Polemic against polemicism

(I'm aware of the duplicity of being polemic against polemicism!)

This post is a response to David Robertson in his blog theweeflea.com which is well worth checking out. He is often polemic against 'Big Tech' which I'm sure is justifiable, I just think as Christians we should focus on the Gospel (Good News) rather than the bad news that big tech isn't altruistic.

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As a trainee history teacher, I think some of your rather exaggerated language is unhelpful. For example, I'm sure the Medieval Roman Catholic Church and the popes in that time wielded far more power than big tech nowadays. 


Also, note that Martin Luther didn't go on some crusade to democratise the printing press. He, at his best, focused on the gospel. We would do well to do the same.


Do we need Google Ad Words to share the gospel? Not really. Like John Wycliffe's followers we can just low key take the gospel to our communities. I know lockdown makes that difficult, but as long as we focus on the gospel rather than the problems in seeking to share it, we will find opportunities to share it.


Our focus should not be to be polemic against the RCC, big tech, or whatever else. Our focus should be to share the gospel in whatever way we can, even as the RCC and big tech try to silence us. 


I think the internet is overrated in terms of sharing the gospel, as the printing press could be as well. They're useful, by all means. Bear in mind the church of the Lord Jesus Christ was ticking over for nearly 1 1/2 millennia before the printing press came along! And unless people read the printed word, or click on the link, they're not going to read our gospel. The most effective way of sharing the gospel I believe is face to face (difficult behind a mask at 2 metres distance I admit!). 


When God sent us good news, He didn't send us a book or a website, He sent us Himself. When God commissions us to share the good news, our primary calling isn't necessarily to write books or have a blog, but to go out into the world and share good news face to face. Again, I admit that this is difficult under the current locked down circumstances.

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