Jesse Rice

I'm still firmly convinced that the impacts of the "digital revolution" on human identity & society are only now beginning to reveal themselves. Absolutely EVERYTHING from the arts to politics to religion to education are not simply "adapting" to these new technologies but are being fundamentally altered. It may even be more accurate to speak of digital "EVOLUTION" rather than "revolution." The impact of digital technology/media is certainly not my area of expertise...it's more of an ongoing curiosity.

Thus, a book like Rice's appeared to be "right down my alley," if you please; set to address the challenges of being the Church in a digital age. I think this book does two things remarkably well:
1) I think Rice addresses the alarmist trends that accompany all new technological breakthroughs; he does a good job dismantling the whole "Facebook is ruining humanity's ability to have meaningful relationships" argument.

2) The heart of Rice's argument is that social media platforms simply offer a DIFFERENT (which does not mean GOOD or BAD) way for humans to connect; it cannot and does not "replace" face-to-face association.

Overall, however, I was disappointed with the book's depth of analysis and the superficiality of the practical suggestions about how to effectively utilize the social capabilities digital media. I feel Rice spent too much time on illustrations of his points rather than their implications. Finally, there was almost no analysis of the missional role of the Church in the world of social media...rather than thinking about how the corporate Church can and should be a "presence" in the digital world, Rice focused exclusively on the role that Christian INDIVIDUALS should play in their personal worlds. Granted, it is important that Christians think about such issues, but, unwittingly, Rice has apparently "given in" to the hyper-individuality of the online world rather than speaking prophetically to it.

I suppose that my rating reflects not so much a flaw with this book as it reflects my very different expectations and interests (I WOULD say that the book's title is rather misleading). For a broad overview of the basic issues related to digital life in the 21st century, Rice is good place to turn. But for deep theological analysis of what this means to us as the Church...well...I'm still looking.… (más)