressing it. Our society proves this truth with each new and more disturbing mass murder.

No one can deny that our society has taken a horrible turn for the worse. Recent shootings, occurring with ever-increasing frequency, shout this truth at us. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this increase in evil coincides with the increase in knowledge and technology.

I’m educated. I have a master’s degree. In no way am I against education, in fact, I believe in it. Education is a must. But there is a danger in knowledge, particularly when placed into the wrong hands. There’s a reason the forbidden fruit came from the “Tree of Knowledge”. It seems like the more we “know” the worse we get. Mankind has a way of perverting what should be good. Just ask God.

Or ask Google.

Your choice, I guess.

It always is.

Go ahead, take a byte.

KEEP READING!
Did God Lie To Me?
I Couldn’t Pull The Trigger
5 Reasons I Haven’t Left the Church

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