Ong on Steroids

Walter J. Ong and Marshal McLuhan argue that the invention of the printing press enabled the Protestant Revolution by encouraging Christians to sit by themselves and read the Bible without the help of Priests. Earlier reformers had tried to do this, but without plentiful cheap copies of Scripture this was impossible.

Today we have plentiful cheap copies of everything. While some utopian dreamers think that this might bring us all closer together, the opposite seems to be the case. What the internet enables us to do is to break into even smaller communities of like minded individuals. Instead of unifying us, it Balkanizes us.

I won't read your blog unless I already agree.

1 comment:

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