New Media in Theological Education and the Church
‘NEW MEDIA’ IN ‘THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION AND THE CHURCH’ OR THE VICE VERSA
By - Butesen Ozukum
1. Introduction:
The Guttenberg Revolution or the invention of the Printing Press in the early 15 th century has led the world to witness an information explosion thus allowing people to absorb incredible amount of knowledge. Since then the term „information‟ became an influential and integral aspect in the lives of each individual. This emphasis has led to the development of countless technologies, all with the common goal of making information more accessible, affordable, and most importantly communicative. As a result, today in the modern age we see that the modern digital revolution has brought about a new type of communication as compared to the traditional „one-way‟ flow of information and communication, emphasising more on dialogue, relationship and discussion. Therefore, with the emphasis on communication as not only knowledge and information, but also community building, we see the emergence of countless new tools and mediums known as „New Media‟, all created with the intention of making media more interactive and participatory. Its reach and influence has become so vast that if there is one phenomenon that is impacting our society today, it is the use of different New Media in almost every walk of life.
Community-building, evangelization and social justice, which are significant aspects of the mission of the Church, still stands robust and will continue to stand firm. At this age of technology and its impact upon the lives of the people, the biggest challenge of the Church today is to cope and exist together with this digital era. Can the Church also make use of this New Media in fulfilling its mission? How do we relate faith and technology? How do theological institutions perceive New Media which is the primary institution for preparing leaders for this digitalized society? These are some of the pertaining questions that confront us when we think about
By - Butesen Ozukum
1. Introduction:
The Guttenberg Revolution or the invention of the Printing Press in the early 15 th century has led the world to witness an information explosion thus allowing people to absorb incredible amount of knowledge. Since then the term „information‟ became an influential and integral aspect in the lives of each individual. This emphasis has led to the development of countless technologies, all with the common goal of making information more accessible, affordable, and most importantly communicative. As a result, today in the modern age we see that the modern digital revolution has brought about a new type of communication as compared to the traditional „one-way‟ flow of information and communication, emphasising more on dialogue, relationship and discussion. Therefore, with the emphasis on communication as not only knowledge and information, but also community building, we see the emergence of countless new tools and mediums known as „New Media‟, all created with the intention of making media more interactive and participatory. Its reach and influence has become so vast that if there is one phenomenon that is impacting our society today, it is the use of different New Media in almost every walk of life.
Community-building, evangelization and social justice, which are significant aspects of the mission of the Church, still stands robust and will continue to stand firm. At this age of technology and its impact upon the lives of the people, the biggest challenge of the Church today is to cope and exist together with this digital era. Can the Church also make use of this New Media in fulfilling its mission? How do we relate faith and technology? How do theological institutions perceive New Media which is the primary institution for preparing leaders for this digitalized society? These are some of the pertaining questions that confront us when we think about
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