Christian messages and medium practices are starkly divided.
Christian messages and medium practices are starkly divided.
Christian practices are starkly divided between those that are focused on imperialism and those that strive for liberation. As Marshall McLuhan famously stated, 'The medium is the message.' The medium significantly influences human perception and behavior, often overshadowing the specific information it carries. Surprisingly, the Church and politicians share more similarities than one might expect.
According to McLuhan, the transformative power of different media technologies, including the latest AI and other emerging technologies used in media such as print, radio, television, music, movies, and the internet, plays a pivotal role in shaping human consciousness and culture. Think of Societal Phase Change and what the change means in a culture. Each Technology used in a medium creates a unique environment that shapes and molds the minds and thinking of the audience, how they should feel, and thus the way they interact with other human beings. For example, reading a book creates a different experience than watching the same story on a giant movie screen, even if the content is the same, but often customized for the effects the movie technology will add to the experience.
McLuhan's belief in the importance of understanding the effects of different media technologies is a crucial insight. It's about the content and Technology used, where our focus should center. 'The medium is the message' is a thought-provoking concept that encourages us to be vigilant about the role of Technology in all forms of media and the integration of the message being conveyed into all forms of media in shaping human perception and behavior. This vigilance reminds us that we should always consider the medium, Technology used, and cause and effect when interpreting messages, as they play a significant role in shaping our world. This is where the use of See-Judge-Act comes into play.
"Give me leaders and I will raise the world" ~Joseph Cardijn.
The role of Joseph Cardijn at the Second Vatican Council was about leadership, about the lay leadership in the Church. Think of each document of Vatican II as the message, and in our world today, we should focus on what medium we are using to spread the message. For example, Gaudium et Spes, I suggest we don't consider it a document printed in a PDF or a book. Cardijn and the Vatican Council did not intend to be a publishing company. That was not their goal. At the time, the medium was to get the council's message into the people's hands. Fast forward to today, and ask yourself when you last read the document. Does it just sit on the shelf in a book? On your computer in a PDF?
Think about the message today and the medium and how we use the Technology of our time to spread the message, innovate, educate, and collaborate for a better world to bring about the Kingdom of Heaven here and now!